Crowd Favorite, Pagely, and Patchstack Deliver a Complete Enterprise WordPress Solution for One of the World’s Largest Media Brands
Global enterprise brands operate across multiple business units, each serving distinct audiences with unique content, workflows, and technology requirements. However, these divisions share a common challenge: the need for scalable, centralized platforms that streamline editorial processes, unify content distribution, and enhance operational efficiency. Managing this complexity demands more than a brochureware website, it requires a dynamic foundation that scales with and meets the business needs.
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The Challenge: Unifying a Fragmented Press Platform
In 2014, Crowd Favorite built a custom WordPress-powered press platform for one of the world’s largest media/entertainment companies, serving as the central hub for its US Television and Entertainment Press Division. The solution was, and continues to be, an essential resource, delivering critical media assets, TV show information, and promotional content to over 8,000 press members worldwide.
The success of this platform led the company’s Global Content Licensing and Syndication (GCLS) division to seek a similar solution. They wanted to piggyback on the same system built for the US Press team, but expanding it globally introduced new challenges. Each international market had unique content needs, localized workflows, and varying distribution rights, requiring a platform that could adapt dynamically across regions. Additionally, the sheer volume of media assets, including promotional materials, licensing agreements, and localized content, was far beyond what WordPress alone could efficiently handle. To overcome these complexities, GCLS turned to Crowd Favorite in 2016 to architect a solution capable of managing global-scale content distribution while maintaining the flexibility and efficiency of the original press platform.
Crowd Favorite Solution: WordPress + Laravel
With deep expertise in enterprise WordPress and complex content ecosystems, Crowd Favorite led the strategy and technical architecture. We understood that true success required more than an off-the-shelf CMS upgrade. We knew that GCLS needed a scalable, adaptable digital architecture built for long-term success. With this vision, we partnered with Pagely and Patchstack to design a Composable WordPress + Laravel solution.
Enterprise-Grade Performance & Future Proofing
Crowd Favorite’s solution was to design a groundbreaking custom multisite architecture for GCLS that integrated Laravel as a CMS component within WordPress, an innovative, forward-thinking approach that was rare in 2016 and remains highly sophisticated and unparalleled even today. This new architecture was built with a host of features tailored for enterprise-level functionality, including:
- Custom Laravel powered database – served content dynamically, managing up to 57 attached permissions per image based on market, licensing, and distribution rules..
- Single source of truth across multiple sites – reducing editorial workload and eliminating redundant content entry.
- Scalability optimization – ensuring stability and scalability during high-traffic events.
- Custom built workflows – enabled an 8x increase in editorial velocity, allowing a small team to efficiently manage a global network of brands.
The upgraded and optimized infrastructure provided GCLS with a scalable, composable system capable of high-performance enterprise-grade publishing and built with a future-proof agility that still stands the test of time.
Scalable Content Management
GCLS needed a content management solution purpose-built for enterprise-grade scalability. The system would have to handle large volumes of content across multiple sites and be able to expand without running into bottlenecks.
To create a scalable content management workflow, we developed a system of modular content components which could be shared, adapted, or restricted across multiple different sites. This new composable system allowed them to rapidly publish, modify, and repurpose content at scale, providing greater agility while ensuring content governance.
Alongside the modular workflow, our solution involved crucial features to streamline the process of managing their high volume of content:
- Custom search functionality – allowing faster queries for millions of assets across multiple sites.
- Custom editorial interface – for updating existing content and acting as a centralized dashboard and single source of truth.
- High performance Digital Asset Management (DAM) system – providing a powerful system capable of managing over 14 million digital assets.
Equipped with a composable workflow alongside a centralized editorial interface and enhanced DAM capabilities, GCLS are able to easily expand and scale their content creation and delivery, adapting and evolving as their business grows.
Consistent Editorial Workflows
However, GCLS wanted to ensure a seamless transition for their teams. They were particularly concerned about disrupting content management processes with a new and unfamiliar workflow.
Crowd Favorite addressed this issue by developing a Laravel-powered API layer that integrated seamlessly into WordPress. The integration ensured that crucial site management and content updates remained within WordPress’s familiar, intuitive editing interface. This simplicity was maintained despite complex infrastructure changes behind the scenes.
Pagely: Enterprise-Grade Hosting for Performance and Scalability
To handle the massive content repository and traffic spike demands of GCLS, Pagely provided an enterprise-class WordPress hosting solution. This solution was custom-designed for scalability, reliability, and efficiency—that can grow and adapt alongside GCLS.
Custom-Tailored Infrastructure
- Pagely’s approach was all about optimization. Three dedicated cache nodes were strategically deployed to optimize traffic routing, ensuring smooth delivery even during peak times.
- Recognizing the distinct needs of different parts of the platform, Pagely created separate environments for WordPress and Laravel. This isolation allows each system to perform at its best, preventing resource conflicts and bottlenecks. To further ensure a seamless dev cycle, three fully isolated server environments were established for Staging, Production, and Development, ensuring a smooth development process by allowing developers to work without affecting the live site.
Performance & Modernization Enhancements
- Pagely’s efforts extended beyond simply setting up servers. They focused on optimizing the entire system. A key initiative was upgrading to PHP 8.1, along with staying current with WordPress updates in order to boost performance and harden security. Ubuntu also saw a significant upgrade from 16.04 to 20.04, bringing further performance gains and access to the latest features.
- Understanding the dynamic nature of GCLS, Pagely also implemented application and database changes to seamlessly support multiple rebranding efforts, an important requirement for media outlets.
- To proactively address potential issues, Pagely integrated real-time monitoring. This system constantly tracks key metrics like error rates, downtime, and server health, allowing them to identify and resolve performance bottlenecks before they impact users.
Reliability During High Traffic Events
- The true test of a hosting solution is how it performs under pressure. For GCLS, that means handling the traffic surges that accompany major show launches and red-carpet events. Pagely’s infrastructure was built with these peak moments in mind. It’s engineered to ensure zero downtime, meaning GCLS can confidently handle even the most demanding traffic spikes without missing a beat.
With Pagely’s hosting expertise, GCLS now operates on a high performance infrastructure without performance limitations.
Patchstack: Enterprise-Grade Security and Proactive Vulnerability Management
With millions of assets and thousands of global press members accessing the platform, security without sacrificing speed was paramount. Patchstack ensured proactive security monitoring and vulnerability management, reducing the risk of breaches or exploits.
Real-Time Threat Detection & Patch Prioritization
- Patchstack integrates directly with Pagely, providing real-time alerts on plugin vulnerabilities across all GCLS sites. Its #1 ranked vulnerability database allows Patchstack to immediately detect security risks and prioritize any threats that need immediate attention.
Proactive Security Patching & Developer Collaboration
- Pagely and Crowd Favorite developers receive instant notifications of vulnerabilities, so they can perform immediate updates to critical plugins before exploits can occur.
- At the same time, the Pagely team has direct access to Patchstack’s security team, allowing for fast response and mitigation of emerging threats.
Ongoing Security Compliance for Enterprise Needs
- Patchstack ensures continuous vulnerability management compliance with Disney’s enterprise security standards, allowing GCLS to pass third-party security audits with confidence.
- With Patchstack’s security intelligence, GCLS remains fortified against evolving cyber threats, ensuring content integrity, data protection, and continuous uptime.
Key Results
10+
Years of ROI
Continuous platform evolution without major rebuilds.
8x
Increase in Editorial Velocity
Faster time-to-market for show launches and press updates.
14+
Million Assets Managed
Scalable asset storage and retrieval
10x
Reduction in Maintained Assets
Streamlined digital asset management
Zero
Downtime for Major Events
Optimized infrastructure supporting high-traffic press moments.
24/7
Monitoring & Compliance
Continuous monitoring, real-time vulnerability alerts, and proactive security patching.
The Power of a Unified Enterprise WordPress Approach
This digital transformation is a testament to the power of strategic collaboration, where enterprise WordPress expertise, high-performance hosting, and proactive security come together. Through the combined efforts of Crowd Favorite, Pagely, and Patchstack, we transformed a fragmented, outdated system into a modern, composable enterprise platform, ensuring operations remain efficient, scalable, and secure for years to come.
Interested in Scaling Your Enterprise WordPress Solution?
Contact us today to learn how Crowd Favorite, Pagely, and Patchstack can build a custom enterprise WordPress solution tailored to your needs.
