Drupal Adoption & Website Rebuild Guide
A guide to help you plan, rebuild, and launch your website on Drupal. Follow along for tools, tips, resources, and best practices that support every step of the way.
Start the process
Let Stanford Web Services (SWS) know you are interested in moving your current website from Jumpstart or Stanford Sites to our new Stanford Sites Drupal Platform. Fill out our Request for Drupal Assessment & Assistance to get started.
Audit your content
Why perform a content audit?
Performing a content audit on your current site will help you:
- Get a better handle on the size of your site.
- Learn how much content-related work you will need to prepare for your rebuild.
- Plan to rebuild only the content that is relevant to your website’s mission, leaving outdated or non-functional aspects of your site behind.
Content audit tool
SWS can set up a Content Audit Tool on your Drupal site to help you get a handle on the size and scope of your rebuild project.
Review your information architecture
Map your site pages
Is your site organization meeting the needs of your users? Make decisions before you start your rebuild.
- Sketch out the organization of pages on your site on paper or by using a simple, free sitemapping tool like GlooMaps.
- Review language used for menu items and key page titles.
- Identify possible changes to landing and interior pages.
Additional help
Check out the Stanford Sites Drupal User Guide to see what's possible to do with content and design on your new site.
Need more assistance? Schedule some time with an SWS User Experience designer or web producer.
Identify a hosting solution
Stanford Sites managed CMS
This might be a good fit if you want:
- Stanford branding on your site.
- The latest Stanford Sites features.
- Easy-to-use editing environment.
- Someone else to manage security updates.
- Free hosting.
Stanford’s custom hosting on Acquia
This might be a good fit if you want:
- Stanford branding or flexible theming.
- The ability to add modules of your choice.
- The option to start with the Stanford Drupal profile and extend it.
- Acquia’s add-on services, like Acquia CMS, Site Studio or Migrate.
Identify key stakeholders, staffing, and budget
Key stakeholders
Identify and document key stakeholders.
- Who should approve content on a page?
- Who needs to approve the site before it’s launched?
Who will build?
Determine who will be doing the rebuild.
Do you have sufficient internal staff, or do you need assistance?
Budget
Plan and consider budget for your rebuild. Fill out the Drupal Adoption form to get assistance with the budget for your project.
Plan your rebuild timeline
Think about your timeline for the rebuild and be sure to budget time for reviewing, freezing, and moving website content.
-
Project discovery, planning, & schedulingAfter scoping and setting goals for the new site, schedule dates for your key site stakeholders and content editors to review and approve pages.
-
Website ContentBreak down work into tasks and block time for content editing.
-
Website BuildingBlock time on your team’s calendar to migrate and review the content to your new Drupal site.
Use this sample website build timeline as a template to plan your website rebuild timeline. Not all projects have the same steps. Copy the sheet and adjust as needed for your project.
Get training and start building!
Drupal training
Sign up to attend the free “Introduction to Stanford Sites Drupal” training session to get familiar with the new product.
Stanford Sites Drupal User Guide
Start building your new site and refer to the Stanford Sites User Guide for help.
Additional support
Need help getting started? If you need additional support, SWS offers fee-based services to help or can refer you to a pre-approved vendor.
Accessibility compliance
Stanford's policy is to make websites accessible to people of all abilities. To ensure your site is accessible, review these concepts and consider an accessibility review with the Office of Digital Accessibility.
Launch your site
To make sure that your website is launch-ready, review the pre-launch content checklist and logistics, which also includes guidance for creating a virtual host.
View launch checklist about Stanford Web Services Request for Drupal Assessment and Assistance
