WordPress News Site Relaunch – Article System, Editorial Workflow & Google-Safe Publishing (Experienced News Publishers Only)

WordPress News Site Relaunch – Article System, Editorial Workflow & Google-Safe Publishing (Experienced News Publishers Only) I’m relaunching an existing English-language news website (established domain since 1996). This is not a new blog and not an AI autoblog. The WordPress site is already live with Newspaper theme v12 installed. At this stage, I am hiring one experienced freelancer to build and configure the article publishing system and editorial workflow only. This project requires real experience with news websites, Google News, and AdSense-safe publishing. Generic proposals will be ignored. Scope of Work – ARTICLES & CONTENT SYSTEM ONLY 1. Article Structure & Templates You will configure article templates that follow modern (2026) news standards: Clean, readable article layout (mobile-first) Clear single publish date/time Optional “Updated on” handling (no abuse) Visible author byline Featured image standards (correct aspect ratio) Proper internal linking support Structured data: Article / NewsArticle schema datePublished and dateModified correctly implemented Author (Person) schema connected to posts 2. Author & Editorial System Author profiles with: Name Bio Author archive page Ability to assign authors to articles cleanly Editorial clarity (human-reviewed content) AI usage: Articles may use AI-assisted summaries, but: No auto-publish No spinning Human final edits required Clear internal workflow supporting this 3. RSS → Draft Workflow (Google-Safe) I will be sourcing content via RSS feeds. You must configure: RSS feeds importing only into Draft / Pending Review No automatic publishing Source allowlist (approved feeds only) Post/day limits Duplicate title detection Category-based limits if needed You must explain which plugin(s) you will use and why. 4. Content Quality Guardrails To avoid spam and policy issues: Minimum content length enforcement (after human edit) Ability to manually reject or rewrite drafts No thin, empty, or placeholder articles published Clear separation between: Draft Pending Review Published 5. Categories & Taxonomy (Article-Focused) 15 main categories (I provide list) Categories indexable Tag usage kept minimal or noindex Clean URLs (no dates in URL) 6. Google News–Ready Setup (Article Side Only) News-friendly article URLs News sitemap support (48-hour rolling window) Proper handling of freshness and updates No misleading timestamps 7. Monetization Readiness (Article Pages Only) AdSense is already approved. You will ensure: Article layouts support: In-article ad placement after X paragraphs Sidebar ad support No ads on: Drafts Thin content Error pages Ability to disable ads per article if needed (Actual ad code placement will be provided by me.) What This Project Is NOT Not an AI autoblog Not mass auto-publishing Not spinning or scraping Not SEO hacks or shortcuts This site must survive Google News, AdSense, and core updates. Your Proposal MUST Include (Required) Proposals that do not include the following will not be considered: Your real experience with news or publisher websites Examples (URLs or descriptions) Your role (builder, editor, SEO, etc.) Your proposed article workflow RSS → draft → review → publish Plugins you would use How you prevent low-quality output How you handle Google News & AdSense safety Dates Authors AI usage Editorial control Exact plugins/tools you plan to use Free vs paid (licenses if needed) Why you are the right fit for a news site (not a blog) Generic copy-paste proposals will be rejected immediately. Performance & Monetization Optimization This section is not required for initial selection, but candidates with proven experience in news-site performance and AdSense optimization may be considered for this phase after Phase 1 is completed successfully. A. Performance Optimization (News + Ads Focused) The site must remain fast with ads enabled. Requirements: Optimize for Core Web Vitals on article pages: LCP, CLS, INP within Google’s “Good” thresholds Mobile-first performance tuning Lazy loading for: Images In-article ads Image optimization (WebP or equivalent) Minimal plugin footprint (each plugin must be justified) CDN-ready configuration (Cloudflare-compatible) Deliverable: Article pages that remain stable and readable during ad load No layout shift caused by ads (CLS control) B. AdSense Policy Safety & Revenue Protection Ad placement aligned with AdSense policies (especially mobile) No ads on: Thin content Error pages Non-content system pages Ability to: Disable ads per article Exclude ads from specific categories Ad density tuned for news content (not aggressive) C. Ad Layout Testing & Optimization Support for: In-article ad placement after X paragraphs Sticky sidebar ads (desktop only) Layout designed to: Maximize viewability Preserve user experience No intrusive or deceptive placements (Optional but preferred) A/B testing capability for article layouts or ad positions D. Analytics & Measurement (Monetization-Focused) GA4 properly configured Event tracking for: Scroll depth Time on article Engagement signals Optional: Ad viewability tracking Page-level RPM analysis E. Long-Term Monetization Readiness Structure suitable for: Programmatic ads (future) Direct ad placements (future) Clean separation between editorial and ads No shortcuts that risk AdSense or Google News standing This is a serious relaunch of an aged domain with existing approvals. I’m looking for one skilled professional, not an agency blast. If you understand how modern news sites work in 2026, I want to hear from you.

Project ID: 40214992