tufts_jumbopress
Tufts JumboPress
Tufts runs its departments' sites on one WordPress platform. We audited it, built a new theme for upcoming sites, and today we keep solving what the audit found in the existing ones.
- My role
- Architect and tech lead, author of the audits.
- Stack
- WordPress, Gutenberg
(enlarge) The starting point
In January 2025, the university looked for a partner to define how to renew JumboPress. There were dozens of sites, edited by the departments themselves, and the page builder they were built on held back any evolution. The first request wasn't to build, but to come up with a strategy.
What we did
Understanding before proposing
For five weeks we audited the front end, accessibility, infrastructure, plugins, and custom code, and tested conversions on real pages.
Why a single block theme?
Adding skins to the classic theme didn't solve the dependency on the builder, and several themes would multiply maintenance. I proposed just one, with a limited editing layer and the blocks inside it, to avoid version mismatches.
(enlarge) From recommendation to real scope
The audit recommended modernizing the whole network. A narrower path was chosen: JumboPress 3.0 for new sites, while the rest kept running. Three sites use it today.
(enlarge) Publish once, reach everyone
I designed the deployment around a shared origin, separate from the legacy code. Sites take the code from there, and the final step to production stays in the hands of Tufts' team.
(enlarge) By the numbers
- 5 weeks of auditing
- 3 public sites on the new theme