Stabilizing NCARB's digital ecosystem
and modernizing legacy Drupal platforms
The client
The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) is a nonprofit organization made up of the architectural licensing boards of 55 U.S. states and territories. NCARB develops and administers national programs for candidates pursuing architectural licensure and helps architects expand their professional reach through the NCARB Certificate. Swapps has supported NCARB since 2018.
The challenge
NCARB had a broad and complex digital ecosystem made up of public websites, specialized digital properties, and internal portals. Over time, this ecosystem accumulated a significant backlog and high technical debt, creating operational friction and reducing the speed at which new requirements and urgent requests could be addressed.
The challenge was not just to maintain existing websites. NCARB needed a long-term technical partner capable of stabilizing the operation, reducing technical debt, supporting multiple digital properties, modernizing legacy Drupal infrastructure, improving uptime, and responding faster to urgent requests.
The solution
Swapps approached NCARB's ecosystem as an ongoing digital operations and modernization effort. The first priority was to stabilize the platforms and improve the team's ability to respond to business needs. From there, Swapps worked across infrastructure, Drupal, WordPress, UX/UI, maintenance, and development to reduce operational risk and improve delivery speed.
A key part of the work was the Drupal 7 to Drupal 10 migration, which helped modernize the platform, reduce security and maintainability risks, and create a more stable base for future improvements. Swapps also supported related properties such as the Centennial Website and Analysis of Practice, making sure the broader digital ecosystem could evolve without disrupting NCARB's operations.
Site Migration
User Interface Design
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Full Stack Development
Tech We Used
Drupal
WordPress
Figma
Pantheon
Acquia
Site Maintenance
Swapps established ongoing maintenance and monitoring routines to keep NCARB's digital properties stable and secure: preventive and adaptive maintenance, site enhancements, infrastructure updates, and server monitoring. This reduced operational risk and kept the platforms reliable for a national audience while the team focused on continuous improvement.
Preventive Maintenance
Adaptive Maintenance
Site Enhancements
Infrastructure Updates
What the client says
I appreciated Swapps' positive attitude and patience as we have requested many changes across all our projects!
Results
By reducing technical debt and improving the support model, Swapps helped NCARB move from a reactive operation to a more stable and responsive digital environment. Requirements that previously took an average of 7 days are now handled in about 1 day. Urgent tickets that previously took around 1 day to resolve are now solved in 1.5 hours on average. Uptime improved from 98% to 99.9%.
Requirement turnaround: from 7 days to 1 day
Urgent ticket resolution: from 1 day to 1.5 hours
Uptime: from 98% to 99.9%
Migration from Acquia to Pantheon
As part of modernizing NCARB's infrastructure, Swapps migrated its Drupal platforms from Acquia to Pantheon, streamlining the hosting and deployment workflow, improving reliability, and reducing operational overhead.
Migration from Drupal 7 to 10
Our migration process from Drupal 7 to Drupal 10 is designed to be smooth and efficient, ensuring that all data, content, and custom functionalities are seamlessly transferred. We carefully plan each step of the migration to minimize downtime and maintain the integrity of the existing site. By leveraging the latest features of Drupal 10, we help modernize the platform, enhance security, and improve overall performance, ensuring that the transition is as seamless as possible.
Website Inventory
Theme and Modules Development
Website Migration
Centennial Website design
As part of NCARB's broader digital ecosystem, Swapps supported the Centennial Website with Drupal core and module updates, infrastructure updates, and ongoing maintenance, keeping this dedicated property stable and aligned with the rest of NCARB's digital operations.
Drupal Core and Module Updates
Infrastructure Updates
Analysis of Practice Website design
Swapps also supported the Analysis of Practice website, combining UX/UI design, theme and module development, and ongoing website maintenance to keep this specialized property reliable and easy to evolve over time.
UX/UI Design
Theme and Modules Development
Website Maintenance
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