About the Client
The client is a global biopharmaceutical company dedicated to bringing breakthrough therapies to patients with ALS and other neurodegenerative conditions. Their pipeline combines late-stage programs and early research initiatives designed to deliver meaningful impact and improve quality of life for patients worldwide.
As part of their broader mission, the client launched a global awareness initiative that transformed a simple visual mark into a unifying symbol of urgency and hope for people affected by ALS. Supported by a dedicated website, the campaign became a hub for personal stories, images, and community engagement: from offering free temporary tattoos to featuring voices from the community. The platform connected individuals across regions, creating powerful connections that amplified awareness while reinforcing the client’s commitment to driving meaningful change.
Evolving to Support Growth
As the campaign gained traction, the limitations of WordPress became increasingly evident. Managing multilingual content and regional versions required multiple plugins, introducing complexity, slower performance, and maintenance risks.
Creating country-specific versions of content often demanded workarounds or site duplication, making content governance cumbersome and error-prone.
Drupal offered the stability, scalability, and flexibility needed to support an enterprise-grade awareness platform. Its built-in multilingual features, granular permissions, and robust content modeling empowered the client to manage global and country-specific content within one unified system.
Drupal’s modular design also reduced the client’s reliance on third-party plugins, enabling their campaign to grow sustainably while maintaining high performance and security.
Drupal: A Stable Platform for Scalable Performance
Drupal provided a secure, stable, and scalable foundation enabling the client to grow their campaign efficiently, manage multilingual and regional content, and reduce technical overhead.
Existing Infrastructure |
New Infrastructure |
|
|---|---|---|
Hosting Provider
|
Pantheon |
Acquia |
Customization
|
Required multiple plugins and code patches, increasing maintenance risk |
Flexible content types and modular architecture allowed custom features to be built natively |
Multilingual Support
|
Plugins like WPML are needed with a complex configuration |
Built-in multilingual system supported multiple languages and region-specific content |
Country-Specific Versions
|
Workarounds or separate sites; difficult to maintain consistency |
Granular content and user permissions enabled easy management of country-specific pages within a single site |
Performance
|
Heavy plugin reliance slowed down the site and increased vulnerability |
Core Drupal features improved load times, stability, and security |
Scalability & Maintenance
|
Adding new features caused conflicts |
Modular design and native tools made it easier to expand functionality and manage content |
Granular Permissions
|
Dependent on plugins (Members, User Role Editor) to customize roles and capabilities |
Advanced, built-in role and permission system for precise access control |
Security
|
Relies on plugins like Wordfence or iThemes Security Pro for firewalls, 2FA, malware scanning |
Core security features aligned with the regulated industry needs Built-in form handling security, database encryption, and secure API integrations Security updates vetted by the Drupal Security Team |
Enterprise Monitoring & Compliance
|
Manual integrations to third-party services (Sucuri, New Relic, Splunk), for HIPAA/GDPR compliance |
Native Acquia Cloud’s enterprise monitoring, threat detection, and incident response Supports HIPAA and GDPR compliance frameworks |
Executing a High-Volume Migration: Key Challenges and Solutions
With Drupal chosen as the new platform, the next step was executing a careful migration. Moving content, media, and form submissions required both technical precision and careful handling of every asset.
Before development began, our team conducted a detailed pre-migration audit to map WordPress content models, define multilingual and governance requirements, and plan the Drupal architecture. We configured the Migrate API, prepared media and asset strategies, and ran controlled test migrations to ensure accuracy. Each phase from discovery through validation was designed to minimize risk and ensure a smooth transition to Drupal.
Any loss of data, corruption, or extended downtime would have disrupted the campaign and damaged community trust.
1. Data Migration and Media Handling
Challenge
The Creative Capsule team was tasked with migrating over 10 campaign stories, 850 gallery items, and 1,700 webform submissions from WordPress to Drupal. The form submissions needed cleaning and deduplication. It also involved fixing broken links and maintaining content relationships.
Solution
We customized the migration process to handle data cleaning, duplicate removal, and data restructuring before import. A combination of automation and manual checks ensured every story, image, and form submission was correctly linked and accurate in the new Drupal site.
2. Technical Implementation
Challenge
During the migration, we faced several technical hurdles, including storing images within web forms, handling form validations, and ensuring the secure transfer of form submission data. These challenges threatened data integrity and could have disrupted reliability during migration to the new Drupal platform.
Solution
Our team developed custom Drupal modules for image management, created custom form validations, and implemented secure migration scripts to prevent data loss or corruption. These measures ensured the new Drupal platform delivered consistent performance, robust data security, and reliable form functionality.
3. Automating Secure File Transfers
Challenge
The automated form submission export needed to be rebuilt for Drupal, as the old setup had a custom, standalone script, whereas Drupal’s framework required the function to be created as a custom module. This required integrating with Acquia in a way that maintained automation while addressing new security requirements.
Solution
We built a custom Drupal module using encrypted SFTP transfers with bearer token authentication to automatically and securely send campaign submissions to the fulfillment agency. The module included built-in checks and error logging to ensure successful transfers, thereby ensuring smooth and uninterrupted campaign operations.
4. User Training & Adoption
Challenge
Since the client’s team was deeply familiar with WordPress workflows, transitioning to Drupal required careful onboarding to minimize disruptions to daily operations.
Solution
We created clear, step-by-step documentation and delivered focused training sessions. This enabled the client’s team to confidently manage content, approve submissions, and take full ownership of their new CMS.
Streamlining Operations with Functional Upgrades
Beyond migration, we introduced upgrades that improved operational efficiency, user engagement, and automation
- Campaign Control: Implemented a one-click toggle for the Tattoo Ordering campaign, providing instant activation or deactivation.
- Automated Reporting: Set up a CRON job to generate and securely transmit form submission data to the fulfillment agency with status tracking.
- User Experience: Developed customized error pages for Page Not Found and Access Denied to maintain a consistent experience.
- SEO Optimization:Rebuilt and indexed the sitemap to strengthen search visibility.
As a Veeva Content Partner, we maximize the capabilities of Veeva to deliver compliant, engaging applications that get results.
The Results
100% Data Accuracy
All posts, images, and form submissions were migrated successfully, ensuring nothing was lost in transition.
Improved Performance
The new Drupal platform delivered faster load times and smoother workflows, making content updates easier and more reliable.
Greater Operational Efficiency
Automation reduced manual effort, from one-click campaign activation to secure, scheduled data transfers.
Significant Cost Savings
Leveraging Drupal's built-in features, including multi-lingual support, advanced content management, and granular user permissions, eliminated the need for multiple paid WordPress plugins.
The quality of work, knowledge, attention to detail, and flexibility is second to none. We are constantly impressed by the accuracy of their development and their ability to never miss a deadline. The Creative Capsule team contributes and takes ownership of the development just like an in-house team member. We wholeheartedly recommend them without any reservation.
Creative Capsule has been a great partner to Alkermes for several years. The entire team is a pleasure to work with. Their professionalism, expertise, and commitment to excellence elevates our projects and exceeds expectations. They contribute to multiple teams at our organization, specifically with website and email development, and are viewed as an extension of our marketing operations team. They are well-versed in the life science space and an adept technology partner.
About Creative Capsule
Creative Capsule LLC was founded in Kansas City, USA, in 2003, with subsidiaries in Switzerland and India. With over 300 full-time, local, and offshore employees, the company provides cost-effective software consulting and development, DevOps, and cybersecurity services to Pharma and SaaS companies
For over 20 years, Creative Capsule has helped Pharma companies execute their digital marketing needs, cost-effectively. As a trusted Veeva Content Partner since 2016, we provide tailored digital solutions and specialized Veeva services and solution for Veeva Vault CRM Suite and content management services for Veeva PromoMats/MedComms. Our clients range from pre-commercial, clinical-stage, and well-established multi-brand companies.
At Creative Capsule, we are dedicated to building long-term relationships with our clients, founded on exceptional product quality that is cost-effective, and personalized, concierge-level service.
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