Fragmented Tech Stack
Colleges and departments each built on a different framework. Legacy tooling stitched multiple systems together, raising maintenance overhead and slowing every update.
CASE STUDY
Unifying a Fragmented Web Estate into One Design System
How 40Q adapted Northeastern University’s own UI framework into a block-based WordPress theme, so communications teams can launch brand-consistent campaigns in minutes.
A Patchwork of Frameworks, Slowing Every Launch
Northeastern enrolls more than 15,000 students across its Boston campus and satellite campuses around the US. Its digital operation was not keeping pace with that footprint.
Slow Campaign Launches
Communications managers struggled to spin up the landing pages and microsites that new programs and events needed, so campaigns waited on engineering.
Brand Inconsistency
Disparate technologies made it hard to keep a cohesive brand identity across the School’s digital footprint.
Scattered Hosting
Sites ran across several hosting providers, fragmenting support and creating excessive overhead for a team whose job was communication, not infrastructure.
Business Impact
These were not only engineering problems. They limited Northeastern’s ability to reach prospective students on time, hold one brand voice across the university, and let a small internal team operate at the scale of a 15,000-student institution.
The Solution
40Q adapted Northeastern’s own UI framework into WordPress, then worked as an extension of the internal team to put it to work across the School’s sites.
Design System
Framework Adaptation
kernl, rebuilt as a WordPress theme
Northeastern’s UI framework, kernl, was the result of years of internal work and included layers covering accessibility, plugin management and search. We adapted it into a WordPress theme without losing any of them.
Block & Component Architecture
Atomic pieces the comms team can assemble
We built a block-and-component-based theme on Advanced Custom Fields and Blade templating, so stakeholders compose pages from governed components instead of filing engineering tickets.
Modern Front End
Sage 10, Tailwind and AlpineJS
We built on Sage 10 from the Roots project, one of the most popular open-source PHP projects, which we have used and supported since 2014. Tailwind and AlpineJS handle the front end.
Campaign Sites
Program Campaigns
Landing pages and microsites on demand
With the system in place, communications managers spin up campaign sites for new programs and events themselves, and every one of them comes out following Northeastern’s brand system.
Consolidated Hosting
One stack, one provider, one support line
The new sites moved onto a single hosting provider, replacing scattered solutions with lower costs and centralized customer support.
Built for Speed and Consistency
One design system, one stack and one provider, giving a small internal team the reach of a much larger one.
Faster Releases
After the theme implementation, the time to release new websites and campaigns dropped. Reusable components replaced bespoke builds.
Content Autonomy
Northeastern’s stakeholders manage their own content through a flexible, atomic toolset, without waiting on engineering for routine changes.
One Brand, Everywhere
A shared component library and design language means every digital asset looks and feels like Northeastern Law.
Accessibility Built In
kernl’s accessibility layer carried over into the WordPress theme, so compliance is a property of the components rather than a per-project checklist.
Better Search Performance
Site performance improved, which lifted SEO positioning and brought more lead conversions from prospective students.
Lower Operating Cost
Consolidating onto a single WordPress stack and a single hosting provider reduced maintenance costs and centralized support.
“With 40Q, I was able to find a talented partner to help me deal with complex coding challenges while proactively proposing new solutions to make my agency project delightful.”
Tim Albert
Director of Digital Strategy, Northeastern University School of Law
Looking for a Web Partner for Your University?
Northeastern Law now runs on one design system, one stack and one hosting provider. Let’s talk about what that would look like on your campus.
