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Nonprofit

Conserving resources with strategic Drupal migration

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) is a research and policy institute focused on advancing federal and state policies that help low-income Americans.

CBPP previously relied on Fíonta for ongoing enhancements, maintenance of its content-rich Drupal 7 site, and support of the organization’s Salesforce instance—the partnership between Fíonta and the CBPP in migrating their content-rich website from Drupal 7 to Drupal 8.

CBPP aimed to manage and deliver content effectively while prioritizing accessibility and preparing for an eventual upgrade to Drupal 9. The collaborative project focused on streamlining functionality and enhancing the user experience.

Visit website

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities’ upgraded site now offers improved functionality and accessibility on a robust, secure hosting platform, and will be easily upgraded to Drupal 9 when the time comes.

The Center on Budget Policy and Priorities needed to migrate from Drupal 7 to Drupal 8 without significantly adjusting its branding and design, simultaneously preparing a roadmap for a future Drupal 9 migration.

01
Drupal 8 migration and planning for Drupal 9

The migration from Drupal 7 to Drupal 8 required identifying major features of the existing site and determining whether to rebuild or abandon each one. Additionally, CBPP needed to streamline content migration, prioritize accessibility, and evaluate the hosting configuration for a robust and secure platform.

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Organized and streamlined content structure

CBPP sought an improved user experience through organized and streamlined content, which involved optimizing the site’s information architecture, ensuring intuitive navigation, and enhancing functionality for media-rich content types.

CBPP’s project with Fíonta began in July 2020 with an in-depth discovery phase, assessing existing features, content, and accessibility. CBPP’s in-house developer worked with Fíonta’s development team, allowing CBPP to take on specific tasks to conserve resources. The team used Jira and Slack to track progress and maintain open communication. Establishing standardized Docker-based local development environments using the Lando toolkit promoted consistency in development processes. The subsequent planning and design phase optimized the site’s information architecture and user experience, emphasizing accessibility enhancements and robust hosting on Pantheon.

Configuration of media-rich content types with multiple view modes and taxonomy-driven categorization enhanced user engagement, and customized Layout Builder setups empowered dynamic content presentation on landing and topic breakdown pages.

For optimal efficiency, Fíonta’s migration strategies reduced over 11,000 nodes from 10 source content types into eight destination types. Seamless media migration from D7 Scald to D8 Media Entities ensured multimedia integration. The integration with Mailchimp streamlined communication and audience engagement, reinforcing CBPP’s digital commitment to advancing policy change and equity.

Navigation

Intuitive navigation

Drupal 8 migration

Accessibility was a central focus during the Drupal 8 build, guaranteeing an inclusive and user-friendly website. Fíonta orchestrated a seamless migration from Drupal 7 to Drupal 8, preserving essential features while leveraging Drupal 8’s capabilities.

Robust hosting platform

The existing hosting configuration was reviewed and enhanced to establish a secure platform for the new site. The site map and information architecture were revamped to facilitate intuitive navigation on the Drupal 8 platform.

Content streamlining

Extensive content was audited and refined, ensuring a streamlined and efficient migration process.

Our collaboration also served as functional training for the CBPP web staff, enabling them to hit the ground running with their new site confidently. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities’ upgraded site now offers improved functionality and accessibility on a robust, secure hosting platform. It will be easily upgraded to Drupal 9 when the time comes.

CBPP homepage

CBPP inner page

 

Our resourcing team staffs each project with care. Team members involved in this initiative included the following:
Project manager

Steering all project facets like budget, schedule, scope, and risk management while collaborating with technical leads on risk handling, our project managers serve as the primary liaison with clients, offering frequent updates on project progress.

Drupal developer

Skilled at Drupal CMS, our developer adeptly configures, develops, and styles websites, translating designs into new functionalities with expertise in coding languages, customizing modules, and crafting custom code as needed.

Configuration specialist

Specializing in Salesforce and associated systems, our experts configure client instances following technical leads’ solutions, focusing on building functionality.

User Experience (UX) consultant

Focused on delivering meaningful and user-friendly experiences, our UX Consultants engage users early, prioritizing their needs and goals to ensure systems are both requirement-compliant and valuable to the end user.