Skip to Main Content

Website Status

Website Upgrade - Content Management System

Summary: The DAISY Consortium is upgrading its website to offer more features and user capabilities.

Phase 1: Conversion of all content to the content management system. The first phase is complete, effective late 2009; the next phases will be rolled out when ready with no disruption of service.  Redirects and aliases for URLs (webpage addresses) are in effect.

  • Changes for users: all links have changed, update your bookmarks, please let us know what was missed or problems created...
    • Most directories and .php files are gone, most pages are named similarly, i.e. /about_us/mission.php is redirected to /mission.
    • Login information is below in FAQ format.
  • Changes for developers and content creators: all links have changed, update your pages that link to our site, please let us know what we missed or problems created...
    • .asp, .shtml and now .php pages are gone. .htm and .html pages remain but most content is pulled from the database. Please reference the site menus for new urls.
    • Pages under projects may have several aliases depending on the file structure. Any specific 'project_workarea' directories will be upgraded in Phase 3.

Reference: Drupal Content Management System (CMS)

Phase 2: Login capabilities are implemented for individual users to manage their own account with respect to id, password, and demographic information.

  1. Authorization of individuals with organizations

    Frequently Asked Questions About User Login Accounts and Permissions (updated)

  2. Expanded member organization information (complete early 2010)
  3. Authorized updates of member organization tools and services (coming)

Reference: CiviCRM Constituency Relationship Management (CRM)

Phase 3: Implementation of Work Group capabilities: public and/or private wiki, blog, calendar and issue tracking with Work Group admins managing roles and assignments.

  • The first priority by end of first quarter 2010 is to create a updated area for Training and Tech Support for the benefit of all members. The focus is to enable community-based collaboration of a dynamic knowledge network.
  • Real-time updates of DAISY Tools and Services

Phase 4: Community driven - let us know !

Comparison Chart

Top 10 Reasons to upgrade to a CMS
  OLD NEW
1. Most users logged in with the same log in and password information. Each user has an individual login account. 
2. Web site logins and authorization levels needed to be set up by DAISY staff. Users are able to create their own login account; authorization for Members-only access is managed by the account manager for each DAISY Member and Friend.
3. Users needed to notify staff with information to update account information. Users are able to update their user profile and account managers can update their organization profile in real time.
4. File uploads for work groups were done via FTP with limited capabilities. Work group content, security and privileges, will be managed by the work group community.
5. Content organization was static, with limited cross-referencing. Content can be organized dynamically.
6. Editing of website content had to be done by DAISY staff; group editing was not possible. Blog, wiki and forum content can be updated by the DAISY community and is moderated by authorized users.
7. Content was organized in physical directories or in separate database tables. Content is organized in a very large database of inter-connected tables.
8. Content creators and editors had to have a level of web development skills to create new content or update existing content. Text entry fields with WYSIWYG editor options simplify content creation and editing, allowing users who do not have web development skills to make updates.
9. Specific scripts and web forms had to be created for each web development project. The CMS architecture enables reuse and modular design, providing access to open source development and building on the efforts and experience of others.
10. Every new feature required custom coding and testing for web accessibility. Web accessibility standards are being incorporated into Drupal making it easier to create accessible websites.

Deployment Plan

  1. Emails and News Announcements will inform users of significant changes as they happen.
  2. Feature articles in the monthly newsletter are planned to provide broader coverage.
  3. Upgrades and enhancements will not impact production services.  All services will be functional but some minor glitches should be expected.
  4. Once upgrade/enhancement is completed, documentation and training materials on how to use new features will be linked to from this page.

Issues and Concerns

Your input is desired. Please use the Contact Us form to submit website comments and suggestions.


Valid XHTML 1.0!