Drupal Site Audit Uncovers Key Challenges for Online Gaming Site

As we took up the project, the client shared the major issues that they were looking to resolve

• User Onboarding: The client site experiences high traffic throughout the week. During the weekend, traffic would jump to three times as much as usual. This meant long site load times. More importantly, users were not able to log onto the site. The client was dealing with over 45% unsuccessful login requests.
• Image Loading: Due to a static CDN, business users could not directly add images to the content. They had to first upload images on the FTP server and then put in the absolute paths in the CMS to get the images rendered on site. This meant longer time-to-market for updating content or publishing new content. This also caused slow page loading and consequent loss of users.

Our technical team, comprising two members visited the client’s offices in Manila to begin the audit of their Drupal 7 projects. The key action items for us were:

• Talk to all the stakeholders across the different departments to understand why the project was implemented in the manner that it was
• Audit the project against our checklists and best practices
• Perform automated static code analysis and manual code review of critical features

As the team got to work, the client was highly impressed with their approach.

The team completed the Drupal site audit in 6 days. During the audit, the team shared daily reports with the client, highlighting issues as well as quick solutions and workarounds. They were also holding daily discussions with the client teams to truly understand their pain points in this project. This ensured that the client was completely involved in the audit process, and our team delivered on their expectations.

Outcomes

Based on the audit, the team recommended certain solutions for the client.

Improved User Experience with Faster Page Load Times
The team recommended that a dynamic CDN be implemented on the website. This meant that business users would not have to upload the images/media on different FTP servers. They could upload the images directly in the Drupal CMS, using the image utility feature, saving them time and effort. This also meant that users no longer had to wait for pages to load.

Faster Site Performance
The team recommended the implementation of a Redis server and demonstrated its effectiveness. This would enable caching on blocks, to ensure faster page load times for both logged in and anonymous users.

Reduced User Onboarding Issues
The team recommended a change in login strategy that would considerably reduce the number of failed logins. Implementing this would bring down user onboarding issues by approximately 70%.

Once the Drupal site audit was complete, the team had a few days left till the conclusion of the engagement. Keeping in mind the client’s requirements, they decided to add value by conducting a training session for the client’s in-house Drupal team. They shared their expertise on Drupal best practices and how to ensure faster deployment.

The client team was pleased with the way we handled the entire engagement. The client’s Head of IT commented,

“Srijan (now Material) was professional and keen on achieving our targets during the entire engagement of our project. They provided technical insights and best practices that were aligned with my team’s expectations.

The team was able to start from ground zero and maneuver their way to where we are today, with minimal supervision and even working with our business teams directly without problems. They were truly agile, not just in project implementation, but also in working with us on contracts and various logistical requests. I would recommend Srijan (now Material) as a reliable outsourcing partner that delivers the value we need!”

Based on our work on the client’s Drupal audit, they are now engaged with us on a website building project for one of their holdings in Japan.