This document provides an overview and introduction to Drupal and content management systems (CMS). It explains that Western Web Edit is a CMS based on Drupal that allows non-technical users to create and maintain dynamic websites. Drupal is described as a free, open source, and robust CMS with an active community. A CMS allows content to be organized into reusable and reconfigurable fields rather than static pages, making websites dynamic as content changes. The document outlines the status and design process for launching Western Web Edit to provide departments the tools to more easily create and update their websites.

1. Western Web Edit
…Drupal for Western

2. What is Western Web Edit?
.. A Content Management System
.. based on Drupal
.. that enables regular humans to create
and maintain modern, dynamic
websites.
It’s a website for creating websites

3. What is Drupal?
Drupal is a free and open source
content management system (CMS)
Drupal is an open source community
Drupal, the word, is from the Dutch for droplets.
Hence the druplicon (mascot) in the form of a water
droplet

4. What is Open Source?
Open Source means that the source
code is supplied for those that want to
modify or improve the system.
It implies a community that contributes
their time to create extensions and fixes.
It is the opposite of proprietary software.

5. What’s so great about Open
Source?
Lots of ants will straighten
a path…
A company is more likely
to cling to its “features”
So the community – people like us - fix it to work
the way we want it
It is the opposite of proprietary software.

6. Is Open Source always good?
Of course not! It depends on:
• An active, dedicated community of
developers with needs like ours
• A base product with good “bones”
……..structured …….good design principles
……..modular …….strong security policies
• Sufficient product maturity for
capability and stability

7. So…what is Drupal?
Drupal is a stable and mature open source
product with one of the most active
communities in the open source world. It
has a fabulous security team and over
15000 modules contributed by thousands of
developers.
Drupal is a robust, well-supported
content management system

8. What is a CMS?
A Content Management System is a tool for
publishing website content that allows for:
• browser-only editing access (no special
software)
• content-centric rather than page-centric
production
• = re-usable content
• = re-configurable content

9. What is a CMS?
………………………………….. re-usable content
Two different pages, some of the same content. Edit one, both change.

10. What is a CMS?
……….………... re-configurable content

11. What is a CMS?
……….………... re-configurable content
How can this be the same data?
Because CMS content is made of fields:
• Title
• Author
• Date
• Event type
Choose which fields you display, where, in what
format. When you change it, the display changes
everywhere it occurs on site.

12. Page-centric vs Content-centric?
Static Web Dynamic Web
The page is smallest unit • Content is made of fields
• you can link to it • Fields have a value
• you can link to it again – a number
• the page has no values – just – a link
text – some text, etc
Example:
List all the titles of calendar items that
have a type “holiday” that haven’t
happened yet…
If you repeat a PIECE of
content, you have to maintain When you add new content, or
both copies; when today’s date today’s date changes… the whole
changes, you have to update site is updated automagically…
the content manually it’s “dynamic” web

13. The power of fields…
Amazon.com
Their database associates buying and browsing history
with a user name
to show the logged-in users’ browsed but un-bought items, or offers to
buy back previously bought items.

14. The power of fields…
When displaying
an article in one
subject area, lists
the titles of the
other articles in the
same subject
area.
This list is created
once and grows
automatically as
content is created
in the same
subject area.

15. The power of fields…
• Create a list of all the courses your
department is teaching next year
– List only those taught by Prof. Smith
– List only Spring Term Courses
– When you add a new course – all the
pages using that data are updated
• List the events that haven’t happened
yet…. and the list is updated for you
each day

16. What is Western Web Edit?
A website for creating departmental
and college web sites
That provides the tools for you to create
a dynamic web site
• authenticated editors use any browser
to create or maintain a website

17. Why Western Web Edit?
The goal:
• facilitate more vibrant, up-to-date
websites
• by enabling content experts to create
and maintain modern, dynamic
websites

18. Don’t we do that now?
What people said before CMS and
dynamic web:
• It’s complicated
• So much can go wrong!
• It doesn’t think the way I do
• I don’t remember what program to use
And… no fields, just pages!

19. The Drupal Experience
http://dev.wwu-
demo.gotpantheon.com/
Just a demo -
no styling
fake content

20. Status
• Defined Requirements by working with
three colleges (Woodring, CBE, CFPA)
• Site-building in progress now
• Design group created to refine home
page design for academic groups
(ATUS, UComm, Admissions, CFPA, & student rep)
• Launching capability for target
colleges late May (Design avail early summer)

21. Design Team
University Communications:
– Derek Bryson (graphic designer)
– Matthew Anderson (design and policy)
CFPA
– Courtney Hiatt (marketing designer)
– Jesse Sturgis (graphic designer)
Admissions:
– Phil Acuncius (graphic designer)
– Jamin Agosti (student employee)
ATUS
– Emilie Nouveau (Drupal expert and designer)
– Marie Raney (team lead)

22. Questions?
Thank you
marie.raney@wwu.edu