Sector(s)
DamFailures.org approached Specbee with a familiar challenge - Security concerns and maintenance headaches on WordPress. They needed something more stable, but still friendly for their marketing and content teams. So, we introduced them to the new Drupal CMS. And what did it result in? Their performance scores shot up from 52 to 98, the content team got editing right away, and the entire project was wrapped up in just six weeks!
DamFailures.org, an ASDSO initiative, is a knowledge hub for dam safety professionals and students. It features case studies, lessons learned, and rich resources (like videos, papers, and webinars) to help understand and prevent dam failures across all types and failure modes.
Looking for something similar? Reach out to Specbee today!
The Goal
The Damfailures.org team wanted a fresh, new look for their website. Something that would help visitors easily find and interact with important dam safety information. At the same time, they needed to move away from WordPress to a more secure, scalable platform, which made Drupal CMS the perfect fit.
The Challenge
- Media files were scattered all over their WordPress install
- The built‑in search only matched titles, making it a chore to track down the right case study.
- They had just six weeks to pull off a full redesign and migration.
- With thousands of pages, images, glossary terms, and case studies to move, every piece needed careful, custom handling to land smoothly in Drupal.
The Process
We started by giving the website a full makeover with clean layouts, better navigation, and a more consistent look to make it easier for users to explore. Then came the careful move from WordPress to Drupal. We made sure all the content, relationships, and metadata stayed intact during the transition.
We used Drupal’s Layout Builder so that the Damfailures.org team could easily create and edit pages without needing a developer. We also added powerful search tools, making it quicker to find case studies and lessons. We improved accessibility and performance to make the site faster and usable for everyone. Hosting it on AWS gave the site the global reliability it needed, and our automated deployment process meant updates would be smooth and error-free going forward.
The Result
The new Drupal site saw a dramatic boost in performance, with scores soaring from 52 to 98. Pages now load almost instantly, navigation feels seamless, and interactions are noticeably smoother. For users, that means quicker access to critical information. For editors, it’s a faster, more responsive backend that makes managing content feel effortless.
Drupal CMS checked all the right boxes for Damfailures.org. A smooth, secure migration, an easy drag-and-drop interface for non-tech users, and even AI-assisted content management to make their lives easier. With Layout Builder and a powerful search, it gave their critical content the structure and accessibility it needed, without overwhelming the team managing it.
We knew our website needed some major attention, but as a small staff of non-developers, we were concerned about the level of effort and time needed to complete the project. Luckily, transitioning our website from WordPress to Drupal CMS felt quick and seamless! The Specbee team was knowledgeable and responsive, which made the project an easy lift. We are very happy with the new look and functionality. Immediately upon logging into the new website, our staff could begin making updates and exploring the new features because the interface was intuitive.
Katelyn Riley
Communications Director
Association of State Dam Safety Officials, Inc.
Technical Specifications
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