Why Publishing Needs Better Tech – and Why You Don’t Need to Start from Scratch
Asa Carrington, CEO of Decoded Labs, explains how diagnosing and fixing existing tech—not rebuilding from scratch—can deliver major results for publishers.
Digital publishing is evolving quickly yet much of it runs on outdated infrastructure—many publishers rely on websites built years ago, now held together by plugins, clunky code and temporary fixes. The result is slower performance, higher maintenance costs, and lost revenue from downtime and technical debt.
It’s not that publishers aren’t aware of the issues. They are. But the perceived cost—both financial and operational—of addressing them often feels too high. Teams do their best with the tools available. Things still work, mostly. But there’s a constant background friction: delays, recurring errors, and growing uncertainty about where the real problems lie.
The idea of starting again with a new development agency or platform is daunting. The risk of losing embedded knowledge—whether from contractors or internal teams—is real. Yet in most cases, the better route isn’t to rebuild. It’s to fix what already exists.
This is where a different approach is needed—one that begins not with a rebuild, but with a proper diagnosis. Often, the solution lies in understanding what’s wrong and identifying where targeted changes can have the biggest impact.
Most Publishers Don’t Need a New Team. They Need a Diagnosis.
Most technical problems are fixable. What’s usually missing is a clear, objective view of what’s actually going wrong. Is the site slow because of bloated code? Are integrations failing due to configuration errors? Is your CMS being stretched beyond its limits? Are Google rankings suffering because of performance issues?
Too often, publishers react in frustration—making expensive changes that don’t address the underlying issues and sometimes introduce new ones. I’ve seen code from forums or AI tools pasted directly into live systems without understanding the risks. In some cases, this code leaks data or creates vulnerabilities.
I’ve also seen production databases wiped accidentally due to missing audit trails or approval steps—something that’s happened more than once. These are avoidable problems, but only if the right checks are in place.
Automation Can Do More Than You Think
One of the most overlooked areas in publishing is automation—not in the AI sense, but in routine operations.
The most efficient publishers aren’t necessarily the ones with the most attractive websites. They’re the ones who’ve automated processes. They can publish updates quickly, monitor for broken links automatically, and integrate analytics directly into their workflow.
If you’re still managing content across disconnected systems, or manually compiling reports from scattered tools, you’re not just wasting time—you’re introducing risk. Automation isn’t about reducing headcount. It’s about freeing staff to focus on high-value work.
Technical audits don’t just flag security gaps. They often reveal where automation could streamline workflows, reduce manual errors, and improve consistency across the board.
The Cost of a Slow System
Slow systems don’t just frustrate users. They damage search rankings, reduce ad revenue, and erode trust—both from readers and from internal teams. When people don’t trust the systems they rely on, productivity drops.
I recently worked with a publisher whose mobile site had an average load time of 4.8 seconds. They were losing readers without realising it. We didn’t rebuild their site. We compressed images, reconfigured third-party scripts, improved caching, and swapped out two heavy plugins. We also helped implement a basic deployment pipeline.
The results? Load time dropped under two seconds. Bounce rate fell 20%. Revenue rose. And all of this was achieved using the existing offshore dev team—people who were capable but lacked time and a clear brief to tackle the core issues.
This kind of disconnect between dev teams and editorial priorities is common. Bridging that gap is critical.
Why It Matters Now
Publishing is under pressure. Revenue models are shifting. Audiences are fragmented. AI is changing how content is produced and consumed. In this environment, publishers need systems that are flexible, responsive, and reliable—without needing to overhaul everything they’ve built.
A complete rebuild isn’t always the right answer. What’s needed is a clear, informed view of what’s broken, why it matters, and what can be done with the tools already in place.
Start there. Your revenue will thank you.
Asa Carrington, CEO, Decoded Labs
Decoded Labs is founded by two former publishing CTOs who work closely with media teams to improve platform performance and resilience. If your site is fragile, slow, struggling under increasing AI complexity or struggling with fragmented development teams, Decoded identifies the underlying issues and works with your existing team to help deliver long-term platform and business stability—whether it's integrations, AI tooling, or platform scaling. Contact them here.
