From Dispair To Victory, The National Disability Rights Network Rises

The National Dissability Rights Network (NDRN) was looking to rebuild their website. It had been created in the 1990s and was beginning to feel antequated. The visual appeal wasn't they only thing they were hoping to improve though. The structure of their website also needed an overhaul of massive proportions. NDRN is a disability rights advocacy group that works with congress to ensure all United States citizens with dissabilities are represented and accomodated. Because of this, they produce many documents and studies which provide incredibly useful resources for those that help to further NDRN's cause in the capitol.

NDRN's website had grown from just a few simple web pages (individual HTML pages) into a vast library of links to other webpages, files, and images which were all added at different times by different people. The website had grown organically with no vision or pre-developed plan and it had become a monster to manage and maintain.

That's when BizHelper asked if we could help. We offered our plan of action for refreshing the look and feel of the website as well as migrating all of the National Disability Rights Network's web pages and documents to Joomla, a powerful content management system. Along with this plan, we also wanted to make sure that NDRN wasn't handed something they couldn't use to their maximum benefit. That's why we offered face to face and video training on how to use Joomla and its extensions.

NDRN accepted and BizHelper's team of web development professionals got to work. A plan of action was put in place and tasks and milestones were added to BizHelper's Project Management suite, Active Collab. The project was checked and double checked in the planning stages to look for risks and ensure that most major problems that could occur could swiftly be dealt with if they arose. Planning completed, it was time to start migrating the content.

NDRN's menu was re-arranged to improve flow and assist users in finding the information they need faster. Web pages were read for consistency, accuracy, and NDRN's staff was consulted to check if any articles were out of date. Files and images were also renamed with a universal naming scheme which was descriptive and indicated when the file had last been edited. While all of this was happening, everything was also being reviewed to make sure that it would be completely accessible, meeting WCAG 2.0's high standards.

Every step of the way, NDRN was kept informed of the progress of BizHelper's team. When the content migration began to wind down and the project began to near completion, training meetings were scheduled and resources were communicated which would enable NDRN's staff to maintain and upgrade their website on their own, all part of BizHelper's motto of Helping People Help Themselves. After all, even though BizHelper is happy to assist in making any changes neccessary, it's not in anyone's interest to have a third party get in the way of a smooth workflow. It's best when User and Website can work hand in hand, saving time and money.

Today, the National Disability Rights Network is leveraging the power of their website to inform their partners about all of the projects they're undertaking. They're providing new resources to the general public, and using videos to communicate a more powerful message. Their future looks bright and their website is helping them communicate with the world like never before.