Content Manager Case Study: Not Your Average Taco Stand - Feat. Calgary Catholic Schools

We’ve always believed that there’s a better way to solve problems than acquiring new tools, products and services. The best solutions are built through teamwork and collaboration.

A recent chat with the team at Calgary Catholic reiterated the value of this approach. In late 2020 they implemented Content Manager and, with the help of our design team, launched 123 new websites! Beyond simply adopting Content Manager, Calgary Catholic was instrumental in creating the platform, guiding our development team every step of the way. The result is a fully realized content management system that is as much theirs as it is ours.

Let’s explore how the Calgary Catholic team saved over 70% on their annual website costs while enjoying unmatched features, flexibility, and our team’s full support. 

Clean. Consistent. On brand. 

The use of Content Manager allowed the Calgary Catholic team to break free from the overly cumbersome and complex nature of Sharepoint. Systems like Sharepoint are great for some things, but they were never meant to manage websites -- especially at scale.

Before Content Manager, changes to their websites were greatly restricted and outrageously expensive. Amy, a Communications Specialist at Calgary Catholic, said, “everything about the old system was difficult and frustrating. Anytime we wanted to do something, if it were even possible, would cost us thousands of dollars.”

One of the first steps to delivering a solution was the design. Many of the front-end pain points were solved by working closely with the CCSD team to provide clean and consistent designs that seamlessly unified the district and school sites. Designs started from a blank slate and were built collaboratively to capture the needs and priorities of the CCSD communications team. At launch, all 123 websites were effortlessly on-brand and unmistakably a part of the Calgary Catholic experience. Check them out for yourself over at www.cssd.ab.ca.

However, great design only gets you so far! Powered by a unique DCT (Data Capture Table) engine, Content Manager breaks even the most complex designs into easy-to-use forms. This means that any staff member with any level of technical proficiency (and the proper site permissions) can make changes and additions to their sites -- no support tickets or outside intervention required! We’ve delivered beautifully designed websites and pages that the Calgary Catholic team has complete control over. Gone are the days of complex and cumbersome! 

A la carte meets all-inclusive. 

With the old SharePoint sites, changes or additions (aside from being difficult) would often result in downtime. Website outages and downtime were a common occurrence, often during critical times like registration or back-to-school. These were problems that John Schutte, Director of Information Technology, was happy to solve.

As the place to find reliable information and as the access point to services like PowerSchool, JigSaw and SchoolCashOnline -- websites play a crucial role in the day-to-day at any school district. However, when dealing with setbacks like downtime, the resources required to keep everything up-to-date and online can be considerable and disproportionate. Considering the difficult and unreliable nature of their old SharePoint-backed websites, this was especially true for Calgary Catholic.

In that regard, John noted that they’ve seen significant savings. In the neighbourhood of 70%!

Much of this is due to the amount Calgary Catholic is saving in labour. It takes considerably less time and far fewer staff members to keep their new websites in top form. John said that “we’re delivering an outstanding web presence that is reliable and easy to maintain for a fraction of the cost. The money saved is now being put into higher-value areas for our staff, students and parents.”

John reiterates why our team makes providing affordable, tailor-made solutions a priority -- people come first. Simply put, we don’t see the education market as a profit center. Whether it’s websites, Parent Forms or student safety, we’re not here to take your money!

Our team is your team. 

We don’t deliver and dive. Unlike other providers (or the DoorDash guy that just dropped off my tacos but forgot the hot sauce), we’re with you for the long haul.

While talking with Calgary Catholic’s communications team, the “our team is your team” concept was a reoccurring theme. Beautiful, purpose-driven design and exceptionally straightforward software are only two-thirds of the Imagine Everything recipe.

Amy and Sandra both noted that getting any form of support for their old websites took days, sometimes weeks. The whole process was cold and robotic. Once they did get a hold of someone, they then had to brace themselves for the bill. Our business model completely flips the script on this outdated way of doing things. We don’t work for Calgary Catholic; we work with them. Post-launch, we’ve remained a phone call or Zoom away with no strings attached, and we wouldn’t have it any other way!

Hungry?

It’s time to ditch the generic taco stand approach to websites and content management. Join Calgary Catholic and enjoy the upgrade to the ultimate, bespoke burrito experience. Reach out to hello@imagineeverything.com anytime to learn more about this project or to get started on your own!

Calgary Catholic also uses: Student Aware, Guestbook, Education Forms, Parent Forms, and CLASI