Tompkins County Cooperative Extension

Community outreach and resources view site

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County asked GORGES to help them redesign their web presence and develop a long term content management strategy. Over the course of several planning meetings, we listened to their web team and learned about the various complexities of developing a web presence for such a large and distributed organization. Based upon our findings, we created a website that comprehensively addressed the needs of the entire organization. In order to empower the staff to contribute to and maintain the web site, we implemented this project within the highly extensible Drupal content management platform.

(click the numbers to see more) Design Examples

Tompkins County Cooperative Extension Program Page

We gave each of the 10 subject areas of Cooperative Extension its own distinct home within the main website

Unified Look and Feel

Cooperative Extension offers programming to Tompkins County and the Finger Lakes region of New York State in at least 10 different subject areas and each contains many smaller outreach programs. Previously, each of these subject areas had been responsible for developing their own web presence. Over time, this led to a confusing and highly disjointed user experience. In the redesign, we worked with the web team to give each subject area its own distinct flavor, while still tying them all together visually with a common look and feel.

Distributed Publishing Workflow

Due to the size of Cooperative Extension, it was critical to develop a system that allowed each division and subject area to manage their own sections of the site independently. We worked with the web team to develop a simple and intuitive content management workflow that empowered the 80+ content contributors, while still giving editorial control and final publishing rights to the web team. The result was an accessible system that everyone could use with a publishing process that gave the web team the ability to enforce quality control.

Complex Website Features Made Simple

Throughout this project, we leveraged the powerful features of the open-source php-based content management system Drupal to create simple interfaces for complex functionality. Across the site, users have intuitive tools to generate compelling content with a range of media from text to video to graphics to flash. We built a comprehensive resource library with document uploading and video management, inline photo galleries, and interfaces for featuring and promoting any content across the site.

Features

Distributed content management with a streamlined publishing workflow
Fine grained access-control enabling all users to create content, but only administrators to publish
Intuitive content management tools for non-technical content contributors
Built in photo gallery utilities for creating dynamic, on-page photo presentations
Powerful form building tools for creating online registrations and surveys
Dynamic tools for promoting and featuring content across the home and landing pages
Flexible page layouts for creating variation across the site
Banner management tools that allow CCE Tompkins to showcase their amazing library of photography
Comprehensive resource library of documents, videos, files, and fact sheets
Website programming and content supports Tompkins County, including Ithaca, Dryden, Lansing, Caroline, Newfield, Enfield, and the greater Finger Lakes region of NY

"We are getting rave reviews for the new GORGES design both from visitors to our site and from our staff. It easy for visitors to find information and, through the related resources and event features, they are introduced to the breadth of information we offer. The content management system lets our staff focus on content without having to have expertise in design. The flexibility built into the design allows staff to be creative while still keeping a cohesive look to the website."

Sharon Anderson Environment Program Leader, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County