The newspaper website builder that builds it for you.
Pick a publisher design, or bring your own. Our team builds your news site on WordPress, adds your paywall, newsletter and e-edition, then hosts it and keeps it running. Most sites go live in 30 days or less.
Built for how newspapers work.
Designs made for news
Fast publisher themes with sections, bylines and homepages that handle a daily flow of stories.
Revenue from day one
Your paywall, newsletters, ads, obituaries and public notices come built in, not bolted on later.
People, not a ticket queue
A team that knows your publication sets it up, moves your archive and answers when you need help.
Every managed plan includes design, setup and hosting. See plans.
Why a general website builder isn’t enough.
Drag-and-drop builders and AI site makers can put up a nice homepage in an afternoon. A newspaper needs more than that. You need a paywall that knows who has paid, a way to sell print and digital subscriptions, newsletters that bring readers back, and places to sell ads, obituaries and legal notices.
Bolting those on later usually means a stack of plugins and services that don’t talk to each other, plus a developer on call when something breaks on deadline. And a homepage template doesn’t migrate twenty years of archives for you.
PaywallProject starts from the other end. We build on WordPress, the platform behind a large share of the web, and include the tools a newsroom earns money with. Then we host the site and keep it running, so your staff can get back to reporting.
What you get
A complete news site, not just a homepage.
Design
Publisher themes, with your branding.
Choose one of our publisher designs at no extra cost, from a classic broadsheet to a digital-first layout. Or bring your own design and our team will match it.
- Templates at no extra cost
- Our team can match any design
- We apply your branding and get your site live
Subscriptions
A paywall and checkout, ready on launch day.
A free registration wall grows your email list, and a metered paywall turns regular readers into paying subscribers. Checkout takes card, Apple Pay and Google Pay.
- Registration wall, then the paywall
- Payments straight to your own Stripe account
- Print, digital and bundled plans
Newsletters
Newsletters from your stories.
Newsletter Glue builds and sends newsletters right inside WordPress. Every issue brings readers back to your site, and FastPass signs them in with one tap.
- No copying and pasting into another tool
- AI that drafts each issue from your latest stories
- One-tap sign-in with FastPass on Daily and Regional
Revenue
Ads, obituaries and notices, paid online.
Sell your own ads with AdsGlue and keep 100% of the revenue. Families submit and pay for obituaries with ObitPress. Attorneys and agencies file public notices with NoticePress.
- AdsGlue, included in every managed plan
- ObitPress obituaries, priced by length
- NoticePress public notices, paid by card
Trusted by 100+ local publishers
How the build works.
1. Plan. We talk through your sections, your print schedule and how you sell subscriptions today. You pick a design or send us yours.
2. Build and move. We set up the site, apply your branding and migrate your content. Whatever your current CMS, including BLOX and Drupal, we can move it into WordPress. Read our migration guide for what that involves.
3. Launch. Setup takes 30 days or less on managed plans, and that build time is included in your first month. There’s no setup fee.
4. Run. We host the site with BigScoots, which checks it every 60 seconds, and handle updates and support. On Regional you also get your own iOS and Android apps.
Comparing platforms? See how we compare with Newspack, Ghost and others on our compare page, or read our newspaper CMS comparison.
What a newspaper website needs on day one.
Before you pick a builder, list what your site has to do. For most local papers, the list looks like this.
Publish fast on deadline. Reporters need to post, update and fix stories without waiting on anyone. WordPress gives every editor a familiar writing screen.
Grow an email list. A free registration wall turns anonymous visitors into readers you can reach again. Our post on designing a newspaper website that grows revenue explains why this matters more than fonts and colors.
Sell subscriptions. Print, digital and bundled plans, with a checkout that takes card, Apple Pay and Google Pay, and a mailing list export for your printer.
Serve print readers. A flip-through e-edition so subscribers can read the paper on any device.
Earn from more than subscriptions. Your own ad zones, paid obituaries and paid public notices bring in money that doesn’t depend on a third party.
Stay up. Election night and storm coverage bring traffic spikes. Your host needs to handle them and catch problems before readers do.
Every item on that list comes standard on our managed plans: Community at $299/mo, Daily at $599/mo and Regional at $999/mo.
“A relief to have every technical aspect of our site covered. Finally, we can spend our time writing as our subscriber base grows.”
Gary Kopycinski · Publisher, News Park Forest
Questions publishers ask
What is the best website builder for a newspaper?
The best choice is one built for news, not just for pages. Look for a paywall, subscriptions, newsletters and ad tools that work together, plus fast hosting and a team that can migrate your archive. PaywallProject includes all of these and runs them for you.
Can I build a newspaper website on WordPress?
Yes. WordPress is a common choice for news sites. PaywallProject builds on WordPress and adds the publisher tools, hosting and support, so you don’t have to assemble plugins yourself.
How long does it take to build a newspaper website?
On our managed plans, 30 days or less, and the build time is included in your first month.
How much does a newspaper website cost?
Our managed plans are $299/mo (Community), $599/mo (Daily) and $999/mo (Regional). Each includes design, hosting and your paywall, with no setup fee and no revenue share. See pricing.
Can you move our site from BLOX or another CMS?
Yes. Whatever your current CMS, we can move your site into WordPress. Contact us for an estimate.
Can I keep my own domain and design?
Yes. Your site stays on your own domain. You can pick one of our publisher designs at no extra cost, or bring your own design and our team will match it and apply your branding. Either way, you own your content and your subscriber list, and you can change your design later without starting over.
Do I need to hire a developer?
Not on Community, Daily or Regional. We manage every part of your website and paywall. For a highly custom feature, our development team will give you a free estimate.
Ready for a site that earns its keep?
Talk to a real person about your paper, your design and your move.