Our Approach

Understanding the behavior of Sri Lankan news readers was key. Most preferred straightforward layouts, familiar formats, and fast-loading pages. With this insight, we designed a website that combined classic news site architecture with modern performance optimization.

Design Strategy

• Traditional News Layout: We followed the structure of well-known global and local news websites. The homepage features clear news categories, a prominent headline section, and an easy scroll-through layout.

• Sinhala-Font Compatibility: We carefully selected Sinhala fonts optimized for readability across devices, ensuring that the language display remained clean and professional.

• Breaking News Bar: A real-time ticker displays the latest updates, mimicking the urgency of television news broadcasts.

• Category-Based Navigation: Readers can easily explore news under Politics, Sports, Business, Entertainment, and more.

Technical Highlights

• CMS: We used WordPress as the core CMS, enhanced with custom modules for faster story publishing and better control over article visibility.

• Speed Optimization: Lazy loading, CDN integration, and compressed assets help reduce page load time, even during high-traffic periods.

• Mobile Optimization: The platform was developed mobile-first, considering that a majority of the audience accesses news via smartphones.

• SEO & Social Integration: Articles are optimized for search engines and include meta-ready sharing features for social media platforms.

Outcome

Ninenews.lk was successfully launched as a trusted, fast-loading Sinhala news portal. Its familiar interface and real-time news updates have made it a go-to source for many Sri Lankans looking for credible information in their native language.