The Bright Side Blog: Project News and Events

Rare Conditions website – Rare Care World

by bsl | Apr 29, 2019

RareCare World

A Drupal website for Rare Conditions & Diseases

Rarecare World: a site for Rare Conditions

The term ‘Rare Conditions’ is perhaps a misnomer. Probably there are more than 7,000 identified “rare” conditions worldwide. As a consequence, more than 400 million people are affected. So not really so rare!

Many rare conditions and diseases are genetic and present in childhood. Symptoms are often attributed to more easily recognized diseases, so there are many misdiagnoses. As a result, many patients receive unnecessary or incorrect treatments. At least partially because of this, around 30 percent of children born with a rare condition will die before the age of five.

In order to improve this situation, collaborative patient organizations representing individuals with rare disorders (and their families) have taken the initiative to provide a new website. A website that brings together information on early recognition of rare conditions, medical care and social support. The name of this web portal is Rarecare World.

BSL (re)designed and developed the Rare Care World website on behalf of Stichting Shwachman Support

RareCare Drupal 8 website for Rare Conditions

The Rare Conditions project

A version of the Rare Disease website existed before BSL joined the project. However, the client was unhappy with the results. The underlying relationships between rare diseases, symptoms, risk factors and treatments are sometimes complex. If these elements are incorrectly modeled in the database, it is difficult to produce a website that is easy to navigate. The previous developer had not understood the model. As a result, the existing site was confusing, difficult to navigate, and inaccurate. It was also not responsive. Consequently, it could not be used easily on tablets or mobiles. The site had been created using Drupal 8, so BSL had no difficulty in analyzing the site, and creating a proposal for improvements.

After a short design phase, we re-developed the site. And after a series of test releases, we delivered the site at the end of September 2018. During this project we used the techniques described in earlier blogs (continuous web development, design and development tips for web projects). As a result, the client was able to influence the development at several key stages, ensuring that the final release met all of their needs.

An incremental development…

During the first phase, we focused on an interface re-design, and data model improvements. We worked closely with the Rare Disease specialists, and the Rare Care World project team. There were a number of design meetings, during which the Rare Care team explained how the website should work. BSL produced a series of prototype designs, using the feedback given by the project team to finalize the design.

In parallel with the design work, BSL migrated the externally hosted website to one of our development servers. We created a Gitlab repository to manage our code changes, updated their DNS services, installed a SOLR server, and arranged new SSL certificates. Once the copy site was up and running, we created a second site, to be used for our development.

We made changes to the data model, based on our design work. And then we re-developed the user interface, using the designs agreed with the Rare Care project team. We still use Drupal 8, but we created a new sub-theme for the new design. The new version of the site also uses CSS styling (based on SASS), and TWIG templates. Our developers also made many changes to the existing JavaScript, HTML and AJAX code.

Our changes were made available as a series of test site releases. As a result, the Rare Care team could check and test our changes from anywhere in the world. Once the software was approved, we replaced the Rarecare.world website with our new version, migrating and converting their existing content. Finally we migrated their existing domain name to use one of our production servers.

After sales is part of our service. So we provided a maintenance agreement after delivering the first release. Above all this means we can provide support, fixing any issues noticed after delivery. We can also make small changes in reaction to feedback we receive. We continuously monitor the site from 5 locations in the world. Consequently we are automatically alerted if there are any problems, and can guarantee the availability of the website. We also make daily backups of the website and the database.

At BSL, you have come to the right place for…

Drupal 8 expertise

Unlike many other companies that work with WordPress or Drupal, our developers can develop new custom plug-ins and modules and integrate them with back-end services and databases. We are also familiar with Drupal 7 to Drupal 8 migrations. If you need assistance as Drupal 7 reaches end of life, we can help migrate your sites to Drupal 8.

Responsive websites

More than 50% of potential website visitors use mobiles, and tablets. So it’s important to deliver a responsive design. This means that each part of the website must look good and work properly on every type of device. Therefore BSL guarantees users an optimal user experience on any platform.

Long-term support and maintenance

When a software product has entered production, users need long-term support and maintenance. Hence we offer clients a range of flexible support services. These can include many options such as 24/7 availability, guaranteed response times, and on-site visits. All at a fixed annual cost.

“The cooperation with BSL was really good, and extremely close. We have achieved more with BSL than with the previous developer. We’re very satisfied with the look & feel of the website.”

Petra Poulissen

Secretary, Rare Care World

ABN AMRO SRS – Signature Registration System

by bsl | Apr 28, 2019

ABN AMRO

Signature Registration System

ABN AMRO SRS – Signature Registration System

ABN AMRO is a large international bank with branches in more than 60 countries. They provide a wide range of services to individual payment account holders, small businesses and multinationals.

Important decisions within ABN AMRO are often confirmed utilising a Power of Attorney (PoA) assigned to individual employees. A PoA defines the authority of each individual, effectively defining which transactions fall under their management. ABN AMRO asked BSL to design a system that uses signature verification to efficiently and safely improve this process. Working closely with the Power of Attorney team within the bank, our developers came up with a customised solution: Signature Registration System (SRS). Since its introduction, SRS has been a great success.

Powers of Attorney

BSL developed SRS to manage signatures and Powers of Attorney within the bank. ABN AMRO employees use SRS throughout the world to verify transactions. There is a continued need to introduce new technologies and improvements to meet the demands of the bank. So we’ve regularly extended and improved the application since ABN AMRO commissioned the design and development of SRS in 1998. As a result, it still meets the latest requirements and is a still crucial resource within the bank.

The development of SRS was a challenging project back in 1998. Of course, over the years, we have introduced many changes. SRS now carries out many administrative tasks entirely automatically, significantly reducing the amount of data entry. We’ve also ported the application from Windows to Web applications. We had to meet the strict requirements and guidelines applied within ABN AMRO when designing the software. In 2016, we migrated the system to a private cloud. And in 2020, we migrated the system to an entirely new cloud infrastructure, whilst also updating the security, and interfaces to other applications and databases within the bank.

Powers of Attorney

At BSL, you have come to the right place for…

Keeping up with change

We design our software so it can evolve with the changing wishes of our customers and the market. The SRS system is an excellent example of this strategy. ABN AMRO has successfully used SRS for many years, through many technical changes. This long-term success is largely due to the ability of our developers to respond quickly to the changing wishes of the bank. In close cooperation with ABN AMRO, we designed and developed a completely new SRS web application in 2013.

Safe and secure applications

We develop safe and reliable systems. During the SRS project, we introduced comprehensive security measures. So protecting the database contents and ensuring the integrity of data. As a result, the authority and functions available to users can be strictly controlled.

Database expertise

We have many years of experience in delivering multimedia database solutions. The flexibility of our modular approach means that we can integrate our solutions with your current infrastructure. And thanks to the BSL developed software and the applied database technology, SRS is fast, secure, reliable and easy to use.

“It has been an interesting challenge over past years to improve the working process and make it more efficient. We achieved this by looking critically at this process together with the client. As a result, we were able to translate requirements and goals into perfectly-fitting solutions.”

Eric

Software Architect , Bright Side of Life

WCC Group – Corporate Website

by bsl | Apr 28, 2019

WCC Group - Corporate Website

Corporate website, marketing and branding

WCC Group – Corporate website

The WCC Group is a leading provider of advanced solutions for Public & Private Employment Services and ID/Security Services. Their Employment solutions enable government agencies (such as the UWV) – and large commercial Employment agencies – to quickly and expertly match jobseekers with suitable and sustainable jobs. Their ID/Security Solutions enable governments to manage large volumes of identity data to protect borders and citizens while proving legal identity for all. They are a global supplier, with sales offices in the Netherlands, Asia and the USA. To support their rapid growth, they wanted to increase their visibility online and introduce a new modern, responsive website with high SEO performance.

We were familiar with their existing WCC Group website (built with Drupal) because we maintained it. However, we wanted to make it easier for the WCC marketing team to add and update content on the site while introducing a dynamic new corporate identity. So, we suggested using WordPress and a custom DIVI theme that implements their new “Brand”. After we got the green light for this strategy, we were ready to start.

WCC Group - Responsive Corporate website

WordPress, Drupal, Solr integration

The branding for the website was largely complete when we started. It included some challenging ideas such as animated banners and separate colour themes for each of their main products. There was also a need for integration with their in-house CRM system (SalesForce), so that leads are converted and processed as efficiently as possible by their global sales teams. The BSL team provides a wide range of web development services, so could handle all aspects of the project in-house. Our specialised designers and web developers quickly built prototypes, showing that we can meet all of these challenges. We set up an Agile development team to accommodate changes throughout the project. These changes included the integration of a completely new Documentation Portal (also developed by BSL, using Drupal 8 and Solr), and a new Support Centre (also Drupal). Our flexibility has even extended to writing and editing much of the content, based on material provided by WCC. We have native English writers in-house who can deliver content geared to excellent SEO performance for an international website.

WCC Group – WordPress, Drupal, Solr integration

The branding for the WCC Group website was largely complete when we started. It included some challenging ideas such as animated banners and separate colour themes for each of their main products. There was also a need for integration with their in-house CRM system (SalesForce), so that leads are converted and processed as efficiently as possible by their global sales teams.

The BSL team provides a wide range of web development services, so could handle all aspects of the project in-house. Our specialised designers and web developers quickly built prototypes, showing that we can meet all of these challenges. We set up an Agile development team to accommodate changes throughout the project. These changes included the integration of a completely new Documentation Portal (also developed by BSL, using Drupal 8 and Solr), and a new Support Centre (also Drupal). Our flexibility has even extended to writing and editing much of the content, based on material provided by the WCC Group. We have native English writers in-house who can deliver content geared to excellent SEO performance for an international website.

“We are amazingly proud of the work BSL has done for us. BSL’s team worked with us through professional, well-thought-out website design, development, and content editing processes. Their commitment to quality, technical expertise, and process discipline is inspiring. They delivered a Corporate site that meets our expectations and gets awesome feedback from our customers and investors.”

Cristina Cocco

Marketing Director, WCC Group

At BSL, you have come to the right place for…

Experience with Drupal and WordPress

BSL can build a website entirely from scratch, using modern web development technologies ranging from Java and Javascript/CSS/HTML to React.js and other frameworks. However, for many clients, there are advantages in using off-the-shelf open-source solutions, such as WordPress and Drupal. Both are flexible, ideal for small businesses, and multinationals and everything in between. Our Drupal and WordPress experts can not only create your websites quickly using these platforms, but they can also extend them for full integration with any existing services. The best of both worlds, offering transparent integration with your business, and easy-to-use interfaces for your Sales and Marketing teams, so they can add and update their content.

A full range of services

Every customer – including the WCC Group – has deadlines, and it’s usually a given that clients want their new websites as soon as possible. Our specialists can handle almost every aspect of modern website development in-house, starting with modern design, wireframes, prototyping and website development. Uniquely, we can also develop custom website integrations, developing custom plugins, or integrating high-performance search services (such as SOLR or Elastic). We also have authors that can produce content (in native English / Dutch) optimised for SEO/SEA performance. And once your site is up and running, we can support you using Google services such as Adwords, Analytics, Search Console, Tag Manager and Data Studio. All essential for monitoring your web traffic and enhancing your website performance.

Responsive websites

BSL knows better than anyone how important it is to offer a fully responsive website design. After all, more than 50% of potential website visitors use mobile devices. To be fully responsive, all parts of a website need to look good and function correctly on any device type. The WCC Group website is fully responsive, designed for perfect performance on desktop, tablet and mobile web browsers.

“Transforming detailed design ideas from a design bureau (including multiple brands within a single site) into a responsive website with animations and custom graphics made the WCC Group website a challenging project. We took responsibility for almost all elements of the site, including content creation, Salesforce integration, authoring and content optimisation and reporting for Google. This type of project provides plenty of opportunity for further self-development.”

Roderick

Front-end Developer, Bright Side of Life

Literatuurplein, a Literary Treasure Trove

by bsl | Apr 27, 2019

Koninklijke Bibliotheek

Literatuurplein – a Literary Treasure Trove

Literatuurplein – a Literary treasure trove

Literatuurplein.nl is a unique concept created by Jef van Gool. Most of all it’s an extensive website which stimulates interest in Dutch Literature and promotes an interest in reading. Together with the software company “the Dutch Republic“, they launched a first version of Literatuurplein back in 2004. Unfortunately, the site didn’t meet their expectations, so they turned to BSL for advice. We were asked to investigate how the software was written and to suggest how it could be improved. Our advice was:

design a new data model and use a more advanced database
introduce a virtual book concept (representing multiple editions)
add high-performance, flexible free text search technology
adopt a modern Java platform

The client took this advice to heart. As a result they decided to rebuild the product, and they asked BSL to carry out the work. We designed and developed a completely new Literatuurplein over a period of 4-5 months. The new site was an immediate success. Furthermore, due to the good partnership, we’ve continued to work on many follow-up projects. First of all adding many new features, but also modifying the site as the library infrastructure and standards changed.

Literatuurplein – een literaire schatkist

Move with the times

During the development of a new Literatuurplein.nl we switched to an Oracle database and Oracle Text. The use of Oracle Text enabled us to introduce an intelligent search engine, making content in the site easier to maintain and to find. In the years that followed, our developers have continuously improved the technology and infrastructure of the website.

In 2012, the new product owner, Stichting Bibliotheek.nl (or BNL), asked BSL to adapt Literatuurplein to their own house style. At the same time, we added a major new feature – the users were given the opportunity to personalize their home pages. In addition, we introduced a wide range of widgets so that public libraries throughout the Netherlands can use Literatuurplein contents on their own websites. We currently provide more than 20 library services (such as literary news, and a literary agenda) using Literatuurplein web-services. As result, hundreds of libraries make use of Literatuurplein content in the Netherlands.

In 2015 Literatuurplein was taken over by the Royal Library (KB). Their first priority was to integrate the BNL infrastructure within their organization. At the end of 2016, KB asked us to update the site so that it meets current standards. Most noteworthy, the site became fully responsive – easy to use on both mobiles and desktop browsers.

Move with the times

“BSL believes it is important to keep up with current trends and developments. With more than four million visitors a year, Literatuurplein is an intensively used website. Therefore it’s important that the site is accessible by all users. Since the use of site on mobile devices is increasing, creating a fully responsive website was our number one priority.”

Roderick

Front-end Developer , Bright Side of Life

A great success

Literatuurplein has been a well-known and established name in the world of Dutch literature for years. The website attracts no fewer than 4,000,000 visitors annually. Literatuurplein now contains information describing more than 700,000 books, and more than 320,000 authors. There are more than 3,500 news items to be found.

New articles are added each day, and new titles are imported and updated using sources such as NBD Biblion and Centraal Boekhuis automatically. In addition, a team of editors adds new content such as reviews, columns, podcasts and videos. Because of the extensive literary agenda, Literatuurplein visitors are always aware of literary events and radio and TV programs with literature as their theme.

“With regard to technical development and infrastructure management, The Bright Side of Life in Breukelen has been a particularly constructive and creative partner for all these years.”

Jef van Gool

Product Owner

At BSL, you have come to the right place for…

Expert in search technologies

BSL has a broad experience in developing complex online database solutions. This expertise came in handy during the management of the contents of Literatuurplein. Literary databases are often very complex…

authors’ names are often written in different ways – and sometimes misspelt by users when searching
authors may use pseudonyms – and publishers use varied notations
books exist in multiple editions – with some attributes shared (eg: titles), but some separate (ISBN / EAN)
users often search for partial titles – requiring special matching rules

Trends & developments

It is important that websites go along with current trends and developments. Even the most beautiful and technical websites are not up-to-date after a few years. That is why it is important to update the technical aspects of the website after a number of years. This is the perfect time to take a critical look at the design and content of the website. Are there functions that are missing or functions that are used too little?

Long-term support

When a software product has gone into production, users often need support and maintenance for the longer term. That is why we offer our customers a range of flexible support services. In the case of Literatuurplein this means 7 days a week support to the KB and its Literatuurplein users.

You’re welcome to get in touch with me if you have a project in mind, or want to discuss how best to approach your next development project.

Caroline

Relations Manager, Bright Side of Life