Case Study: Drupal Migration for Princeton in Latin America (PiLA)

Posted on by Leon Rainbow

Overview
Princeton in Latin America (PiLA) undertook a Drupal migration to enhance site performance, security, and user experience. The project involved upgrading from Drupal 7 to Drupal 11, integrating interactive features, and implementing a modern, responsive design.

Challenge

With Drupal 7 reaching end-of-life, PiLA needed to migrate its website to Drupal 11 to ensure security, performance, and long-term support. The migration involved significant structural changes, requiring careful content transfer and feature reimplementation. Additionally, PiLA aimed to enhance user engagement with interactive maps, custom layouts, and dynamic content elements such as blogs, testimonial sliders, and accordions.

Solution

Drupal Migration from 7 to 11

The team executed a structured Drupal migration, utilizing Drupal’s Migration API to transfer content, configurations, and users while maintaining data integrity. Upgrading to Drupal 11 introduced improved security, faster performance, and modern development capabilities.

Custom Interactive Maps

To enhance engagement, the website incorporated custom interactive maps built with JavaScript libraries and Drupal’s flexible theming system. These maps visually highlight PiLA’s presence across Latin America, making navigation more intuitive.

Customized maps in using site branding colors to highlight locations
Customized maps in using site branding colors to highlight locations

Media Module Integration

A customized Media module integration was implemented, enabling efficient management and display of images, videos, and documents. This upgrade streamlined content organization and improved visual storytelling.

Media Module features a focal point picker
Media Module features a focal point picker

Responsive Layouts with Bootstrap Layout Builder

The Bootstrap Layout Builder module facilitated the creation of flexible, responsive layouts, ensuring seamless navigation across all devices.

Custom Layouts with built in styling using Layout Builder and Bootstrap
Custom Layouts with built in styling using Layout Builder and Bootstrap

Dynamic Content Features

  • Views: Custom content displays for blogs and news.
  • Blogs: A dedicated section for news and updates.
  • Testimonial Slider: A rotating feature to showcase user feedback.
  • Accordion Features: Expandable sections for FAQs and informational content.

Outcome

The Drupal migration successfully transformed PiLA’s website, providing a modern, user-friendly, and scalable digital platform. The move to Drupal 11 ensured long-term security, performance, and flexibility, allowing PiLA to effectively connect with its audience. This project exemplifies how strategic migration and thoughtful feature integration can revitalize an organization’s digital presence, ensuring it meets contemporary standards and user expectations.

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