The secret to our DrupalCon site success(es)

Deeson Online has been privileged to design sites for both DrupalCon London and the upcoming DrupalCon Prague. So we thought we'd share some of our lessons and insight on what to consider when building a DrupalCon site.

1. It's all about… timing: The overarching pressure is the conference deadline. This is fixed and if you crash it, well, you're in trouble. And so is the conference… Now while that makes the DrupalCon site build pretty intense, it also forces you to be focused, which is why planning is so important.

2. Embrace the community: The Drupal Community is your best friend. They'll give you strong opinions and it's important that you tap into this vast pool of ideas by consulting it during the early stages of your planning and build. As we all know, Drupalers are an excellent, enthusiastic, vocal and sometimes brutal bunch who freely share their insight and views... which is exactly what you need as you plan, refine and improve the DrupalCon site.

3. Get the brand right: Because DrupalCons are held in different locations, part of the creative brief is to produce a brand that will resonate not just on an international level, but also on a local level. A fine balancing act, you need to create an identity for the site that's instantly recognisable for those who aren't familiar with the host city without drowning the site in clichès. The local Drupal community team and Drupal Association usually help with this and out of those discussions come the agreed branding, which means it's a collaborative process. Nice.

4. Release in stages: A DrupalCon site is based on Conference Organizing Distribution. This enables you to implement core features like news, bookings and sessions in stages. After all, some of the actual events may not even be finalised. So for example, the ticketing system can go live pretty early, meaning people can get their tickets, but the actual individual sessions may not be listed because they're still being proposed for the conference. In the meantime, the session schedule (see next) can also be built so that when sessions are approved, they can be quickly dropped in.

5. Session schedule: Hundreds of sessions are submitted all of which are reviewed by the local community team before the select few are approved. Those that are approved are then assigned to a date and time slot and form the basis of the session schedule. Historically, the session schedule has been the most difficult part of the site to create. This is particularly relevant when considering that mobile access of the site is on the increase. So keep it simple: a stacked layout is the most useable way forward and works well. It makes viewing a bit 'deeper', but people don't mind vertical scrolling on a mobile. What they do mind is things disappearing horizontally off the page, which is a big risk with a table layout. In addition, during the conference you often have to stream live keynotes to the site but again, you must ensure that people can view these on their smartphone, another reason why the mobile version must be themed correctly.

6. Post event: After each session, attendees of the DrupalCon can rate its quality. This aids the session or speaker selection process for the next conference. Similarly, after each session the live stream videos must then be added to the site within hours of them finishing, creating a wealth of content and knowledge for others to take advantage of and learn from.

7. Maintenance: Once all the big stuff is done, a lot of content is generated and added to the site. The Drupal Association and local team will run the main part of this, and it's in your interest to provide them with clear visual guidelines so that they are as free as they can be to get on with it. Sometimes, though, you may be needed for bits and bobs, often very last minute and very urgently, so plan in extra time around the other work items to allow for this.

Take-away top tips

• Plan: And while you're at it, give yourself wriggle room.

• Collaborate: Understand the local community. Spend time talking and engaging with them. But remember deadlines loom and sometimes bold decisions have to be made.

• Keep it simple: Map out different elements and features for the DrupalCon site without over complicating things. A mobile first approach will help with this.