For independent news
Own your publication. Have someone technical behind you.
IT for UK independent news publishers, from solo writers leaving Substack to established newsrooms. WordPress and custom sites, newsletters and memberships, with the maintenance and support to keep publishing.
Why OpsHelp
The technical side of independent publishing.
A setup that fits how you report, publish and reach readers, with someone responsible for keeping it working.
More control over your publication
Your domain, content and reader records should be portable. We build on WordPress or a custom setup you can take with you, with clear ownership of accounts and a documented route to move again.
Built around newsroom needs
Editorial access, traffic spikes, backups and reader payments all need attention. We work through your setup and risks, then agree what needs hardening, monitoring and a recovery plan.
A named human who answers
Work with someone who knows your setup. We agree what support covers, when it is available and how urgent problems are escalated, so you know who to contact and what to expect.
What it costs
A project to move. A plan to maintain.
We quote the initial work separately from ongoing care. The archive, audience, payment setup and support needs determine the scope.
Build or migrate
A new publication, or a planned move from Substack or your existing site.
- WordPress or a custom publishing site
- Archive and media import scoped up front
- Newsletter and membership requirements agreed
- Redirects and reader journeys tested
- Rehearsal, launch plan and handover
Ongoing care
Maintenance and support sized for your site, traffic and publishing workflow.
- Hosting and maintenance scope agreed
- Updates and compatibility checks
- Backup schedule and restore checks
- Monitoring with agreed escalation
- Support hours and included work in writing
Security and resilience
Additional work for sensitive reporting, targeted attacks or complex infrastructure.
- Risk and access review
- Site and infrastructure hardening
- Recovery planning and rehearsals
- Source-intake requirements assessed
- Response cover agreed before an incident
Your quote sets out the deliverables, launch checks, included support and payment terms. Migration, custom development and specialist security work are separately costed; they are not bundled into a basic hosting fee.
Email delivery, payment processing, domains and software licences are identified in the quote, including what is paid to a third party. Out-of-hours response and specialist source intake need an explicit agreement.
For standard services, see our WordPress care plans and website build options. A publishing migration is quoted on its own requirements.
What we work through
Four parts of the publication to get right.
We plan the whole reader journey, from finding an article to receiving the newsletter and managing a subscription.
Publishing and the archive
Editors, authors, existing articles, images, search and redirects. We identify what must be preserved and what needs rebuilding before the move.
Newsletters and readers
A sending service, authentication, subscriber preferences and delivery tests. Email volume and provider charges belong in the running costs.
Memberships and payments
Paid access, renewals, cancellations and existing subscriptions need a tested plan. Payment portability depends on the provider and the membership system.
Ownership and recovery
Account ownership, exports, backups and a documented handover. Your own domain improves portability; hosting, email and payment providers still have their own terms.
From clients in this space
What the people we actually look after say
OpsHelp hosted the server for our independent news outlet, which regularly attracted 1,000s of concurrent users and required significant server bandwidth and regular maintenance, and they did an exceptional job. Whenever we had any slight problem, they would be easily contactable within minutes and always rectified the issues promptly. OpsHelp are extremely professional and personable, and they always go above and beyond to help out. I could not recommend their services highly enough.
Managing a high-traffic media platform requires an infrastructure partner you can trust. OpsHelp has been that partner for us. They handle our server management, optimisation, and security with incredible responsiveness, allowing our editorial team to focus on content without worrying about downtime. Highly recommended for anyone needing serious reliable hosting.
Resources
Practical guides for independent publishers.
Practical, plain-English, free. No email wall.
Security guide for independent journalists
Protecting yourself, your sources and your site when people would rather you didn't publish.
Read the guideLeaving Substack: a migration guide
Plan a move to WordPress or a custom site, including your archive, newsletters, memberships and redirects.
Read the guideOne question
What’s worrying you about your publication’s tech?
Tell us your public site address, what needs changing and any deadline. For a migration, approximate post and subscriber counts help us scope the work.
This is a business enquiry form, not a secure source channel. Please leave out passwords, subscriber exports and confidential reporting material.