Michael McDowell

Michael McDowell – Accessible, Informative Website for Public and Legal Commentary

Sector: Politics / Law / Public Commentary
Platform: WordPress
Services: Website Design, Blog Development, Content Migration, Accessibility, SEO
Website: michaelmcdowell.ie

Michael McDowell SC is a senior counsel, former Tánaiste, and a current Senator in Seanad Éireann. As one of Ireland’s most respected legal and political voices, he regularly publishes commentary on constitutional law, current affairs, and justice reform. His website needed to reflect his authority, make archived articles easier to access, and support ongoing publishing with full accessibility compliance.

2Cubed was engaged to design and develop a modern publishing platform that supports Michael McDowell’s editorial output, maintains the trust and professionalism expected of his role, and performs to the highest technical and SEO standards.

Project Objectives

• Redesign the website to reflect professionalism and clarity
• Improve structure and presentation of articles and opinion content
• Migrate the full archive from the previous CMS without SEO loss
• Ensure full compliance with WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility guidelines
• Optimise for mobile, performance, and security
• Provide an easy-to-use content management system

Our Work

Website Design and Structure
We designed a clean, minimalist website prioritising readability and usability. The homepage highlights recent and featured articles, while internal pages maintain a consistent, distraction-free layout. Navigation to categories, archives, and key editorial pieces is intuitive, supported by careful typographic hierarchy and legibility.

Custom WordPress Blog Development
The site was built on a tailored WordPress platform, optimised for structured publishing. Features include dedicated article templates, custom post types, topic tagging, and chronological archives. Michael and his team can publish seamlessly without technical support, making long-form content management straightforward.

Content Migration
2Cubed managed the full migration of historic posts, preserving existing URLs, metadata, and SEO rankings. Archives were restructured with improved categorisation to enhance user navigation and search engine indexing.

Accessibility Compliance
To meet WCAG 2.1 AA standards, the site includes semantic markup, ARIA attributes, high-contrast design, keyboard navigation support, and responsive text—ensuring accessibility across devices and assistive technologies.

Search Engine Optimisation
We optimised metadata, structured content, sitemaps, and page speed to improve organic visibility. Articles are easily shareable, and the platform integrates with Google Search Console for ongoing performance tracking.

Hosting, Security, and Maintenance
The website is hosted on a fast, secure, fully managed WordPress environment with automated backups, plugin monitoring, and dedicated 2Cubed maintenance support.

The Result
The new michaelmcdowell.ie is a secure, high-performance platform that allows Michael McDowell to share his insights with clarity and authority. It reflects the gravitas of his public work while making it easy for readers to access, explore, and engage with his commentary across legal, political, and social topics.

Looking to build a platform for political or legal publishing?

2Cubed specialises in accessible, high-performance websites for thought leaders, public figures, and organisations—helping you share your voice online with impact and credibility.