Over the summer we migrated communitydata.ca from Drupal 6 to Drupal 7. (Drupal is a content management system, or CMS that lets non-web developers like myself create content, like this blog post.)  Drupal 6 and its security updates will soon be going the way of the dodo; we migrated to Drupal 7 to ensure the site remains safe.

The basic functioning of the site is more-or-less identical to the pre-Labour Day version, except for a few changes:

1. The splash page and hyphenated URLs are gone forever.

The English version of the site is located at the communitydata domain, while the French is located at donneescommunautaires. Any links you have that include the text "communitydata-donneescommunautaires" won't work any longer -- simply remove the hypen and use the language-specific domain name.

As a result, you'll never see this image again:

(We aren't complaining either.)

2. The look of the site has changed slightly.

The style and layout of the previous site ("foliage" theme in case you're curious or a Drupal whiz) doesn't exist for Drupal 7. So we tried to find a theme that doesn't stray too far from the previous design, but that looks a little cleaner. As a result, the new site looks slightly different. (It's now the "sky" theme, just FYI.)

3. The Home page is now the blog.

When you go to communitydata.ca, or whenever you click on "Community Data Program" or "Home", you're secretly redirected to the latest news associated with the program. Makes it easier for you to find out what we're up to.

4. Some things might be quirky at the outset.

We expect a few quirks, as is always the case with website migration. We're ironing out issues as they emerge. If you notice anything strange or unexpected, please let us know and we'll deal with it as soon as we can.

As an aside, it's worth mentioning that the website migration was the first step in an ongoing strategy to improve the website's usability and functionality.  Expect improvements and updates over the course of the next eight months.

As usual, happy data!