the challenge

To create a content rich community portal with visually simple, yet attractive mechanisms that provide the residents with up-to-date news, articles, business directories, galleries, weather, and similar media. To keep the website current via ongoing content updates provided by various community organizations. Content is provided through secure log-ins and automated processes such as RSS and other syndication, as well as manual entry, using WYSIWYG editors.

the solution

Built using SilverStripe, the web portal allows diverse stakeholder groups control and edit their own information within one central database. Community groups can easily feed events into a central events calendar database that also displays on their own website. This technology creates a unified and synchronized events calendar for the entire community. Custom weather feeds, photo galleries and local news feeds help position this website as the “go to” internet source on all things Pictou County. The most recent addition was a local job search feature allowing employers to use the portal to post job openings and job seekers to search for local opportunities regardless of where they are geographically.