FAIR goes hi-tech in cyberspace
FAIR announces a major upgrade to its website, now powered by Drupal, an advanced Content Management System (CMS)
"We now have the same website technology used by organizations such as Amnesty International, Fast Company and Harvard University" says Executive Director David Hutton. "This new platform is important because it will support unlimited future growth and development of the site, and provides tools for better engaging our visitors and volunteer helpers across the country."
This technology makes possible:
- an endless variety of ways for visitors to select and view content
- more interaction with visitors e.g. through blogs, 'star' ratings, comments and polls
- the ability for many people in different locations to participate in adding content, as editors, translators and blog contributors
- very simple methods of adding content using a browser (e.g. Firefox or Internet Explorer) without requiring any special software on the contributor's computer
- automatic handling of formatting, layout, headings etc. by the system, giving all pages a consistent, professional appearance
- seamless handling of language-switching (e.g. for content that is available in both official languages).
What is a Content Management System?
Unlike traditional 'static' websites, a CMS stores all of the content in an online database, and displays this 'dynamically' on demand: each web page is created at the instant the visitor requests it. The software that we have chosen – Drupal – is free and open source (like the software that powers most of the internet). It is also highly capable. Thousands of major organizations – including Warner Brothers Records, The New York Observer, Fast Company, Popular Science, and Amnesty International – use it for their primary websites.
