A few weeks, I blogged aboutMission Critical’s new website, which was scheduled to launch in late September. Frankly, the old website was showing its age, and much of the back of the house system was just obsolete. The new system, by contrast, not only supports the new design but it also puts tools in our hands that allow us to add functionality. As BNP Media’s marketing department describes it, “The powerful new site promises lightning-fast navigation while delivering SEO-optimized multimedia content.” You won’t recognize the site, except for the familiarMission Critical logo and the eponymouswww.missioncriticalmagazine.com.

In reality, we have made two changes. One, we tinkered under the hood and implemented a new content management system (CMS). We use the CMS to upload news, stories, video, white papers, photography, and ads to a database, where it is available to the website. Having a fast CMS makes it easier to add content, so that it is less costly to add more content. Having a flexible CMS makes it easier to add bells and whistles so that visitors can find and use the content in ways they can use.

We also developed a new design, which is much easier to navigate than the old site ever was. This simple change makes it easier for visitors to find things on the site, and we can group materials that relate to each other in ways that make sense. For instance, the new design allows us to make the same content available to visitors by topic and date, where the old site required us to select a preference when we entered the content to the CMS.

Finally as a result of the way the new site draws data from the content database, visitors can expect that downloads will be much faster.

So to sum up:

•  New site

•  New functions and features

•  Same url

•  Better navigation

•  Faster downloads

 

BNP Media’s press release (I’ve always wanted to quote someone else quoting me in an article) reads “I’m really quite excited about the new design, as it gives the magazine staff more ways to engage our readers,” said Kevin Heslin, Mission Critical editor. “The new site takes full advantage of the strengths of the internet, which means that it will be easier to present relevant and interactive content about data centers and other mission critical facilities. Look for a real emphasis on video, audio, and interactivity on the new site, and better navigation means that features such as white papers, videos, and webinars will be easier for visitors to find. I’m looking forward to seeing the results when we combine these new tools with our magazine."