Beautiful, Editorial-Style News & Commentary Website

We’re seeking a highly skilled designer/developer (ideally a small studio or experienced individual) to deliver a visually stunning, editorial-style content website. The platform will publish multiple articles daily and needs to combine aesthetic sophistication with functional simplicity—for both readers and admin users.

This is a design-first project. Please do not apply if you're planning to deliver a templated, generic solution. We want something that looks and feels bespoke, refined, and built to last.

Key Requirements:

1. Timeline

Start immediately
Must be delivered within 72 hours of project being awarded
We will handle hosting, but you must deploy it to a server of our choosing

2. Design

Strong editorial sensibility (think The New Yorker, Monocle, Kinfolk, etc.)
Clean, modern typography
Responsive layout across all devices
Hero article/images layout at the top, with a customizable editorial feed below
Must include:
Featured/lead stories section
Grid or list layout for latest articles
Sticky or floating header with nav
Article pages with bold titles, featured images, body content, and space for monetizable CTAs

3. Functionality

Built on WordPress or another CMS only if admin UX is genuinely simple
Admin panel should:
Allow us to easily post/edit/delete articles
Set lead or featured articles manually
Add hyperlinks and call-to-action buttons at the bottom of articles
Must support:
Email registration (with a confirmation email sent to user — must be beautifully designed and on-brand)
Newsletter-ready mailing list collection (Mailchimp)
Basic SEO optimization tools baked in
Easy to integrate monetization links/buttons per post (e.g. affiliate, Buy Now, etc.)

4. Domain & Hosting

We will provide the domain (hosted on GoDaddy)
You will need to publish and point the finished site to our selected server
If needed, we can procure hosting quickly—but you must handle the initial deployment/setup

5. Submissions & Applications

Share 3-5 examples of sleek, design-led sites you've previously built (especially for editorial or content platforms)
Must not be a bulk-development or cookie-cutter service
Include confirmation that you can begin immediately and deliver inside 72 hours
Optional Bonuses (Nice-to-Have):
Experience building monetised editorial/blog sites
Light animation or hover effects to add polish
Built-in commenting system (for logged-in users only)
Budget: Competitive, but this is a quality-first project. Please price accordingly for speed + premium design + polish.