Background
The PRSI program, a cornerstone initiative for my NYC-based Christian nonprofit client, has been pivotal in engaging a diverse, global audience. Initially developed on Drupal, the PRSI website aimed to provide resources across multiple languages. However, as the program expanded across multiple languages, the site’s limitations became apparent, prompting a reevaluation of its digital strategy.
Client Needs
As the project lead, I took the initiative to set up strategic discussions with my client to clearly define the project’s main objectives and establish a roadmap for developing a long-term, scalable solution. Recognizing the importance of an efficient and seamless migration, I recommended prioritizing the replication of the English site into Webflow for the initial phase. This approach ensured a solid foundation for future localization efforts while aligning with the client’s broader goals for scalability and cost-efficiency. I planned to use these insights to inform strategy and timeline for designing and implementing the remaining 9 locales.
Migration
Phase 1 began with assessing the existing user experience on the former Drupal website. This process allowed us to identify all the key elements required to replicate the English site in Webflow, including forms, external links, UI components, and existing integrations. I documented all necessary accessibility updates for Phase Two, such as addressing issues like white text over images without overlays (as shown to the left and below), ensuring the site met modern accessibility standards.
Review of pages from previous PRSI website
Migrated Webflow Site (Homepage featured a slider of images)
Due to the low complexity of the former site, I did not run into many roadblocks during this initial port into Webflow. However, with seven content-heavy pages, the biggest challenge was organizing and presenting the extensive copy in a clear, structured, and user-friendly way to ensure seamless readability and engagement.
I was able to migrate all seven pages of the English site in about a month, including a functional form for users to join my client's NYC PRS gathering. We used Zapier to automate saving contact entries into my client’s CRM Platform (Sendgrid) and sending automatic email replies from form submissions, which is expanded upon further in Phase 3.
Results
80%
Reduction
in Maintenance Costs (annually)
37%
Increase
In Website performance*
40%
Reduction
In turnaround time for copy change requests (avg time now 1-3 days)
*based on GTMetrix performance review
Site Speed and Optimization Results
! conducted a load time comparison between the original Drupal site (tested on ko.prsi.org) and the new Webflow site. At the time of testing, prsi.org had already been replaced by the Webflow site, so I used the Korean locale (ko.prsi.org) as a representative sample of the original site’s performance. Since both the English and Korean locales were hosted on the same Drupal platform, the results are consistent with the previous site’s overall performance. The Webflow site demonstrated significantly improved load times compared to the Drupal site.
GTMetrix Performance Report for new PRSI.org site in Webflow
GTMetrix Performance Report for Drupal site
Since my clients came from a non-technical background, it was exciting witnessing their ‘aha moments’ when the website was initially pushed live. With this excitement, teams began providing feedback on the content they wanted to remove or add to the new design. This led us to discuss with each language team to understand what functionality was necessary in their locale as we moved into phase two of the project where we would be adding in the remaining 9 locales.
