Prepared for Darren Tackett & Jenna

Scottsdale.com
Reimagined

A design and technology proposal for transforming Scottsdale.com into the luxury editorial platform the brand deserves.

May 20, 2026

Where We Are Today

A brand built for luxury,
living on a generic blog

Scottsdale.com has incredible content, loyal contributors, and a brand voice that's genuinely dialed in. But the site doesn't reflect any of that. The design is dated, the navigation buries content, and the experience doesn't match the city it represents.

The good news: the content engine works. 1,155 articles, daily publishing cadence, strong contributor network. We're not starting from scratch. We're unleashing what's already there.

1,155
Published Articles
36
Contributing Authors
485
Articles Published in 2025
61
Active Events Listed
The Gaps

What a luxury editorial site needs
that we don't have yet

01

No Content Architecture

861 posts tagged "Featured" — no real pillar structure. The 7 content verticals from the brand strategy don't exist in navigation.

02

No Visual Identity

Generic WordPress theme. No dark luxury palette, no premium typography. The site looks like a local news blog, not a luxury editorial brand.

03

No Editorial Hierarchy

Homepage is a reverse-chronological blog feed. No curation, no featured stories, no editorial voice on the front page.

04

No "Best Of" Franchise

The biggest SEO and engagement opportunity — Best Restaurants, Best Spas, Best Golf Courses — doesn't exist as a structured feature.

05

No Sponsor Integration

The $75K category ownership model from the revenue strategy has no premium placement on the actual site.

06

610 Unused Listing Pages

Real estate neighborhood pages — bulk-updated once, comments closed, many empty. They dilute the editorial brand without adding value.

The Platform

WordPress stays. Everything else evolves.

WordPress powers TechCrunch, Rolling Stone, Vogue, and Variety. The platform isn't the problem — the hosting and the frontend are. We're keeping WordPress as the content engine (with version 7.0 dropping this week), upgrading hosting off 97host, and building a completely custom luxury frontend.

Writers and contributors keep working in WordPress exactly as they do now. Readers get a completely different experience.

Phase 1

Hosting Migration

Move off 97host to modern infrastructure. Full API management, root access, 13x storage capacity. Already cleaned from 9.7 GB to 5.9 GB.

Phase 2

Content Restructuring

Map all 1,155 articles to the 7 brand pillars. Build "Best Of" franchise structure. Archive 610 listing pages behind /neighborhoods/.

Phase 3

New Frontend

Custom luxury design pulling content from WordPress via API. Sub-second page loads, mobile-first, full design freedom.

Phase 4

Revenue Features

Category ownership placements, premium sponsor integration, newsletter capture, events calendar woven into editorial.

Concept A

The Residence

Cartier meets Architectural Digest. Maximum whitespace, cinematic photography, barely-there navigation. Every page feels like opening a coffee table magazine.

The Edge at Joy Ranch
Luxury Living
Why The Edge at Joy Ranch Is Scottsdale's Most Celebrated New Luxury Community
Chef dinner series
Food & Drink
Arizona's Top Chefs Return for a Summer-Long Dinner Series
The Valley's most celebrated kitchens are teaming up for an extraordinary season of collaborative dining.
Montblanc Scottsdale
Culture & Style
Montblanc's New Scottsdale Space Celebrates the Power of the Written Word
The luxury maison opens its newest boutique at Scottsdale Fashion Square.
Fairmont Princess
Wellness & Leisure
The Fairmont Scottsdale Princess Hosts Luxurious Summer Fun
Elevated poolside experiences, curated spa treatments, and an evening concert series under the desert sky.
Golf instruction
Wellness & Leisure
Iconic Golf Club Introduces Elevated New Instruction Program
A private desert course reimagines what golf development looks like at the highest level.
"Luxury that lives next door."
Scottsdale.com Brand Promise
Concept B

THE COLLECTION

Departures meets Net-a-Porter editorial. Structured pillar navigation, curated grids, and a "Best Of Scottsdale" franchise. The same luxury feel with more editorial depth.

Sommelier Dena Roché
Feature Friday
Sommelier Dena Roché on Her Favorite Wines, Private Tastings & the Art of Pairing

From vineyard visits in Napa to intimate tastings in Old Town, one of Arizona's most sought-after sommeliers shares her world.

All
Dining
Living
Wellness
Culture
Events
Travel
Chef dinner series
Dining
Arizona's Top Chefs Return for a Summer-Long Dinner Series

The Valley's most celebrated kitchens team up for an extraordinary season of collaborative dining.

Pool parties
Events
The Best Summer Pool Parties in Scottsdale for 2026

From resort daybeds to rooftop DJ sets, your guide to the hottest poolside scenes this summer.

Fairmont Princess
Wellness
The Fairmont Scottsdale Princess Hosts Luxurious Summer Fun

Elevated poolside experiences, curated spa treatments, and evenings under the desert sky.

Montblanc
Culture
Montblanc's New Scottsdale Space Celebrates the Written Word

The luxury maison opens at Scottsdale Fashion Square with an ode to craftsmanship.

Starfish Scottsdale
Dining
Starfish Scottsdale Announces May 5 Opening Date

The beloved Chandler original brings its Pan-Asian seafood concept to Old Town.

Mother's Day
Living
6 Luxe Mother's Day Ideas That Go Beyond the Expected

Skip the brunch reservation. These experiences actually surprise.

S
Best of Scottsdale 2026
Best New Restaurant
Voting Now Open
Best Spa Experience
Voting Now Open
Best Golf Course
Voting Now Open
Best Rooftop Bar
Voting Now Open
Concept C

Desert Modern

Kinfolk meets Arcosanti. Inspired by Scottsdale's architectural DNA — Taliesin West, desert mid-century modern, raw materials. A site that could only be Scottsdale.

Food & Drink
Arizona's Top Chefs Return for a Summer-Long Dinner Series

The Valley's most celebrated kitchens are teaming up for an extraordinary season of collaborative dining that blurs the line between restaurant and experience.

Chef dinner series

Cinco de Mayo
Events
Cinco de Mayo in Scottsdale and Nearby! Parties, Dining Deals & Live Music

From mariachi brunches to rooftop tequila tastings, the city goes all in on the long weekend.

Starfish Scottsdale
Dining
Starfish Scottsdale Announces May 5 Opening

Pan-Asian seafood comes to Old Town.

Golf instruction
Wellness
Iconic Golf Club Introduces Elevated Instruction

A private desert course reimagines development at the highest level.


Dining
340 stories
Living
185 stories
Wellness
120 stories
Culture
145 stories
Events
190 stories
Travel
95 stories
Best Of
New
Choosing a Direction

Three ways to be luxury.
One site to build.

The Residence

Maximum luxury impact. Photography does all the work. Feels like Architectural Digest for Scottsdale.

  • + Strongest luxury feel
  • + Premium sponsor environment
  • + Photography-forward
  • - Lower content density
  • - Needs strong photo direction
The Collection

Editorial depth with luxury execution. Shows breadth. Feels like Departures meets Net-a-Porter.

  • + More content visible
  • + Better SEO structure
  • + "Best Of" franchise built in
  • - More complex layout
  • - Needs careful art direction
Desert Modern

Uniquely Scottsdale. Inspired by the desert's own architecture. Could only exist here.

  • + Only-Scottsdale identity
  • + Asymmetric, gallery feel
  • + Light palette stands out
  • - Most different from current site
  • - Light theme divides opinion
Next Steps

What we need from you

01

Pick a Direction

The Residence, The Collection, or elements of both. This guides every design decision that follows.

02

Photography Strategy

Both concepts demand elevated photography. We need to discuss sourcing, standards, and direction for future content.

03

Content Pillar Priority

Which pillar launches first? Dining and events have the most content. Wellness and luxury living have the highest sponsor value.

04

Neighborhood Pages

610 real estate listing pages. Keep behind /neighborhoods/, archive entirely, or evolve into luxury real estate editorial?