Labrador CMS helps passion take the spotlight

Martijn Tulp, Head of online operations at WINQ, is sharing that partnering with Labrador CMS has been a breeze compared to their former CMS system. Its simple design and ‘what you see is what you get’ features have enabled WINQ to save on development costs and reduce publishing time. 

Easy to manage CMS

Our conversation with Martijn Tulp shed light on WINQ's unique journey, a queer publication in the Netherlands. When we asked Martijn about his experience with Labrador CMS, he told us enthusiastically:

“We’re very happy with how things have worked out. It’s nice to see that a lot of things we want to do with the website, we can do in the CMS ourselves”

Less compromise, more passion

For a niche queer publication like WINQ, content is king. Martijn noted how Labrador has empowered their team to focus on what matters most.

“While it’s nice to work with a website that is created especially for you, there are also limitations. Anytime anything needs to be changed or updated you are always dependent on a developer of the company that has made this website for you, whereas if you work with a company that maintains several websites then it’s more likely that another customer will have already asked for a certain feature.”

Martijn continues, “Working with Labrador CMS is definitely easier than our old CMS system. The page that you’re working in, that’s basically what the article is going to look like in the end. That’s a really great feature because it saves a lot of time.”

Critical for magazines

Saving time helps passion take the spotlight, and in this case, the work that WINQ does as a queer publication is culture-shifting and impacts lives in a real way.

“We are sometimes able to help people on an individual basis. We’ve done several portrait series’ where we interview refugees that come to the Netherlands and they are finding it hard to prove that they’re gay and that they have a right to get asylum based on their homosexuality”.

Online representation is critical for magazines, as it should closely mimic the physical experience. Martijn pointed out that while having a custom-made setup is cool, it comes with limitations. 

Comprehensive, not confusing

CMS systems have evolved into powerful tools for modern publications. Martijn Tulp humorously admitted he's “not really the IT guy at the office,” but was quick to praise how Labrador CMS's features are both extensive and user-friendly.

Martijn also mentioned how Labrador CMS has given them the freedom to experiment without constant developer consultations. “We’re able to customize a lot of the stuff without having to consult a developer. It saves money but also it’s nice to be able to understand how a backend works and how to incorporate something to your liking.”

When asked about the migration process, Martijn noted that from the initial meeting to the launch of the site, it took about six months, He added, “The last phase was the quickest, just importing all of our old content and starting to use the new website and training people to write articles on it took two to three weeks.”

What you see is what you get

Discussing Labrador CMS's features, Martijn had praise to share, “One thing we all really appreciate from the Labrador backend is that when you create an article it’s possible to immediately view the mobile view of an article. Over 60% of our visitors view WINQ through a mobile device.”

Martijn highlighted how this feature makes life easier compared to their previous CMS, “With our old system we would have to create an article, save our changes, then go to a mobile phone and go to the URL and see what it looked like. With Labrador, there’s a window on the left side where we can see all the changes and how it would look on mobile.”

Taking niche publishing to a new level

When asked if he'd recommend Labrador CMS to other niche publications, Martijn didn't hesitate. He was quick to mention the endless customization features that make even the smaller publications appear larger.

“I would definitely recommend Labrador even if you’re a niche publication. I think there’s a lot of expertise and customization options. For titles that aren’t part of a huge publishing house with dozens of other titles, there are a lot of features in Labrador you can use that make it look like you are part of a very big organisation, that’s something that we’re very happy with.”