Seamless Drupal Migration for LAWA

“Hounder was great to work with! Strong communication and Drupal expertise was shown throughout the project and was completed on time and on budget."

- Fabian Raygosa, Information Systems Manager, LAWA

LAWA sought a solution that would not only replicate existing functionalities but also enhance performance, security, and user experience. To accomplish this, LAWA reached out to us to help them make this dream a reality and we're so glad they did. Our team was able to smoothly migrate their three major websites to Drupal 10 on Acquia hosting and significantly boost the user experience.

The Challenges

The LAWA team was hindered by several key challenges with their previous digital experience platform. From our experience working with major government and transit authorities, we knew what was needed to solve these inefficiencies and set them up for success. A few major hurdles we came together to overcome include the following.

• A Frustrating User Experience

• Outdated Systems Slowing Everything Down

• Poor SEO & Mobile Optimization 

• Database Migration Complexities

• Content Structure Issues

The Project Goals

Our primary objective was to migrate three websites—lawa.org, flylax.com, and flyvny.com—along with the employee portal to the latest Drupal 10 CMS, but it was more than that. We needed to:

• Simplify their web component structure and reduce maintenance downtime

• Transition from deprecated Sitecore environment to Drupal 10

• Make sure the sites remain operational during this migration

To achieve this, the project focused on several key goals:

1. Seamless Migration

Our team needed to transition all data and functionalities to Drupal while leveraging its module-driven architecture. The migration included mapping all existing content, rebuilding components within the Drupal ecosystem, and ensuring that all necessary integrations were preserved. This was the layout/roadmap of our migration approach, moving from Sitecore to Drupal:

2. Enhance Content Management 

Streamline workflows to allow for easier updates and maintenance. The previous Sitecore environment required extensive development efforts for content updates, whereas the new Drupal system introduced a more user-friendly, component-based approach that empowered internal teams to make updates without technical assistance.

3. SEO & Mobile Optimization 

Of course, like all of our projects, we had to make sure to implement best practices to improve search visibility and mobile responsiveness. This included structured data improvements, metadata optimization, and responsive design updates to enhance user experience across all devices.

4. Integration & Functionality 

A core need for LAWA was for us to build custom APIs for existing features, including baggage tracking, flight status, and traffic updates. These integrations were developed to maintain real-time data synchronization, enhancing the user experience with accurate and up-to-date information.

Our Migration Strategy: A Detail-Oriented Approach

Drawing on years of experience with complex migrations from platforms like AEM, WordPress, and Sitecore, Hounder has developed a thoughtful and proven approach that helps guide teams through the process. Our method is grounded in strategy and care, helping to ensure transitions are as seamless and low-impact as possible.

1. Setting the Stage for Success

To officially kick things off, Hounder hosted a discovery meeting with LAWA to align on challenges and goals for the project. Following that, we conducted a site crawl audit for all three domains and evaluated the best approach for a detailed migration and change management plan. 

2. SEO & Content Strategy

Our team understands the importance of SEO performance, so we took that into consideration throughout our development process. Drupal makes this easy with out-of-the-box SEO features right at our fingertips.

3. Development & Integration

While migrating their websites to Drupal, we needed to make components more user-friendly and consistent across the platforms. Before, in Sitecore, there wasn’t a sole parent theme. Instead, custom HTML was needed whenever new components or pages were created. Drupal’s functionality is more global, so we approached this by molding their current sites to that type of interface. 

Our team was able to move all three websites to Drupal’s drag-and-drop page builder, empowering LAWA’s internal teams to update content without requiring developer assistance. By creating consistent component themes in this environment, managing these websites doesn’t require in-depth technical expertise, making them much more user-friendly. 

Throughout this process, custom APIs were also needed to incorporate their baggage tracking, flight status, and traffic update tools to work seamlessly with the new Drupal environment.

4. Bug Tracking and Optimization

Every migration comes with its share of hiccups, but with a dedicated bug tracker in place, the Hounder and LAWA teams were able to stay one step ahead. This real-time tracking allowed us to quickly identify and resolve issues before they escalated, keeping the project on track and running smoothly from start to finish.

5. Ensuring a Flawless Transition

Transitioning to Drupal also required our team to transfer knowledge to the LAWA team on how to use the platform efficiently. We’re also continuing to provide ongoing web support to help build new components/features for their websites to improve functionality further.

The Impact: A Stronger, Smarter Digital Presence

We’re proud to say that we helped LAWA deliver a stronger, user-friendly digital interface, and the project couldn’t have gone smoother. The migration to Drupal 10 delivered major improvements for LAWA, including:

• Stability & Reliability: Eliminated frequent site malfunctions and enhanced overall performance.

• Improved Content Management: Reduced dependency on coding for updates, allowing teams to manage content more efficiently.

• SEO & Mobile Enhancements: Optimized site structure and metadata, improving search rankings and mobile usability.

• Better User Experience: Streamlined workflows and modernized interfaces for both internal teams and end-users.

• Future-Proofed Technology: Leveraged Drupal’s flexible architecture to support long-term scalability and innovation.

• Seamless Code Management: Previously had downtime to fix bugs, now it’s easier. 

• Continuous Integration Capabilities: Code is tested before it gets deployed, which serves as a safeguard

By partnering with us, LAWA successfully transitioned to a more robust and future-ready digital platform, ensuring an improved experience for travelers and stakeholders alike. We achieved a smooth DNS cutover during launch, resulting in zero downtime and an uninterrupted transition. This was one of our smoothest migration projects, and we couldn’t have done it without our team of experts and the fantastic communication and collaboration with the LAWA team!