United Way Online

Business Challenge

The legacy United Way Online platform was built on outdated technologies, including Drupal 7 and an obsolete AWS stack, leading to performance issues, limited scalability, and increased maintenance complexity. Additionally, the platform contained over a decade of content, much of which was outdated or irrelevant, making it difficult for users to find valuable information efficiently. The low user experience, both in terms of design and performance, resulted in low platform usage and engagement.Furthermore, the platform lacked robust collaboration tools, making it difficult for NGOs worldwide to share data and communicate effectively.

Cheppers’s proposed Solution

To address the challenges faced by United Way Online, we implemented a comprehensive modernization and restructuring plan focused on enhancing performance, usability, and collaboration.

First, we migrated the platform from Drupal 7 to Drupal 10, leveraging modern technologies to improve scalability, performance, and maintainability. We also upgraded the hosting environment from the outdated AWS stack to a more robust, cloud-native architecture, including Kubernetes on AWS EKS. This allowed us to optimize resource management and streamline deployment processes using Terraform and Helm.

During the migration, we created new content types and restructured existing ones to better align with user needs. This process involved updating, archiving, and reorganizing legacy content to improve relevance and usability. Additionally, we enhanced the information architecture to ensure content was more accessible and logically organized.

User experience was a core focus, and we redesigned the platform with a modern, intuitive interface that prioritizes easy navigation and content discovery. We integrated full-text search with advanced filtering options to enhance content findability, while also implementing a responsive design for better usability across devices.

To ensure seamless integration with existing systems, we set up robust connectivity between Drupal and key third-party services like Salesforce and LDAP.Additionally, we implemented a Single Sign-On (SSO) system for secure and streamlined user authentication, while synchronizing user data between Salesforce and UWO to maintain accurate role and permission mapping.

Finally, to enhance collaboration among NGOs, we introduced tools for dynamic content creation, user engagement tracking, and personalized content delivery. By prioritizing performance, security, and usability, the revamped United Way Online platform now serves as a central, efficient hub for global collaboration and knowledge sharing.

Results and impact of our project

The modernization and restructuring of United Way Online proved to be highly successful for both the organization and its users. Migrating to Drupal 10 and adopting a cloud-native AWS architecture significantly improved platform performance, scalability, and maintainability, resulting in faster load times, enhanced security, and reduced maintenance efforts.

The improved content management strategy made the knowledge base more organized and relevant, allowing users to find valuable information more easily. Enhanced content types and an improved information architecture led to increased engagement and more intuitive navigation.

The modern interface and advanced search capabilities, including full-text search and dynamic filtering, greatly improved the user experience, leading to higher platform adoption and engagement across the global network of NGOs.

As a result, the new United Way Online has become a central hub for collaboration and resource sharing among hundreds of NGOs worldwide, significantly boosting productivity and fostering stronger community connections.