When SIAM wanted to modernize their monthly news journal website and merge it with their other blogs, they needed a solution that allowed their team to easily create dynamic articles and a plan to migrate existing content to the new format.

 

Project

DNN Content Publishing

Client

Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics

Dates

2013 - present

Visit the Site

sinews.siam.org

 

An online publishing platform to modernize an established publication

SIAM News is the news journal of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM). The publication covers cutting-edge research and the state of the art in applied mathematics and computational science, and is targeted to the non-profit’s 14,500+ members worldwide.

The publication dates back 20 years. In its early days, it was a print-only publication; as the years progressed, the publication made small steps towards online publishing, like adding PDF copies of articles to their organization’s main website. In 2013, SIAM News first moved online, supplementing their print publication with an online version.

Two years later, when SIAM wanted to merge two other blogs in with their SIAM News website to create a central place for their news-related content, their challenge was finding a way to organize and integrate the new content without losing the effect of a monthly publication. Plus, they wanted the backend publishing platform to be easy-to-use for editors.

Simon

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THE PROCESS

2 Months
Discovery

Goal Setting Stakeholder Interviews Technical Architecture

2 Months
UX & Graphic Design

Wireframes Graphic Design

6 Months
Website Development

Development Testing Content Migration Launch

 

Combining content from 3 publications under a single cover

When the SIAM News website was first built in 2013, we used the DNN Platform and a customized news module. This pre-existing structure allowed us to easily add additional content areas on the site without disrupting the existing structure the SIAM team used to publish content online.

To prepare the website for additional content, we worked with SIAM to outline a new sitemap, article categories, and tags. This structure would become the backbone of the new website.

A magazine look-and-feel with a powerful backend CMS

With a large portion of the backend handled by prior development efforts, we focused our attention on giving SIAM News a truly modern look-and-feel. Together, the Brio and SIAM teams created wireframes of each major page, looking closely at design elements that make for a smooth and intuitive user experience.

Because SIAM wanted the existing SIAM News team to manage the website, we knew it was important to build functionality that took the need to know code out of the equation. With this in mind, we built in easy ways to:

  • Create an issue of SIAM News articles that publish simultaneously;
  • Designate an article as a blog post or a SIAM News article;
  • Create a photo gallery;
  • Categorize the article to appear in multiple places throughout the site;
  • Add MathJax equations to articles;
  • Display paid advertising.

 

One new home to organize a wealth of content

For SIAM, the driving force behind the new SIAM News format was to provide a singular access point for their timely content.

By expanding the purpose and scope of the publication, SIAM was able to eliminate unnecessary websites, unite their look and feel, and publish content more regularly to keep readers interested. Plus, for the first time ever, SIAM News was able to sell paid online advertisements, expanding opportunities for revenue.

Project Stats

5+
Years
500+
Hours
6
Team Members
4
Custom Integrations

Testimonial

After 10 years of working with other vendors, I was still spending too much time in the details. Brio really does project management — other vendors said they do that, but don’t really. That’s really hard to find, even from vendors that charge premium prices. And in the end, they don’t deliver a quality final product. Brio delivers that at a value.

Ted Kull
Director of Information Management Systems at SIAM

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