Web Relaunch Forschungszentrum Jülich

Web relaunch of the main portal www.fz-juelich.de with 14 departments and more than 100 institutes with Plone 6.

Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ) is one of the largest interdisciplinary research institutions in Europe and contributes to solving major societal challenges. Almost 7,450 people from 114 countries work hand in hand here with 1,457 guest scientists from 72 countries.

After 18 months of development, the main portal www.fz-juelich.de, together with 14 institute websites and more than 100 institute departments and hundreds of other websites were realised with Plone 6.

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Introduction

Forschungszentrum Jülich faced a major challenge in November 2020: the content management system (CMS) it had been using, Government Site Builder (GSB) version 7, was technically outdated and support was coming to an end. The content management system was confusing and not very user-friendly, which led to high costs for training and maintenance for hundreds of editors.

The research centre's website was extremely comprehensive and included:

  • The main portal (fz-juelich.de)
  • The career portal
  • 11 institute departments
  • Over 80 institute websites
  • Over 40 websites of business divisions and staff units
  • Hundreds of project websites

In addition, the coronavirus pandemic broke out at the start of the project, which made it impossible to organise on-site training sessions. Hundreds of editors had to be trained online in order to be able to use the new system efficiently. In addition, an extensive migration of 90 GB of data had to be carried out, including:

  • 40,000 images,
  • 13,000 files,
  • 7,000 messages,
  • 7,000 appointments.

The project took 18 months to realise.

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Challenges

  • Technical complexity: Migrating a huge amount of data (90 GB of data) and integrating numerous websites into a new system.
  • Ease of use: Ensuring that the new system is intuitive and easy to use.
  • Pandemic-related restrictions: Conducting online training for hundreds of editors.
  • Project timeline and budget: The entire transformation had to be completed within 18 months.

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Lösungen

The Jülich Research Centre decided to implement Plone 5.2 as the new CMS with the modern Volto frontend.

  • Blocks-based system: Enables flexible layouts and design options for editors.
  • User-friendliness: Volto ensures intuitive usability and makes editorial work more efficient.
  • Multi-site setup: A centralised system that manages all portals and websites seamlessly.
  • Comprehensive migration: All content was successfully transferred to the new system, with automation and structured processes ensuring high data quality.
  • Online training: A digital training concept was developed to train all editors remotely.

Results

  • Technological modernisation: Forschungszentrum Jülich now has a modern, future-proof CMS.
  • Efficient editorial work: Editors benefit from an intuitive user interface and flexible layout options.
  • Centralised system: All websites and portals are integrated in a uniform, easy-to-maintain environment.
  • Successful migration: All data was reliably transferred to the new system without any losses or quality issues.
  • Project on time and on budget: Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, the project was completed on time and on budget.

The project impressively demonstrates how even the most complex challenges can be successfully mastered through the use of modern technologies, efficient processes and creative solutions. With its new CMS, Forschungszentrum Jülich is ideally positioned for the future.

Flexible, available and friendly - that was my experience of working with kitconcept during a complex and time-consuming migration project. The project was characterised throughout by mutual trust and a willingness to find solutions in a spirit of partnership. Two key factors that made a decisive contribution to the success of the project.

Philippe Patra

Project Lead Web Relaunch fz-juelich.de