Splash Awards Website Relaunch
The new Splash Awards website is here! It's been completely rebuilt using Drupal 11 and includes features requested by the community.
For this project, the Essen-based agency Bitmade Solutions implemented three key improvements as part of the Splash Awards relaunch:
Drupal 11 Update: We migrated the website to the latest version of Drupal. This provides better performance, up-to-date security standards, and modern PHP support.
New Design: The website has received a completely revamped design. The focus was on improved usability and a contemporary look.
Custom Multi-Step Module: We developed a custom module for multi-step case submissions. Users can now enter more complex content step by step, with interim saving and validation at each step.
Archive Feature: The new website now includes a long-awaited archive for past Splash Award seasons, allowing winners, runners-up, and nominees to view their projects from previous years.
The combination of these three aspects has brought the website up to the latest technical standards and significantly improved the user experience.
Projektziele
The main objectives of the project were:
Improved customer journey: The submission process was to become simpler and more intuitive for users
Historical overview: Display of different years and seasons to provide a better overview of past awards
Prepare for EU expansion: Lay the technical foundation for future expansion into multiple European countries
User management: Introducing user accounts for applicants and companies to improve administration
Reducing technical debt: Updating outdated code and improving the website’s maintainability
The implementation achieved all of the set goals:
Submission process: The multi-step form guides users through the submission process in a structured manner and reduces abandonment rates
Archive function: Users can now easily navigate between different award years
Scalable Architecture: The new structure is designed to accommodate international expansion, such as adding other languages or integrating other European Splash Award teams.
Account System: Companies can register and manage their submissions—replacing the simple form used previously.
Maintenance Effort: Thanks to the Drupal 11 update and code cleanup, the website is now significantly easier to maintain and performs better.
Challenges
Drupal User System Integration: Integrating Drupal’s native user system with its registration functionality required adjustments to the existing architecture. Permissions and roles had to be redesigned to clearly separate different user types (applicants, editors, judges).
Form Complexity: The existing submission forms had grown over the years and required a fundamental overhaul. The challenge was to capture all necessary data while still simplifying the process and breaking it down into logical steps.
Preparing for Multilingual Support: The technical preparation for multilingual support was complex, as not only the content but also the custom modules and forms had to be made multilingual. The data structure had to be adapted accordingly without compromising performance.
Community Coordination: The project is intended to serve as a website launchpad for future Splash Awards in Europe; close and regular coordination with the organizer and the Drupal community was central to our planning. Additionally, the project was directly integrated into the new Local Association Pipelines (la-eu) and complies with the Drupal community’s modern and high-performance hosting standards.
Branding & Design Compliance: The new website complies with the Splash Awards’ branding guidelines.
Conclusion
This project demonstrates how to do Drupal right: We didn’t just create a nice new design—we solved real technical problems.
Early Adoption of Drupal 11: We’re among the first group of projects to deploy Drupal 11 in production. This shows that we’re ready to break new ground and demonstrate to the community how it works.
Practical Innovation: The Multi-Step module solves a specific problem that many Drupal sites face. Complex forms are often user-unfriendly—we’ve developed a solution that others can adopt.
Community Relevance: The project serves the Drupal community itself. A better Splash Awards website means more people will submit their projects and the awards will gain greater recognition.
Sustainable Development: Instead of quick fixes, we’ve laid the groundwork for the coming years. EU expansion, multilingual support, clean code—this is solid work that will pay off in the long run.
For more information, please visit www.bitmade-solutions.de
