Topic
The numbered build log on how Mercury Local built and runs its own publishing platform, one system at a time.
We Built Our Own, No. 20. The Charlotte Mercury got new type on October 9, chosen for reading rather than looks. The research says no font fits everyone, so the size is now the reader's to set.
Peter Cellino·Oct 9, 2026
We Built Our Own, No. 19. If somebody has to remember to update a page, it's going to go stale. So we stopped typing the page.
Peter Cellino·Oct 2, 2026
We Built Our Own, No. 18. We renamed a section "Town Hall" and readers landed on a federal sentencing. Fixing it meant moving 203 stories without breaking a link.
Peter Cellino·Oct 2, 2026
We Built Our Own, No. 17. 133 plain-language fixes across three sites, made once, from one place.
Peter Cellino·Sep 27, 2026
We Built Our Own, No. 13. Every article, page, person, transcript and image, in one place.
Peter Cellino·Sep 25, 2026
We Built Our Own, No. 12. Rules that fire whether or not anyone remembers.
Peter Cellino·Sep 21, 2026
We Built Our Own, No. 11. 11,357 objects mirrored off-site, and a restore drill that matched every hash.
Peter Cellino·Sep 20, 2026
We Built Our Own, No. 10. Dozens of watchdogs. The first run found six problems nobody knew about.
Peter Cellino·Sep 19, 2026
We Built Our Own, No. 09. 542 milliseconds to 208. Measure before you optimize.
Peter Cellino·Sep 18, 2026
We Built Our Own, No. 05. Version two, seven blocks, one day.
Peter Cellino·Sep 14, 2026
We Built Our Own, No. 03. 1,006 images repointed in one sitting, and why permissions won.
Peter Cellino·Sep 12, 2026
