Since 2019, Mobomo has partnered with the University of Colorado’s National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) to support a full-scale website redesign followed by long-term Operations and Maintenance (O&M) support. This engagement focused on transforming NSIDC’s digital presence from an outdated platform into a modern, responsive, and accessible Drupal-based solution. Mobomo delivered a tailored, user-centered design that not only improved usability but also introduced a maintainable content architecture aligned with NSIDC’s research and outreach goals. Today, Mobomo continues to provide proactive, dependable O&M services that maintain the site’s performance, security, and accessibility.
Goals: NSIDC engaged Mobomo to redesign its web platform to better reflect its mission, research, and service to the global scientific community. The goal was to replace an unstructured legacy site with a secure, streamlined, and engaging digital experience that could serve a diverse audience—including scientists, educators, policymakers, and the public.
The new platform needed to improve content discoverability, simplify editorial workflows, and ensure compliance with accessibility standards. Additionally, the long-term objective was to sustain the site's reliability and usability over time through proactive maintenance, while enabling continuous enhancements driven by user insights and evolving requirements.
Requirements: To meet NSIDC’s goals, Mobomo led the end-to-end digital transformation process, starting with user research and stakeholder interviews that informed the foundation of the project. Our team applied a user-centered design (UCD) approach to create personas, journey maps, and interactive prototypes, validated through iterative usability testing. This ensured the design accurately reflected user motivations, workflows, and accessibility needs.
We overhauled NSIDC’s information architecture by auditing and restructuring thousands of content pages, enabling intuitive navigation and improved content governance. Mobomo executed a comprehensive, five-phase content migration with 100% data integrity and preserved legacy URLs, maintaining uninterrupted access to historical data and publications.
Our DevOps team implemented an automated deployment pipeline and version control framework, enabling efficient updates and minimizing risk across environments. Quality assurance and quality control were embedded throughout agile sprints, ensuring functional and aesthetic precision in every release.
Following launch, Mobomo transitioned to O&M services, providing continuous patching, performance monitoring, usability improvements, and integration support—including enhancements like the implementation of the ELOKA theme and domain module to further modernize the site.
Outcome: Mobomo’s partnership with NSIDC successfully delivered a responsive, accessible, and data-rich website that enhances public access to critical polar research. The improved site architecture and UCD-led design have significantly elevated usability and audience engagement.
Our DevOps and QA frameworks ensured a smooth rollout, while our rigorous content migration preserved institutional knowledge without disrupting user experience. The seamless integration of enhancements like the ELOKA theme reinforced the site's stability and visual appeal.
Thanks to consistent, high-quality O&M services, Mobomo has received multiple contract renewals and continues to serve as a trusted digital partner. NSIDC’s leadership has recognized Mobomo’s technical reliability, rapid response capabilities, and commitment to excellence. The success of this engagement demonstrates the long-term value of Mobomo’s design, development, and maintenance expertise for mission-driven research organizations.
Drupal was chosen per customer preference.
Technical Specifications
Drupal version:
Key modules/theme/distribution used:
