We’re on an exciting journey, upgrading to Drupal 10 and introducing a component-based design system that’s intuitive and powerful. This evolution marks an important step in Yale’s approach to the Open Web, aligning traditional requirements with emerging needs. Our platform is becoming a more intuitive and representative tool for our University. We’ve incorporated several platform improvements, including automated updates, a streamlined authoring experience, design enhancements, and augmented accessibility features.
Our Vision & Guiding Principles
More Than Just Technology
This evolution is more than a simple technology update. It’s a restructuring of YaleSites to reflect Yale’s commitment to our guiding principles. Supported by design input from OPAC and technical assistance from ITS, we aim to nurture a sense of community. Our focus has shifted from technology to storytelling, enabling you to share your Yale story.
Our Five Guiding Principles
The transition is rooted in these five key areas
Uniformity
We’re creating a unified platform that reflects Yale’s brand and legacy. By leveraging Yale’s typographical legacy, we’ve built a design system—supported by Emulsify, an open-source project run by Four Kitchens—that works independently from the CMS. This system includes elements like colors and typefaces, creating a professional yet inviting digital presence. It’s designed to adapt to future needs, permitting broader application within Yale’s digital ecosystem.
Inclusivity
We’re committed to accessibility. Our platform is designed to provide an accessible experience on all sites, devices, and platforms. With tools like SiteImprove and the editoria11y module, we’re making website accessibility a standard. Backed by a dedicated accessibility team and comprehensive testing, our commitment lies in offering an enjoyable user experience for all.
User-centricity
We’ve put our users at the heart of our platform. With Drupal’s layout builder and Storybook.js via Emulsify, we’re offering a simplified, intuitive interface. A selection of ‘blocks’ enables you to build a page that captures your unique Yale narrative, with the flexibility to adjust theme settings universally or individually.
Standardization
We’re enhancing our platform’s security and efficiency by managing a single, unified codebase in collaboration with Pantheon.io. This approach, which includes SSL secured cached content delivery from over 60 global locations via Fastly, ensures individual content storage and allows for site-wide changes and block-level layout, creating a cohesive customizable user experience that is fast, stable, and secure.
Sustainability
We’re future-proofing YaleSites; our ongoing improvement strategy ensures YaleSites is prepared for future needs. Developed for data classified as Low Risk, our flexible design enables the introduction of new integrations, Blocks, and content management methods without major overhauls. We’re committed to continuous growth and evolution, introducing new features seamlessly while maintaining security and stability.
Empowering the Yale Community
For those tasked with building and maintaining sites, we offer extensive training opportunities. Whether you need to build a website or devise a content strategy, we’ve got you covered. Our new platform is designed to please not only our site creators but also all site visitors. Upcoming features, such as shared layouts and content post-syndication, will be geared towards enhancing collaboration and simplifying content sharing.
We’re excited about this journey and are grateful for your participation as we shape the future of YaleSites. We’re building this for you, the Yale community, and we can’t wait to see the amazing things you’ll create.
Yale Web Team
What’s next for YaleSites
Our YaleSites product roadmap is a dynamic blueprint that outlines our vision for the future of the YaleSites platform.