THE PROJECT
The digital presence of the organization consisted of a website built with an outdated version of Drupal, featuring outdated graphics. The organization had the need to modernize their online presence with a new website that offers enhanced functionalities and includes a community forum.
The new website should effectively represent the mission and values of the organization, while the community forum should facilitate connections among stakeholders, enabling discussions on energy-related topics specifically relevant to the SADC area (Southern African countries).
The customer managed the PPP (Public-Private Partnership) proposal to execute this project, and they partnered with GeoNovation for the technical aspects of the project. Their collaboration involves analyzing the customer's needs, defining project requirements, and building the website and community forum.
DEVELOPING THE NEW WEBSITE
After conducting an analysis of the customer's needs and assessing their current technological status, we have decided to proceed with the development using Drupal 9 as the chosen CMS. Drupal is well-suited for a cooperative website, offering security, reliability, and familiarity to the customer due to their previous experience with Drupal.
Adhering to the user guidelines and incorporating colors that represent the Southern African countries, our designer has worked on a new user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design. We have sent the proposed design to the customer for their approval.
After receiving approval of the proposal during a meeting in Windhoek, Namibia, we initiated the development process in Drupal, starting with a new custom template based on a Bootstrap template. We added new functionalities and custom modules to enhance the website.
The entire development process was carried out using Git and the Gitflow workflow, which involved Pull Requests and Drupal configuration.
The final design was developed using SCSS (Sass) and organized into different files, following a specific naming convention that aligns with Drupal standards. This approach will facilitate future maintenance activities.
Throughout the development, we managed various functionalities, including:
- Created a React component to navigate through the member states of SADC, synchronized with member state descriptions via a RESTful API.
- Developed custom content types to manage data related to member states, stakeholders, and policy documents.
- Implemented pipelines to enable bulk CSV document uploads.
- Designed employment and procurement forms.
- Provided multi-language support for English, French, and Portuguese.
- Developed custom views and modules to manage specific functionalities related to events and opportunities.
- Ensured content synchronization with GN-SEC (Global Network of Regional Sustainable Energy Centers) and UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization).
- Conducted SEO optimization to improve search engine visibility.