Benjamin Lemin
FR EN

Client project · Media · Drupal

Famille Chrétienne — Editorial Platform DPI

Adaptation and deployment of a Drupal 7 editorial platform based on DPI in order to create a reusable white-label version for other media organizations, then adapt it to the Famille Chrétienne website.

Associated experience

Contraste Digital

Backend PHP Developer / Consultant · 2019 — 2025

View related experience

Context

The project involved deploying DPI, an editorial platform developed by Contraste Digital on top of Drupal 7.

DPI was originally created for the Belgian media group Rossel, publisher of Le Soir, and progressively evolved into a complex platform supporting multiple digital news websites.

The platform provides several core capabilities required for online media operations: article publication and editorial workflows, homepage and section page composition, advertisement integration, external content feeds, subscription management and user account management.

In the Rossel ecosystem, journalists write articles using a dedicated editorial system. Articles are stored in a separate system and then synchronized with Drupal/DPI, which renders them on the website according to their editorial context, such as sections or homepage placement.

Famille Chrétienne, a growing media organization, needed a more scalable and maintainable platform to support the development of its digital presence.

Project objective

The objective of the project was to transform the Rossel-specific implementation of DPI into a white-label platform that could be reused by other media organizations.

Once this generic version was created, the platform was customized and deployed for the Famille Chrétienne website.

My contributions

Platform decoupling

I worked on extracting Rossel-specific dependencies from the existing DPI codebase in order to create a version of the platform independent from a specific media organization.

The goal was to create a reusable base installation of DPI that could be adapted for other publishers.

  • Removing hardcoded configuration values
  • Making certain features configurable
  • Adapting page structures originally designed for Rossel media websites

Deployment automation

I designed and implemented a Bash installation script capable of bootstrapping a new DPI instance from an empty directory.

The script automated several steps of the platform setup process and simplified the deployment of new media websites based on the DPI platform.

Custom development for Famille Chrétienne

I contributed to adapting the platform to the specific needs of the Famille Chrétienne editorial website.

Tasks included backend development on Drupal/DPI modules, configuration and customization of the platform, as well as implementation of custom features.

One example feature consisted of implementing a scheduled task retrieving a daily biblical quote and publishing it automatically on a dedicated page.

Team

The project was carried out by two backend developers, with the collaboration of a developer experienced with the DPI platform.

Technologies used

Backend

  • PHP
  • Drupal 7
  • Drupal/DPI modules

Editorial platform

  • DPI
  • Article publication
  • Editorial workflows
  • Homepage and section page composition
  • Subscription management
  • User account management

Automation

  • Bash
  • Installation script
  • Bootstrapping a new instance from an empty directory

Integrations and content

  • External content feeds
  • Article synchronization from a dedicated editorial system
  • Scheduled task for automatic publication of a daily biblical quote

Technical challenges

The main challenge was working with a large legacy platform originally designed for a specific media group.

Rather than performing a full architectural refactor, the work focused on progressively decoupling Rossel-specific logic and making key components configurable.

This approach allowed the team to deliver a working white-label version of DPI within the constraints of the project timeline.

Outcomes / impact

The project made it possible to transform an editorial platform initially strongly tied to Rossel into a more generic and reusable base for other media organizations.

This white-label base was then customized and deployed for Famille Chrétienne, supporting the development of its digital presence with a more scalable and maintainable platform.

Personal learnings

This mission allowed me to work on a large existing Drupal 7 platform, with challenges related to reuse, configuration and progressive decoupling.

It strengthened my experience in maintaining and adapting complex legacy platforms, as well as automating deployments through Bash scripts.