Using an Upgrade to Bring Order to Chaos
Helping a School District Refocus and Refine their Website
When Bloomington Public Schools (BPS) decided to upgrade to Drupal 8, they took advantage of the moment to step back and refocus their web presence. They worked with TEN7 to rethink their strategy, to consolidate their various sites, and to enhance the experience to better meet the needs of each of their audiences.
The Challenge
Over the course of many years, Bloomington Public Schools saw the websites for their district and their schools start to grow out of control. Thousands of pieces of content built up on the sites, including expired news or “dead pages” that were created for one-off purposes and then forgotten. Eventually their sites became disjointed, difficult to manage, and less user friendly to their key audiences: employees and families.
When the decision was made to upgrade to Drupal 8, BPS worked with TEN7 on a complete refresh and redesign. This included taking a strategic look at the purpose of the sites, the content that was important to their audiences, and how the structure and design could be streamlined for a better user experience.
Our Solution
When the decision was made to upgrade to Drupal 8, BPS worked with TEN7 on a complete refresh and redesign. This included taking a strategic look at the purpose of the sites, the content that was important to their audiences, and how the structure and design could be streamlined for a better user experience.
Rethink content and strategy to create one district-wide website
BPS adopted a “start from scratch” mentality, working with TEN7 on a strategic audit of all of the content on their websites. With a renewed focus on user-needs, BPS was able to eliminate two-thirds of the content that had accumulated over the years. This included outdated content, “dead” pages that nobody was visiting, and redundant content that could be consolidated and simplified.
This process paved the way for the unification of all the district sites under one umbrella and a much cleaner, easier to navigate experience.
Upgrade to Drupal 8 with an eye toward user-friendly design
The Drupal upgrade and consolidation into one main website allowed TEN7 to improve the functionality with easier navigation and enhanced search capabilities. This was supplemented by a new design that elevated the district branding across the website while still respecting and allowing for each school to have an identity on their pages. School logos were supported with unique color palettes that still fit together as part of the district-wide branding.
The resulting site was more streamlined and cohesive. TEN7 also took steps to ensure accessibility needs were addressed and to make the website experience responsive to all types of users and devices.
from the client
We were worried about how schools would react, but it’s been really positive. Everyone is just really excited. From a design and style standpoint, the site has achieved all our goals.
