Transforming Kohler’s Website: A Scalable, Secure, And High-Performance Solution

Kohler Jacob Delafon operates separate websites for France, Russia, Spain, Morocco, Germany, and a global site for other regions. All these websites faced a variety of challenges like:

Traffic-Triggered Issues

• Slow Loading Times: Persistent delays in accessing information and completing transactions impacted user experience.

• Website Outages: Kohler’s website faced challenges in handling traffic surges during global campaigns and product launches, often leading to slowdowns or outages.

Security Vulnerabilities

• Bot Attacks: Frequent attacks strained resources and exposed the site to potential data breaches.

• Lack of Advanced Security: Outdated security protocols left the site vulnerable, risking user trust and data integrity.

High Operational Costs

• Inefficient AWS Usage: Redundant and underutilized AWS services significantly inflated operational costs.

• Unnecessary Support Services: The use of high-cost AWS support packages that were underutilized further contributed to inflated budgets.

Outdated Infrastructure

• Legacy Systems: The site operated on an outdated version of Drupal and lacked modern features to deliver a dynamic user experience.

• Complex Deployment Process: Deployment pipelines were highly manual, error-prone, and time-consuming, leading to increased downtime during updates and releases.

Inefficient Content Management

• Multiple Language-Specific Domains:  Kohler’s global presence required content management across 6 official UN languages: English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Russian, and Chinese. This complexity made it challenging to maintain consistency and accuracy.
  

• Data Integration Issues: The lack of efficient data import mechanisms from systems like Tangram led to discrepancies in content updates across the site, reducing operational efficiency.

Scalability Constraints

• Growing Business Needs: As Kohler expanded its product portfolio and global presence, the website struggled to keep pace with the growing volume of content, users, and traffic. 

• Future Readiness: The existing architecture lacked the flexibility to incorporate future technologies or features, putting the site at risk of obsolescence.

These challenges underscored the need for a comprehensive overhaul of Kohler’s digital infrastructure to deliver a scalable, secure, and high-performance website.

The following solutions were implemented to address the challenges faced by Kohler Jacob Delafon.

Upgrade To Drupal 10

• Migrated all 6 websites to Drupal 10, leveraging its advanced content management capabilities to handle complex content structures across multiple languages and domains.

• The latest version enabled better scalability, modern features, and a more efficient development pipeline.

AWS Optimization

• Conducted a comprehensive audit of AWS services to identify underutilized or redundant resources.

• Disabled unnecessary services, including outdated AWS support packages.

• Applied 90 day retention policy for AWS S3 storage, reducing storage costs by 68% while maintaining essential backups for security and reliability.

• Reduced AWS support costs from $400–$500/month to $10/month, by moving to a developer support plan.

Enhanced Security Measures

• Deployed Akamai Web Application Firewall (WAF) and bot mitigation tools to block malicious traffic, ensuring a secure browsing experience for users.

• Strengthened data management practices by removing sensitive data from repositories and storing it securely.

• Regularly updated the Drupal core, modules, and dependencies to patch vulnerabilities and maintain compliance with best practices.

Streamlined Deployment Pipeline

• Automated the deployment process using Kubernetes for container orchestration, Helm for application management, and Terraform for infrastructure as code.

• This setup enabled zero-downtime deployments and reduced errors.

• Built a robust environment capable of scaling dynamically to meet traffic demands.

Advanced Monitoring And Alerts

• Integrated Grafana and Prometheus for detailed monitoring of server health and resource usage.

• Configured AWS CloudWatch to provide real-time alerts for performance and resource thresholds, allowing for proactive issue resolution.

• Implemented logging mechanisms for centralized access to application logs, improving visibility into system operations.

Efficient Data Synchronization

• Streamlined the integration between the site and Tangram, ensuring real-time updates and synchronization across all language-specific domains.

• Optimized data import workflows to handle large datasets without impacting site performance.

New Feature Development

• Added features to improve user engagement, including enhanced search functionalities and updated product detail pages.

• Ensured all new features were scalable and maintainable, providing a foundation for future enhancements.

Scalable And Flexible Architecture

• Designed the architecture to support future expansions, enabling Kohler to roll out new features, languages, and regions without major rework.

• Emphasized scalability and flexibility to ensure the website can grow alongside Kohler’s business needs.

Comprehensive UI Redesign

• Restructured navigation for improved accessibility and clearer site-wide links. Footer layout now presents key information like  contact details, terms and support in an organized, visually appealing format.

• Revamped product landing pages to highlight key product information, enhance visual hierarchy, and provide a richer shopping experience.

• Improved product categorization, added clearer product visuals, and integrated a new blog section to bolster user engagement.

• Ensured consistency across devices and replaced inconsistent background colors with a uniform grey for cohesive branding.

Post-Implementation Support

• Established a regular release cycle with monthly updates to ensure continuous improvement.

• Implemented an emergency hotfix plan to address critical issues promptly without waiting for the next release cycle.

The comprehensive solutions resulted in several enhancements:

• 70% AWS Cost Reduced

Auditing and optimizing AWS services, including storage and support packages, reduced monthly AWS costs by approximately 70%. 

Streamlined infrastructure and automated processes provided sustainable cost efficiencies while maintaining scalability.

• 90% Malicious Traffic Blocked

Akamai’s Web Application Firewall (WAF) and bot management tools successfully blocked 90% of malicious traffic. This reduced resource strain and eliminated bot-induced downtimes.

Regular updates and secure data management safeguarded user privacy and ensured compliance. 

• 30%-40% Faster Deployments

Kubernetes, Helm, and Terraform streamlined the deployment pipeline, resulting in zero-downtime releases and a 30%-40% reduction in deployment time.

Grafana and Prometheus provided actionable insights, ensuring timely issue resolution and operational efficiency.

• 40% Faster Content Updates

Faster load times, a dynamic frontend, and seamless navigation enhanced user satisfaction. Advanced search functionality and intuitive product discovery tools simplified the customer journey.

Kohler’s internal teams reduced content update times by 40%, freeing resources for strategic initiatives.

The platform is well-equipped to handle future expansions, including additional languages, regions, and features.

• Improved User Experience

Clearer header and footer layouts make it easier for users to find products and support information. Standardized background colors and responsive layouts deliver a cohesive, on-brand experience across devices.

Well-structured category pages and visually rich product detail pages boost user confidence and conversions.