Launching a website before xmas
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- The document discusses the experiences of launching a website for a mental health organization before Christmas on a tight deadline. - An agile approach was taken using Gatsby, Kentico Kontent, and Netlify to develop a static, accessible, and content manageable site quickly. - It was a stressful experience for the team given the deadline and lack of initial designs, but through teamwork, communication, and flexibility in their approach they were able to successfully launch the site on time.
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Launching a website before xmas
- 1. Experiences from launching a site before Christmas MMT TECH MEETUP – JAN 2021
- 2. WHO AM I? 2 @ileshmistry | #MMT_TechMeetup CONTACT ILESH Experiences from launching a site before Christmas MMT Tech Meetup ILESH MISTRY (CMS SPECIALIST & KONTENT MVP) @ileshmistry
- 3. WHAT I’LL BE COVERING? 3 • Introduction • Website Requirements • Initial Thoughts • Our Strategy • Development Approach • Final Thoughts @ileshmistry | #MMT_TechMeetup MMT Tech Meetup Experiences from launching a site before Christmas
- 4. INTRODUCTION 4 • Mental health problems are one of the main causes of the overall disease burden worldwide. • Mental health and behavioural problems (e.g. depression, anxiety and drug use) are reported to be the primary drivers of disability worldwide, causing over 40 million years of disability in 20 to 29-year-olds. • Major depression is thought to be the second leading cause of disability worldwide and a major contributor to the burden of suicide and ischemic heart disease. • It is estimated that 1 in 6 people in the past week experienced a common mental health problem @ileshmistry | #MMT_TechMeetup MMT Tech Meetup Experiences from launching a site before Christmas
- 5. INTRODUCTION 5 • Mental Health Foundation – “We all have mental health. But not all of us live with good mental health.” • It allows you to make full use of your abilities and how you cope with work, families and life in general • However lots of us are finding it difficult and making sure we start talking about it and prevention will help. Good wellbeing will help towards it. @ileshmistry | #MMT_TechMeetup MMT Tech Meetup Experiences from launching a site before Christmas
- 6. INTRODUCTION 6 • I’m not a mental health or wellbeing expert • I want to share some of the experiences I went through in getting a website live with my team • We all have different roles with different views, circumstances and how we deal with situations • Go through how we were feeling after each stage • COVID 19 / Home schooling / Childcare etc… • Gifs overload @ileshmistry | #MMT_TechMeetup MMT Tech Meetup Experiences from launching a site before Christmas
- 7. WEBSITE REQUIREMENTS 7 • Client requirements… @ileshmistry | #MMT_TechMeetup MMT Tech Meetup Experiences from launching a site before Christmas We want a website launched before Christmas!
- 8. WEBSITE REQUIREMENTS 8 • Fixed deadline • No designs - just MS Word document with content • Starting from a blank canvas • Content manageable by the client is preferred • Accessible website • New client recommended from an existing client • Need to start asap! @ileshmistry | #MMT_TechMeetup MMT Tech Meetup Experiences from launching a site before Christmas
- 9. INITIAL THOUGHTS 9 @ileshmistry | #MMT_TechMeetup MMT Tech Meetup Experiences from launching a site before Christmas
- 10. INITIAL THOUGHTS 10 • Internal catchups • Spoke about the deadline • Talked about the budget • Spoke about the deadline again 😂 • Talked about the no designs • Spoke about the deadline again 😂 @ileshmistry | #MMT_TechMeetup MMT Tech Meetup Experiences from launching a site before Christmas
- 11. INITIAL THOUGHTS 11 @ileshmistry | #MMT_TechMeetup MMT Tech Meetup Experiences from launching a site before Christmas
- 12. INITIAL THOUGHTS 12 • Looking at this, the deadline was tight • Christmas is generally a quiet period, winding down • No designs, so what should the site look like? • How are we going to get it all done? Who do we need? Everyone’s on holiday/time off • What can get out by when? Is there a priority? • What additional costs do we need to consider? • What's the architecture for this? - No Discovery Phase 😢 @ileshmistry | #MMT_TechMeetup MMT Tech Meetup Experiences from launching a site before Christmas
- 13. INITIAL THOUGHTS – HOW WERE WE FEELING? 13 • Nervous as we had a hard deadline, which could not be shifted • Confidence levels were at their testing points • Stressful situation to be in for everyone • Estimates for the amount of work required to deliver this were going over deadline – Overtime? • Should we decline the project as this is going not be possible to achieve? And enjoy pre Christmas? • We all want to deliver something good to the client and can only do this by helping each other #AvengersAssemble @ileshmistry | #MMT_TechMeetup MMT Tech Meetup Experiences from launching a site before Christmas
- 14. OUR STRATEGY 14 • Agile approach • Super lean with delivery • Iterate only when we have delivered • Super lean with user stories / agile practices as time was really of the essence • Stand ups essential for the group, resolve any blockers, but also for the client to see progress • Internal regrouping was a must. Keep checking on team’s morale and support each other @ileshmistry | #MMT_TechMeetup MMT Tech Meetup Experiences from launching a site before Christmas
- 15. OUR STRATEGY 15 • Architecture needed to be established asap • Not everything needs designing – Start designs focusing on header and footer Communication with UX/Design • Licenses needed to be purchased • Go for a static hard coded site then make it content managed, but would that not cost us more time? • Development approached needed to be nailed to get started • Keep up communications @ileshmistry | #MMT_TechMeetup MMT Tech Meetup Experiences from launching a site before Christmas
- 16. OUR STRATEGY – HOW WERE WE FEELING? 16 • The approach identified allowed us to get more confident • Team was established to know we were all in this together • Architecture and development approach was agreed to help steer the development team • Design strategy was set out so we know how the site would look • Regrouping - as and when needed to make sure we keep talking and looking after each other @ileshmistry | #MMT_TechMeetup MMT Tech Meetup Experiences from launching a site before Christmas
- 17. DEVELOPMENTAPPROACH 17 • Repository to store the code • Static site approach • Accessibility • Content manageable • Hosting • Architecture @ileshmistry | #MMT_TechMeetup MMT Tech Meetup Experiences from launching a site before Christmas Photo by Valentin Salja on Unsplash
- 18. DEVELOPMENTAPPROACH 18 • Architecture Diagram @ileshmistry | #MMT_TechMeetup MMT Tech Meetup Experiences from launching a site before Christmas
- 19. DEVELOPMENTAPPROACH 19 • GatsbyJS - “React-based open source framework with performance, scalability and security built-in” • GraphQL is a way to access the data through query language • Great for smaller sites, especially when you want to have a quicker turnaround, but we’ve used it on larger sites too • Experience using it / easy to setup • SEO and Accessibility plugins • Helped us with the next thing, which is to make it content managed @ileshmistry | #MMT_TechMeetup MMT Tech Meetup Experiences from launching a site before Christmas
- 20. DEVELOPMENTAPPROACH 20 • Content manageable – Headless or Digital Experience Platform (all in one) 🤔? • Kentico Kontent – “is a headless CMS that offers easy-to-use content management tools for marketers while freeing developers to focus on building online experiences.” • Subscription costs involved – quick chat with Sales 🙌 • No installations required • Needed something lightweight, perfect for content changes • Plenty of experience with Kontent + Kontent MVP @ileshmistry | #MMT_TechMeetup MMT Tech Meetup Experiences from launching a site before Christmas Register with Kentico Kontent - 90 days free trial
- 21. DEVELOPMENTAPPROACH 21 • Netlify hosting – “A powerful serverless platform with an intuitive git-based workflow. Automated deployments, shareable previews, and much more.” • Subscription costs involved • Easy to manage without Systems Team/DevOps, as we literally had no time resourced for them • Git repository we went for GitHub (great for everyone 😁) – easy to setup @ileshmistry | #MMT_TechMeetup MMT Tech Meetup Experiences from launching a site before Christmas
- 22. DEVELOPMENTAPPROACH – HOW WE WERE FEELING 22 • I've had experience doing this for on my personal site. So I was really confident suggesting this for us • The developers were now excited about working on this website • Great technology stack for front end developers • The individual products collectively all work seamlessly together • Gatsby Kentico Kontent source plugin and starter site - helping us to get started • This stack and way of working has been around for a couple of years so felt confident to use it @ileshmistry | #MMT_TechMeetup MMT Tech Meetup Experiences from launching a site before Christmas
- 23. HIT THE DEADLINE? …YEP 👊🤔 23 @ileshmistry | #MMT_TechMeetup MMT Tech Meetup Experiences from launching a site before Christmas
- 24. FINAL THOUGHTS 24 @ileshmistry | #MMT_TechMeetup • Accessibility first approach (don’t leave it to the end!) – saving us panicking at the end • Great teamwork / Understanding each other / Trusting the team – supporting each other emotionally • Clients being understanding – took some pressure off us, but they still wanted a site at the end 😂 • Flexibility of the approach / Working Agile with going lean first – allowed us to get to market fast • Having experienced members in these situations really help e.g. knowing the architecture will work • Resolving blockers fast – checking how we are doing and talking it through • Work life balance was affected, especially with flexible hours and deadline looming – It was tough Common Accessibility Mistakes MMT Tech Meetup
- 25. FINAL THOUGHTS 25 @ileshmistry | #MMT_TechMeetup • We felt a lot of pressure along with the lockdown environment • I know if I wanted to talk to someone I could and I did e.g. team member, HR team, family members • I personally found a way to take my mind of the pressure and stress by spending some breaks with my family e.g. Home schooling still has deadlines 🤔🤔♂️ but it’s a break from work 😂 • I know I could also reach out to the Mental Health website (https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/) and I did check out a few of their tips! • Getting fresh air / Exercising really helped me clear my mind to deliver this project • Important to talk to one and another and not deal with deadlines/pressure on your own Common Accessibility Mistakes MMT Tech Meetup
- 26. THANK YOU 26 @ileshmistry | #MMT_TechMeetup Register with Kentico Kontent - 90 days free trial CONTACT ILESH ILESH MISTRY (CMS SPECIALIST & KONTENT MVP) @ileshmistry MMT Tech Meetup Experiences from launching a site before Christmas
- 27. • Wellbeing at work – Charlotte Murdin (http://bit.ly/charlotte_m) • Mental Health hygiene for practitioners – Beata Bikowska (http://bit.ly/Beata_B) REMAINING AGENDA 27 @ileshmistry | #MMT_TechMeetup MMT Tech Meetup MMT Tech Meetup
Editor's Notes
- Photo by Vinicius "amnx" Amano on Unsplash
- References Vos, T., et al. (2013) Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 301 acute and chronic diseases and injuries in 188 countries, 1990–2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study. The Lancet. 386 (9995). pp. 743-800. Lozano, R. et al. (2012) Global and regional mortality from 235 causes of death for 20 age groups in 1990 and 2010. a systematic analysis for the global burden of disease study 2010. The Lancet. 380(9859), pp. 2095–2128. Whiteford, H. A. et al. (2013) Global burden of disease attributable to mental and substance use disorders: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. The Lancet. 382 (9904). pp. 1575-1586. McManus S, Bebbington P, Jenkins R, Brugha T. (eds.) (2016) Mental health and wellbeing in England: Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2014. Leeds: NHS Digital. Available at: http://content.digital.nhs.uk/catalogue/PUB21748/apms-2014-full-rpt.pdf [Accesed 5 October 2016]
- It’s important to understand that everyone will see things differently and act differently to each other when presented with situations working from home, childcare, home schooling, not being able to go out much, are all factors that make situations that you handle now, which you may handle differently if you were back in the office. And if you add mental health and wellbeing into this, it’s extremely difficult times for people. Being on calls when you have a 11 month old who is whinging and wining (obviously in a lot of pain) because of teething
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- We had to consider hosting and if we went for DXP CMS then we would need to decide on how this is hosted and where and the costs for it. Licenses needed to be bought and it helped how quick the business got onto this and we manage to purchase them. Speaking to Kontent Sales team quickly helped us
- - This is when the developers want to make it work and are excited to use the products
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