Strategy
The project began with a period of extensive project discovery. Our team reviewed a range of project goals and technical requirements, documenting the current site’s features and data integrations.
Multiple CMS options were considered, including WordPress and a React/Gatsby powered site before ultimately settling on a newer version of Drupal. While every option had its pros and cons, staying within Drupal offered the greatest flexibility needed to create the kind of site that CGSI needed.
The site navigation was reworked to make it easier for members and encourage new users to take action and join. A new “Why Join” section was recommended for the primary menu, where non-members can get a sense of what benefits and content a membership offers. A new “Resource” section places all the information and resources needed by members into one (password-protected) area. “Get Involved” was introduced as a primary link for support and volunteers.
We emphasized a simplified messaging strategy as well, such as leading the home page with a clear and concise message(” Research and connect with families from the Czech and Slovak ancestral lands”).
Migration
All content, including membership records, media files, and products were migrated from the older Drupal 7 to an updated version of Drupal.
There were four large data sets migrated, each containing over 6,000 records. The migration included profile data from over 12,000 users, along with years of comments and the contents of two member forums to migrate. All the store products (and product variations) were migrated, out of Drupal 7 and the older UberCart module, and into the newer version of Drupal and Drupal Commerce.
In addition to databases and content, over 50GB of client files also needed migrating! Our team migrated all of them off their old server and on to an inexpensive Amazon S3 server. This was then tied back to the new Drupal install, hosted on Pantheon. In addition to changing physical location, file management was updated to take advantage of Drupal’s core Media Library.
E-commerce and Membership Tools
The new site relies on the suite of Drupal Commerce modules to handle online transactions. The site features a store selling everything from books and maps to shirts and other Czech-related products. Users can search by keyword and filter results by various categories. The site offers user accounts for purchases, secure checkout, shipping and automatic notifications.
Site membership costs are also handled by the same e-commerce tools. Member records were migrated from an external system (CiviCRM) into Drupal, where they are fully integrated into the new site database, and managed by the client.
Users have the option to purchase recurring or one-time annual memberships, or purchase a gift membership for others. These purchases are handled by the primary site and its e-commerce capabilities. Recurring subscriptions are automatically billed annually.
Only active members are granted access to an online library of resources. These include a Digital Library, Research Databases, and a Message Board.
The Digital Library was built to allow site editors to add a variety of content, including video, journals, books, audio files, maps and articles. Members can search for results, and filter by a variety of criteria (keyword, region, type, subject, etc.). The Message Board is an active online forum for conversations and connections. The Research Databases include searchable archives for genealogical research (surnames, immigration records, church records, etc.).
