With an outdated website that was no longer secure and a time crunch to get their new site up and running, EALC enlisted the help of Stanford Web Services.
With a department that only consists of two staff members and a website that was no longer secure or suited their needs, Ai Tran and Connie Chin decided to enlist some help from Stanford Web Services (SWS) for their new website.
The project team for East Asian Language and Cultures (EALC) began to work on the new site with the goal of launching in as little as four months time.
In order to launch on schedule, Ai and Connie both realized that time was going to play a critical role in the project. In addition to their regular workload they would have to budget in enough time to work on the new site. Being a small department they knew finding time wasn’t going to be easy, but they were excited and up for the challenge.
Former site issues
The EALC’s old site was less than ideal. The website itself was insecure and not mobile responsive, it also had old Stanford branding on it. The backend was causing a lot of problems as well, it required a lot of hands-on maintenance which wasn’t feasible for a team of two. Links were constantly breaking, and the site had a dated user interface.
The first step in creating any new website is figuring out the client’s needs. The SWS and HSDO (Humanities & Sciences Dean’s Office) team worked with EALC to map out what look and design they wanted as well as how to rework their site’s content. The project team even had Connie and Ai sketch out what they envisioned for the site on whiteboards so that the project team could ensure that all of their needs were being met. In the case of the East Asian Languages and Cultures, a Jumpstart Academic (JSA) site was the best fit.
Goals for the new site
The main goal for this project was to create a website with a modern feel where the design stayed consistent with Stanford branding, while at the same time was easy to edit and didn’t require backend maintenance from the EALC team. In addition to these requirements there was also a need for a quick turnaround.
With the Jumpstart Academic site package, the project team addressed those issues and added additional features. Thanks to the uniformity of the Jumpstart sites, the EALC’s Jumpstart Academic site allowed for a fast and efficient timeline to get the site up and running, which was a top priority for this project. Another advantage of Jumpstart is that the SWS team takes care of all the backend maintenance and updates, which allows the EALC team to focus solely on their content.
In addition to the ease of use and uniformity that comes with a Jumpstart website, the SWS team provides many resources. These resources include weekly office hours and direct contact with SWS team members, which the EALC team has found to be extremely helpful while building and maintaining their site. Post launch it was easy to setup face-to-face meetings due to the close proximity of the SWS team located right on campus.
Once the project was completed, EALC had a fully functional JSA site that provided a modern design with easy navigation. The project finished on time and the EALC team felt supported by SWS throughout the entire process. When speaking with Ai, she mentioned that she really enjoyed building the new site and learned a lot about Drupal and web development during the project. She also spoke to how the new site has received a vast amount of positive feedback from both students and faculty.
Now that EALC has a new site, changes can be implemented more quickly and website visitors can easily find what they need. This is largely attributed to the Jumpstart process and the dedication of the EALC team to their site.
If you're interested in learning more about this project, contact SWS Director, Sara Worrell-Berg SWS at swberg@stanford.edu.
