Project Documentation: Hub & Spoke Publisher Plugin for WordPress
Project Summary: The Hub & Spoke Publisher plugin is a WordPress-based content distribution tool built specifically for newspaper publishers and digital media networks. It enables a centralized editorial team (Hub) to write and publish articles, then syndicate them to any number of connected WordPress sites (Spokes). This plugin operates in two modes: Hub and Spoke, selectable via a settings panel.
Objectives:
Allow a single "hub" site to create and syndicate content to multiple "spoke" sites
Allow spoke sites to receive, publish, and optionally modify syndicated content
Integrate fully with Yoast SEO plugin to transfer SEO metadata
Include a syncing mechanism to update spoke content if the hub content is changed
Avoid SEO penalties for duplicate content via canonical tags and optional AI rewriting
Core Features:
Dual-Mode Plugin Architecture
A single plugin installed on all sites
Sites choose "Hub" or "Spoke" mode via plugin settings
Different functionality enabled depending on the selected mode
Hub Mode Functionality
Post editor meta box for selecting which spokes to send content to
Admin screen for managing spoke connections (URL, API key, name, sync rules)
On publish or update, plugin sends post content to selected spokes
Logging of push success/failure per site
Optional AI rewriter per spoke
Canonical tag management per spoke
Spoke Mode Functionality
REST API endpoint to receive incoming post data
Creates or updates post based on hub-provided unique ID or slug
Stores origin ID in post meta for future syncing
Applies post metadata (categories, tags, featured image, author)
Supports optional AI rewriter or local post modifiers
Accepts Yoast metadata and stores in proper meta fields
Sends response to hub after success/failure
Yoast SEO Integration
Captures and transmits the following meta fields from hub to spoke:
_yoast_wpseo_title
_yoast_wpseo_metadesc
_yoast_wpseo_focuskw
_yoast_wpseo_canonical
_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title
_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description
_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title
_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description
Plugin must write to these fields on spoke side using update_post_meta
Allow spoke to override metadata after receipt if enabled in settings
Post Syncing Feature
When a post is updated in the hub, any previously pushed spokes are listed
The editor can select which spokes to update
The plugin sends updated payload to spoke
Spoke uses original hub ID to locate and update local post
Optional: toggle to automatically sync on each update
AI Rewriting Option
Optional feature per spoke connection
When enabled, hub sends content through an AI model (e.g., GPT-4) before pushing
Rules configurable per spoke (e.g., change tone, add regional details)
AI rewriter modifies:
Title
Content body
Excerpt
Yoast metadata (if selected)
Rewrites are logged and optionally previewed before sending
Canonical Tag Handling
If AI rewriting is disabled, the plugin should insert a canonical tag on each spoke post
This canonical tag should point to the original post URL on the hub
Use Yoast's canonical override field (_yoast_wpseo_canonical) to implement this
Canonical tags are disabled automatically if rewriting is enabled
Data Payload Example (JSON)
{ "post_id": 123, "title": "Breaking News: Local Pizza Wins Award", "slug": "pizza-wins-award", "content": "
Full article HTML here...
", "excerpt": "Local pizza gets national recognition...", "author": "Mike Freeman", "categories": ["Local News", "Food"], "tags": ["pizza", "awards"], "featured_image_url": "https://hubsite.com/wp-content/uploads/image.jpg", "yoast_meta": { "_yoast_wpseo_title": "Pizza Wins Local Award - Best in Town", "_yoast_wpseo_metadesc": "Find out which pizza shop took top honors...", "_yoast_wpseo_canonical": "https://hubsite.com/pizza-wins-award" }, "ai_rewrite": false, "sync_type": "new" // or "update" }
Spoke Response Format
{ "status": "success", "post_url": "https://spokesite.com/pizza-wins-award", "post_id": 456, "message": "Post created successfully." }
Admin Settings (Plugin Options Panel)
Mode: [Hub | Spoke]
Hub Settings:
Add/Remove Spoke Sites
Test Connection
API Key per Spoke
AI Rewrite [Yes/No] per Spoke
Canonical Override [Yes/No] per Spoke
Default Sync Behavior [Manual | Automatic]
Spoke Settings:
API Key
Author to assign posts to
Category/tag mapping
Allow Hub to overwrite SEO fields [Yes/No]
Deployment Notes
The plugin must be WordPress 5.0+ compatible
Gutenberg and Classic Editor support
Multisite support optional, but helpful
Plugin should be namespaced and avoid global function collisions
All REST endpoints should be namespaced and secured with API keys
AJAX interfaces should be secured with nonce validation