How we optimized the full stack performance of World Bank Drupal sites
What do you do when you realize that using Google performance tools are not enough to meet your goals? In mid-2015, the IT team at the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) at the World Bank had a problem. Their existing Drupal sites provided relevant information to an international audience, but users with limited internet connections and mobile devices were complaining about poor performance and issues loading content.
Scoring highly on Google PageSpeed Insights is important for several reasons, including improving SEO and site experience. But the ultimate goal of the performance project was to load the site more efficiently - therefore shortening the digital divide in developing countries and better empowering people without broadband to efficiently access content.
Redesigning the existing sites was not practical, nor an efficient use of resources, so instead CGAP turned to Four Kitchens for assistance in rearchitecting and optimizing the existing sites. Today, the sites consume a fraction of the bandwidth they once did, cache effectively and properly, and fulfil CGAP’s mission.
Join the technical and project management staff from both organizations as we discuss:
- Measuring and optimizing the both the front- and backend
- Effective caching strategies
- Analyzing architecture and infrastructure
- Unraveling code cathedrals and fostering best practices
- What worked - and what didn’t
- Asynchronously collaborating over multiple continents
- Tools used and what was most effective
This session is intended for both developers and non-technical staff who would like to know practical approaches for effectively optimizing sites without a complete rewrite.
The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor is a global partnership of 34 leading organizations that seek to advance financial inclusion. Housed at the World Bank, CGAP develops innovative solutions through practical research and active engagement with financial service providers, policy makers, and funders to enable approaches at scale.
Four Kitchens is a web design consulting firm based in Austin, TX. They are a full-service shop. Strategy, design, and code are all handled in-house by our talented team of Web Chefs using open-source software.