Upgrading a Website and Empowering a Team
Creating a User-Friendly Experience
St. Catherine University had two websites that were confusing to use and even harder to maintain. They turned to TEN7 to create a new unified Drupal site that could be supported and maintained by their in-house developers going forward.
The Challenge
St. Catherine University (known as St. Kate’s) was struggling to support two websites, one aimed at prospective students and one for internal audiences. The sites were built by an external vendor using a platform that was difficult to navigate and impossible for their internal team to manage. They needed to build a unified website that was easier for people to use, and for their team to maintain.
Our Solution
TEN7 worked with St. Kate’s to merge their two sites into one Drupal website that could meet all their needs. They started with a robust content audit and strategic plan, including surveys and interviews with various user groups. This process allowed St. Kate’s to streamline the new website to more effectively address the needs of each audience.
As the new site was built, TEN7 also worked with St. Kate’s development team to make sure they were trained to make updates to the site and maintain it long-term.
Combine two sites into one, more user-friendly web presence
TEN7 worked with the St. Kate’s team to create one Drupal website that would work for both internal and external audiences. We started by listening. We conducted surveys and interviews with St. Kate’s developers, department heads, professors, students and external groups. That process helped determine which content should be migrated to the new site and how we could streamline and simplify the experience.
The resulting website featured more intuitive design, an improved search function, and content that was focused on the various user needs.
Establish skills and protocols to maintain the site in-house
St. Kate’s old site was built in a content management system called ModX. It required an outside vendor to make even small changes. The approval process and workflow for edits or maintenance was frustrating for the many departments across the University.
Part of our process moving the site to Drupal involved working with St. Kate’s development team to help them become self-sufficient supporting the site after it was complete. Once the site was launched, St. Kate’s was able to simplify the process for additions or changes, giving departments the ability to make necessary edits to their pages without relying on the Marketing and Communications team. This has freed up time for all parties to focus on their larger goals and mission.
from the client
"Before, when users would ask for changes, we would have said ‘Nope we can’t do it,’ because we didn't know how to do it. Now, users are more emboldened to ask for changes, because we know we can make a change."
