AFWERX.com

AFWERX is the innovation arm of the Department of the Air Force and is part of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). AFWERX brings cutting edge American ingenuity from small businesses and start-ups to address the most pressing challenges of the DAF.

I was brought in through a federal contractor called JST (JSToogood) to replace a team of 2 web developers who weren't cutting it.

Some highlights of the site include:

• Extensive custom post types to allow for end-user management of much of the content on the site.
• Tied the login system to the AFWERX Google Single-Sign-On system so end users didn't need an additional login and access can be revoked through official channels without intervention on the website.
• Integration of 3rd party forms from GovDelivery and Salesforce.
• Custom events system tailored to their specific needs.
• Custom countdown timers that disappear at zero on the clock and are replaced with new content.
• Custom sliders that allow the site admins to add/remove/pause slides with custom links, titles, descriptions and categories.
• Custom design adhering to established marketing standards.
• Custom headers for divisions that include random background images and a colored bottom border that can be set by site admins.

When I started with AFWERX, the previous developers were of the thought that if the Air Force asked for a new feature they could just find a plugin to handle it. The original website had something like 45 plugins that had not been vetted for security or accessibility. My first order of business was to build a new development stack that could pass the USAF security standards, didn't cost an arm and a leg and could be sustained long term. The stack is currently down to ~7 plugins and all custom features are built using Metabox for custom post types and code blocks in Bricks.

Most pages on the website sit in the mid-90% range for accessibility and include many SEO features that make the marketing team happy.