Specht Newspapers, Inc. is upgrading the server infrastructure supporting its suite of popular local news and media websites, including press-herald.com, bossierpress.com, bizmagsb.com, and websterprinting.net. The migration, which may cause intermittent or extended outages over the coming days, will provide enhanced performance and capacity to handle the growing traffic these websites have been experiencing.
“We have been fighting performance issues for nearly a year,” said David Specht, president of Specht Newspapers, Inc. “Once we exhausted all the tools and help our service provider could offer, it became clear that our current server, in use since 2020, just couldn’t handle the growth and traffic we’ve seen over the past several months.”
The websites, which together serve almost 500,000 unique visitors monthly, have become an essential source of news, information, and services for the region. As visitors increasingly return to the sites multiple times throughout the month, Specht Newspapers, Inc. recognized the need for an infrastructure upgrade to maintain user experience.
Enhanced Performance and New Features
The server migration promises several key benefits for users, including significantly faster load times. “People don’t expect to wait several seconds for a website to load, and we don’t blame them,” Specht noted. “With this upgrade, sites should load in less than one second, depending on internet speed.”
In addition to improving site performance, the upgrade will allow Specht Newspapers, Inc. to incorporate new interactive features, including video content, contests, and webinars that aim to further engage users.
Migration Timeline and Updates
Due to the size of the websites, the migration process is expected to take several days. Specht emphasized that they will be doing everything possible to minimize the impact on users. “We will update the progress via our social media channels and aim to keep outages during lower-traffic times like nights and weekends.”
In the event of extended outages, Specht Newspapers, Inc. plans to post breaking news directly to their social media platforms to keep the community informed.
A Step Forward for Specht Newspapers, Inc.
“This is a great problem to have,” Specht said of the traffic growth. “But we are committed to giving our users the very best experience possible, and this upgrade is a major step toward that goal.”
For updates on the migration process and any potential service disruptions, please follow Minden Press-Herald, Bossier Press-Tribune, and BIZ Magazine on social media.