Static to Dynamic - Doc Speaks Drupal Upgrade

We were tasked with developing a custom drupal theme and back-end for Docspeaks.com. The original site started as a static site of about 12-15 pages and over time grew to be well over 160 pages. Built with dreamweaver templates, and relying heavily on images and tables for the layout, this site was over due for a makeover. Adding new pages was not only time consuming but was also risky business. There was so much custom code written to give the client the desired functionality, it was easy to overwrite or break something. Here were some:

Our Goals

• Improve navigation
• Better overall site usability
• Remove splash page
• Convert static site to the dynamic Drupal CMS
• Better search engine optimization (SEO)
• More interactivity
• Replace image headers and buttons with live text
• Switch to a tableless layout
• Repurpose graphics to save on design costs

Our Solution

The Drupal CMS was our first and only choice for two main reasons:

1. Our client loves to dream big! (Expandability)
2. A CMS that is SEO friendly.

Listed below are some of the functionalities that we incorporated into the new site:

• Added a Fan Club which allows anonymous comments
• 7 custom web forms which bring all types of information, will be used for bookings and general comments and questions
• Improved site navigation by adding drop down menus for increased usability
• Removed splash page and made all pages accessible from the home page
• Removed images and replaced with text for increased SEO relevancy
• Added a site search
• Dynamic content that's easily updated through a WYSIWYG Editor.

It was quite a successful upgrade. The site's loading times were dramatically increased. Updates are now made easily through a web browser by anyone who has login and set permissions. As a result, this Drupal site will ultimately save the client money in maintenance and will be more reliable than the previous site. The new site is as dynamic as Doc's personality. Visit Docspeaks.com to check out the new Drupal site.