Here are our top blogs of 2024
From creating brilliant search experiences to Drupal updates, accessibility regulations and the most popular CMS for councils. These were our hot topics for 2024.
We published many blogs in 2024. The ones that were the most popular mirrored the major changes in the tech environment this year.
They included updates to Drupal (the CMS that Annertech uses for most of its websites), as well as changes to the laws that govern accessibility and why it’s so important to deliver an excellent search experience – especially on higher education websites.
Here are our top five blogs for the year:
Drupal is the most popular CMS for councils.
Drupal unseated Jadu in 2024 to take up the mantle of most popular content management system (CMS) among councils in Ireland and the UK. This is according to the latest updates to the LocalGov CMS Directory, which lists the content management systems that councils currently use. The directory is maintained and updated by Digital Health Check.
The European Accessibility Act is coming in 2025. Does your website comply?
The European Accessibility Act will apply in Ireland from June 2025. Forward-thinking organisations are getting a jumpstart on the tweaks they will eventually make to their websites. Getting a jump on the changes means that things can be done at a pace that you are comfortable with, and also eliminates a mad dash to a regulation-stipulated deadline. This blog by Stella detailed what needs to be done and also what will happen if websites don’t conform.
Enhancing the search experience on higher education websites
Today’s students have grown up with technology and expect websites to provide a great search experience, one that rivals Google or Bing. Yet many universities still provide dull, unhelpful course listings that are simply lists of courses grouped by faculty or A-Z lists with no search functionality, metadata or imagery. Our Managing Director Stella Power outlines the advantages of having an excellent search function on a website.
Long-term support for Drupal 10 and new two-year version cycle announced
From Drupal 10, a new Drupal major version will be released every two years. It’s an announcement that has been welcomed by many people, including Stella. Because Drupal 10 will get long-term support, it will be supported until Drupal 12 is released in 2026. Stella laid out the numerous advantages, including that the predictable release cycle gives people a bit more time for planning before a Drupal 11 upgrade. This will allow a bit of wiggle room for other things that you might want to do or have developed ahead of an upgrade.
Want to ensure your next migration is successful? Try our 3-phase approach
Website migrations can be a complex task, but with a clear plan, you can navigate them smoothly. Over the years, we’ve developed this three-phase approach, which Stella sets out neatly in this blog. Check out this tried and tested approach that has helped us with some really challenging migrations.
Conclusion
We had great fun going through our analytics and seeing what people have been reading on the Annertech website. It was also a great way to summarise the big talking points of the year. We’re looking forward to 2025, and all the changes it will bring with it.
Want to see what else we’ve been writing about?
From new additions to Team Annertech to the latest tech developments, we add new blogs regularly, and you’ll find them all on our website.
Alison Visser Head of Content
After more than two decades in journalism, Alison now collaborates with Annertech's clients to ensure that their content is the best it possibly can be.