Size Doesn’t Matter Moving to a new CMS pain free

About the Presenters Tim Yager & Jim Thaxton are developers at Duo Consulting, a firm in Chicago committed to helping clients get their message across by building great Web sites. That’s right, we’re developers, ask questions!

Tim Yager & Jim Thaxton are developers at Duo Consulting, a firm in Chicago committed to helping clients get their message across by building great Web sites.

That’s right, we’re developers, ask questions!

What is this presentation? This presentation is an overview of good-practices when choosing a content management system (CMS) and how to accomplish the feat of moving from one CMS or static site, to a new CMS. Also, we want to help you not make mistakes we made. We want to show you what we wish we knew when we started!

This presentation is an overview of good-practices when choosing a content management system (CMS) and how to accomplish the feat of moving from one CMS or static site, to a new CMS.

Also, we want to help you not make mistakes we made. We want to show you what we wish we knew when we started!

Why Are You Here? You know why we are here. Why are you here? How many of you have a current Web site? How many of you know what CMS your site is running on? How many of you are planning to update your site in the next 12 months?

You know why we are here. Why are you here?

How many of you have a current Web site?

How many of you know what CMS your site is running on?

How many of you are planning to update your site in the next 12 months?

Presentation Outline Review CMS Solutions Looking Within Plan of Attack Execution! Post Mortem - or, what would we do better if we started this project knowing what we know now

Review CMS Solutions

Looking Within

Plan of Attack

Execution!

Post Mortem - or, what would we do better if we started this project knowing what we know now

CMS Solutions at Duo eZ Publish (Weintraub) Serena Collage (American Library Association) Drupal (The Onion, Illinois Humanities Council) SiteCore (Lake Forest Graduate School of Management) Ektron (Zeigler) Custom CMS solutions (DuoCMS) (Altman Weil) Don’t trust a demo wholeheartedly

eZ Publish (Weintraub)

Serena Collage (American Library Association)

Drupal (The Onion, Illinois Humanities Council)

SiteCore (Lake Forest Graduate School of Management)

Ektron (Zeigler)

Custom CMS solutions (DuoCMS) (Altman Weil)

Don’t trust a demo wholeheartedly

Looking Within - First you audit Is existing content structured in any way? Databases on the backend Does this migration need to occur? Does the migration fit into your budget? Investigate your proposed CMS options, review: User Interface, import/export capabilities and general feature set. What’s the current CMS buzz?

Is existing content structured in any way?

Databases on the backend

Does this migration need to occur?

Does the migration fit into your budget?

Investigate your proposed CMS options, review: User Interface, import/export capabilities and general feature set.

What’s the current CMS buzz?

Structured vs. Unstructured Content

Plan of Attack Resources and Users Research, Research, Research Proof of Concept Phase

Resources and Users

Research, Research, Research

Proof of Concept Phase

Plan of Attack – Users Users Work with content contributors. Their buy-in makes your project Users are a resource Link preservation/management (and expectations) http://www.fbm.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/attorney.home/attorney.cfm http://www.fbm.com/attorneys

Users

Work with content contributors. Their buy-in makes your project

Users are a resource

Link preservation/management (and expectations)

http://www.fbm.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/attorney.home/attorney.cfm

http://www.fbm.com/attorneys

Plan of Attack – Resources Resources Gather appropriate resources (internal and external) Content Audit What kind of infrastructure will be needed? Testing Servers? Running New and Old CMS side-by-side

Resources

Gather appropriate resources (internal and external)

Content Audit

What kind of infrastructure will be needed?

Testing Servers?

Running New and Old CMS side-by-side

Plan of Attack – Research Research Visit message boards of prospective CMS Remember, It’s OK to ask for help What kind of support is available? Determine how you will handle upgrades Consider how to work with 3 rd party apps and companies if necessary, think of Google Maps and Facebook Link preservation/management (and expectations) Know your options before you start

Research

Visit message boards of prospective CMS

Remember, It’s OK to ask for help

What kind of support is available?

Determine how you will handle upgrades

Consider how to work with 3 rd party apps and companies if necessary, think of Google Maps and Facebook

Link preservation/management (and expectations)

Know your options before you start

Illinois Humanities Council From Drupal Import to Google Maps in the proof of concept!

From Drupal Import to Google Maps in the proof of concept!

Plan of Attack = Proof of Concept Plan for proof-of-concept Look before you leap! Investment of budget here pays off moving forward Use this phase to finalize your execution steps Make mistakes here using a small subset of content Refine processes and code in this phase

Plan for proof-of-concept

Look before you leap!

Investment of budget here pays off moving forward

Use this phase to finalize your execution steps

Make mistakes here using a small subset of content

Refine processes and code in this phase

Plan of Attack – Phased Approach Phase Approach Phased Go Live Iterative Planning/Execution/Review cycle Improve processes throughout project Allows easy developer/resource handoff

Phase Approach

Phased Go Live

Iterative Planning/Execution/Review cycle

Improve processes throughout project

Allows easy developer/resource handoff

Plan of Attack - Phase Approach Example

Execution Look ahead for exceptions beforehand starting Do you know your workflow? Have workflow in place to review content as it is imported Workflow is more than just check-in/check-out If you’re taking a phased approach, loop back and review your Plan of Attack at each step of the process Execution will be a “single slide” if you plan your attack!

Look ahead for exceptions beforehand starting

Do you know your workflow?

Have workflow in place to review content as it is imported

Workflow is more than just check-in/check-out

If you’re taking a phased approach, loop back and review your Plan of Attack at each step of the process

Execution will be a “single slide” if you plan your attack!

Post Mortem Why are you doing this? To save money and keep your Web site moving forward! Plan reviews throughout the project Review Plan of Attack How will you move forward Update processes as you gain new knowledge

Why are you doing this? To save money and keep your Web site moving forward!

Plan reviews throughout the project

Review Plan of Attack

How will you move forward

Update processes as you gain new knowledge

Collecting Your Thoughts (and going live) Learn from mistakes when making upgrades and improvements Move forward Just because a site is live, does not mean you are done working on it.

Learn from mistakes when making upgrades and improvements

Move forward

Just because a site is live, does not mean you are done working on it.

Questions Ask ‘em if you got ‘em. One North Wacker, Suite 950 Chicago, 60606 - 312-529-3000

Ask ‘em if you got ‘em.

Questions Ask ‘em if you got ‘em. One North Wacker, Suite 950 Chicago, 60606 - 312-529-3000

Ask ‘em if you got ‘em.