A content-heavy public-records platform redesigned around clearer archives, mobile readability, safer booking-post structure, and a custom cleanup workflow for years of legacy WordPress content.
NewsBuddy combines daily jail-booking records, local updates, court-related content, and public-resource information. The case study is as much about content systems as visual design: the site had multiple generations of legacy Divi, static HTML, and newer block content that had to be handled without damaging county accuracy or public-record context.
Same information framework on every case study. Different visual rhythm for every project.
The archive carried legacy Divi shortcodes, inconsistent post formats, high content volume, and sensitive county/public-record labeling requirements. A simple visual refresh would leave the underlying content debt intact and could create accuracy problems if old posts were converted too aggressively.
Synistar redesigned the public experience around a cleaner neutral archive UI and built a safer content-cleanup direction: detect old Divi, earlier static HTML, and new Gutenberg/UAGB formats separately; preserve backups; process gradually; log actions; and never default an unknown post to Dawson County.
The site now has a cleaner homepage, stronger mobile presentation, clearer category/archive structure, and better public-record messaging. The visual redesign is portfolio-ready, while the legacy archive still requires verification before Synistar represents the conversion as fully complete.
The case study keeps Synistar's structure quiet and lets the project palette, screenshots, and business story take over.
NewsBuddyThe new direction uses strong typography, restrained visuals, clear categories, search, archive cards, and visible county/date context so a large public-record library feels easier to browse. Booking content is intentionally factual rather than sensational, with public-record disclaimers treated as part of the interface.
The archive contains original Divi shortcodes, earlier plugin-generated static HTML, and newer Gutenberg/UAGB posts. The cleanup workflow is designed to detect each generation, skip new-format content, back up before changes, process small batches, log every action, and send uncertain county records to manual review instead of guessing.
The site has natural local-search potential through date-based county archives. The audit recommends standardized county/date titles and descriptions, crawlable category archives, optimized thumbnails, lazy loading, caching, image-alt policy, keyboard checks, and consistent metadata without duplicating public-record copy across thousands of posts.
Portfolio-ready visually; archive modernization is still being verified. The next phase is scan-only review, safe gradual cleanup of legacy posts, separate Court Reports cleanup, county-label verification, and a final standardized post template for all future booking content.
The Pound Red shapes the atmosphere of this case study. Synistar stays the frame; the client's identity does the talking.
Bring the business, the problem, and the ambition. We will build the system around it.
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