The Brief
MSV Systemhaus Peine is a specialist in advanced archiving systems and media digitisation based in Germany. For over three decades they have provided tailored digitisation services to libraries, government agencies, automotive companies, and logistics firms.
RubyWeb was engaged to migrate the legacy MSV website to a modern WordPress platform. The existing CMS was outdated, limiting both performance and flexibility, and the site’s content structure was not serving the technical depth of the business’s offering. The project represented one of our earlier international engagements and established a precedent for cross-border delivery.
The Challenge
A 35-year-old business with an extensive portfolio of industry-specific services has accumulated significant content complexity. Restructuring that content for clarity and SEO, while preserving the authority and precision that defines the MSV brand, required careful editorial and architectural planning alongside the technical migration.
The international nature of the project – a German business working with a South African agency – added coordination and communication requirements. All SEO optimisation was conducted in German.
- Legacy CMS - outdated and difficult to maintain, limiting performance and flexibility
- Complex content hierarchy - extensive industry-specific offerings needing restructuring for clarity and SEO
- Brand identity preservation - modern redesign needed without losing the authority MSV had established
- International collaboration - German-based client, South African delivery team requiring clear communication protocols
- SEO work needed entirely in German - metadata, keyword placement, and on-page content
- New sitemap needed to reflect the restructured content and be submitted to Google for full re-indexation
Our Approach
We structured the project around three parallel tracks: technical migration, content restructuring, and brand preservation. The existing site’s visual identity was studied carefully before any design work began, so that the updated look and feel evolved the brand rather than departing from it.
Content was reorganised from the outset around user navigation and search engine indexing – not internal business categories. The German-language SEO work was scoped and executed alongside the build, not retrospectively.
Architecture & UX Decisions
The new sitemap was built to reduce content depth and improve navigability – making MSV’s service range accessible without requiring visitors to dig through multiple levels of pages. The WordPress platform was configured to be easily maintained by MSV’s internal team after handover.
A new sitemap was created and submitted to Google following migration, ensuring all restructured content was indexed correctly and efficiently.
The Build
The core deliverable was a fully migrated, restructured, and redesigned WordPress website for a German-based specialist B2B business – with German-language SEO and ongoing maintenance included. Key deliverables included:
- Full CMS migration from legacy platform to WordPress
- Responsive, scalable platform configured for MSV team self-management
- Content reorganisation and sitemap restructuring for clarity and SEO
- Brand-consistent visual redesign – modern and professional while retaining established identity
- German-language SEO – keyword placement, metadata, and on-page optimisation
- New sitemap created and submitted to Google for full re-indexation
- Improved page load times and responsive design across all devices
- Ongoing WordPress maintenance post-launch – plugin updates, security, and performance monitoring
- Basic SEO framework implemented for long-term organic visibility support
The Outcome
MSV Systemhaus Peine now operates a fully responsive, future-ready platform tailored to their niche audience. The restructured sitemap and improved navigation make it easier for visitors and search engines to find the right service information quickly.
The project proved the effectiveness of cross-border digital collaboration and established a delivery model that RubyWeb has applied to subsequent international engagements.