The plans of BioRegio STERN Management GmbH to relaunch its own company website in terms of both technology and design began back in summer 2018. With its life science cluster, BioRegio is committed to strong biotechnological research and seeks to combine high-tech expertise from start-ups in the Stuttgart, Neckar-Alb, Tübingen and Reutlingen regions to promote economic development.
The main focus of the relaunch was on the satisfaction of the members of BioRegio STERN, primarily biotechnology companies, universities and research institutions from Baden-Württemberg, for whom the new website should represent real added value. As a central means of communication, the website bioregio-stern.de was redeveloped by the internet agency Frank und Freunde with a particular focus on a modern appearance in line with the corporate design and improved usability .
Content Management System: Drupal 8
At the beginning of a relaunch, the question arises as to whether the previous content management system still meets the company's requirements for a modern website. While TYPO3, for example, scores with a wide range of functions and individual extensions, Drupal as an enterprise CMS impresses with a user-friendly interface, multilingualism and a versatile connection to external services via interfaces.
As the old website was based on the open-source CMS Drupal 7, the logical decision was to update to Drupal 8 - especially as the BioRegios team already had editorial expertise in this area. From a technical point of view, Drupal as a web system also ideally met the requirements for the website relaunch.
Improved usability
As the design of the previous BioRegio STERN website was strongly oriented towards the company's print presence, it was necessary to create a new and, above all, modern digital appearance from a design perspective. In consultation with the client, Frank und Freunde created the website in a future-proof web design (UX design) that not only communicates the role of BioRegio in the best possible way digitally, but also adapts to the new navigation structure.
The website content was also to be restructured and repositioned as part of the relaunch - all with a view to ensuring the visibility of current and relevant content. When designing the new website structure, the focus was on maximizing usability, i.e. giving users - but also editors - an immediate familiar feeling when visiting the site. Of course, the new website is responsive and can therefore be used across all devices.
Individual development with numerous website features
In addition to the development of a new content structure, a new web design and the CMS basis with Drupal, the Stuttgart-based digital agency .FUF also had to implement customer-specific requirements as part of the project. First and foremost, the interface connections via the job portals academic and jobvector via API should be mentioned here, which, supplemented by their own job offers, gives users access to a detailed and always up-to-date job overview from the relevant sectors.
In addition, potential members can use customized forms to register for the company database, which can be viewed both graphically as a map and in a clear tile list. This is where Drupal's sophisticated taxonomy and filtering system really comes into its own. Supplemented by a highly efficient global search, implemented with the Java open source platform Apache Solr.
BioRegio relaunch - a forward-looking website
With the relaunch of the BioRegio STERN website, the internet agency Frank und Freunde from Stuttgart has created a modern and user-centered Drupal website. FUF proved that it is always worth thinking one step ahead and adapting objectives to a holistic strategy in order to make a sustainable and valuable investment with the new website.
With its new Drupal site, BioRegio STERN has all the tools it needs to present its new digital corporate identity and build on the work of .FUF.