barb dybwad : portfolio

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|-- # LIST POST
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|---- A new structured data page type in WordPress

In order to meet ambitious production goals for an entire new family of sites, I worked with the publisher's Engineering team to develop and build an entirely new high-volume content publishing process via custom automation. We had to accommodate the reality of asynchronous completion of page elements including dozens of pieces of microcopy, imagery, structured product data, and last-minute substitutions based on real-time product stock information in batches of 50, 100, or 200 posts per production run.

This new method utilized Google Sheets as both workflow tool and primary repository of microcopy elements. Additional components included: The custom automation process assembled the main post structure via Sheets API, header images and main copy from Dropbox, and product imagery via Amazon PAAPI 5.0 -- rendering a batch of 50-200 new posts via the WordPress API instantly and logging the results back to a new tab in the Google Sheet, including any errors in need of manual post-production. This method enabled a large team of distributed contributors in disparate geographical locations to contribute asynchronously and efficiently on multiple batches of content in various stages of development. Whenever a new tranch of keywords was validated, production could begin immediately at scale.

|---- Google Sheets as content repository and batch workflow tool:



To adhere to a set of strict structured data requirements for the content to be delivered via RSS feed to third-party partners, we created a new WordPress page type dubbed List Post that allowed contributors to view and edit posts while preserving the underlying content structure. This gave us the best of both worlds, with a rapid automation method for producing fresh content at high volumes, while still preserving the traditional editorial workflow for post-processing and subsequent content revisions that writers, copyeditors, and other publishing staff were used to.

|---- WordPress List Post UI: