COVESA – The Connected Vehicle Systems Alliance
Overview
The Connected Vehicle Systems Alliance (COVESA) is an open and member-driven global technology alliance accelerating the full potential of connected vehicles and the mobility ecosystem. As the only alliance focused solely on developing common approaches and technologies for connected vehicles, COVESA serves as a collaborative platform that brings together automotive software stakeholders with world-class developers to address opportunities and challenges in the automotive industry and navigate the digital transformation shaped by customer expectations.
What brought us together
COVESA needed initial WordPress development support to create their Divi-based website, which serves as the central hub for their global membership community. The site features complex functionality including a dynamic member directory, event management, project and group pages, blog content, and resources for their technical community spanning multiple continents. Given the complexity of their site, they’ve required ongoing support to maintain and enhance this vital information hub for Connected Vehicles.
Key Accomplishments and Contributions
Divi Theme Development and Custom Page Builds
The biggest project I tackled was building their Groups and Projects section. COVESA has over 25 different groups and technical projects, and each one needed its own page with a consistent look and feel. The main landing page has tabs that let visitors switch between viewing just the Groups or just the Projects, which made it much easier for members to find what they’re looking for.
One ongoing challenge was a caching issue that drove everyone crazy – the site would randomly load without its styling, making pages look broken. I spent time digging into Divi’s performance settings and eventually had to coordinate with their hosting provider to sort out what was happening at the server level. We finally got it stabilized, though it took some trial and error with the Dynamic CSS and Critical CSS options.
Custom Member Directory and Board & Officers Section
COVESA has over 90 member companies, so the member directory needed to load efficiently while still looking good. I set it up with AJAX loading and added filters so visitors can sort by industry type or membership level. The logos display in a grid with hover effects that show when each company joined.
I also handle the Board and Officers updates whenever there are leadership changes. The tricky part is the headshots – they need to be landscape format at 772×640 pixels to fit the layout properly. I’ve added several new board members over the past year.
maaBlog and Content Management Enhancements
After initial development, the blog needed some work, so I increased the number of posts showing per page to 12 and built a filtering system so visitors can browse by category. Traci wanted to add Member Profile and White Paper as new categories, which was straightforward once I showed her how the dynamic category display works – it only shows categories that actually have posts assigned to them.
There have been a few content emergencies along the way, like when they needed a press release about a collaboration with a European auto makers association to go live at exactly 5pm on a specific day. I also tracked down a frustrating issue where embedded videos weren’t displaying – turned out the cookie consent plugin was blocking them.
Event Management and Ongoing Updates
COVESA runs several major events each year, including their All Member Meetings in places like Porto and Ann Arbor. I built them an Events page functionality that allows them to easily update upcoming events and automatically moves past events after a set timeframe.
Traci added a Register Now button herself at one point and just needed me to fix the spacing between it and the Call for Participation button – small stuff like that comes up regularly.
I also built out the Resources section on the About page with boxes for Case Studies, White Papers, and overview documents. Their designer Jim Snyder from Colotera Design created custom icons for each category, and I made sure everything stayed visually consistent as we added new content.
Customer Feedback
Related Links
Ernie has been incredibly responsive to our website needs. Whether it’s a quick update to board member information or troubleshooting a complex caching issue, he consistently delivers quality work on time. His attention to detail on our Groups and Projects pages helped us present our technical initiatives professionally to our global membership. He’s become an essential part of our team.
Customer Website: https://covesa.global/
About COVESA: https://covesa.global/about-covesa/
Groups & Projects: https://covesa.global/groups-projects/
Events: https://covesa.global/events/
News & Blog: https://covesa.global/news-blog/
Vehicle Signal Specification: https://covesa.global/vehicle-signal-specification/
About the Site
The website covesa.global represents COVESA, the Connected Vehicle Systems Alliance, a global non-profit technology alliance accelerating innovation in connected vehicle systems. The site serves as the primary digital platform for a membership community of over 80 organizations including major automotive OEMs, tier-one suppliers, silicon manufacturers, and technology companies working together to develop common approaches and technologies for connected vehicles.
Services Offered:
- Membership information and application resources for organizations interested in joining the alliance
- Comprehensive directory of current members organized by industry segment and membership level
- Detailed information on 25+ active groups and projects advancing connected vehicle technology
- Event listings for All Member Meetings, networking events, and industry conferences
- Technical resources including white papers, case studies, technology briefs, and community guidelines
- News and blog content featuring member profiles, press releases, and industry updates
- Board and officer information with leadership bios and organizational structure
- Code contribution guidelines and links to GitHub repositories for open-source projects
Approach:
COVESA operates as a member-driven alliance, meaning that all technical direction and project initiatives come from the participating organizations rather than top-down mandates. The website reflects this collaborative philosophy by providing transparent access to project information, meeting schedules, and contribution opportunities. The organization emphasizes three core values: being open (code and specifications are publicly available), being collaborative (decisions are made through consensus), and being impactful (focusing on deliverables that provide real business value to members).
Member Experience:
Members benefit from early access to emerging technologies like the Vehicle Signal Specification (VSS), networking opportunities with industry leaders at global events, and the ability to influence the technical direction of connected vehicle development. The site provides easy access to the COVESA Wiki for detailed project documentation, Slack channels for real-time collaboration, and a community calendar for tracking the weekly meeting schedule of all active groups and projects.
To learn more about COVESA and explore membership opportunities, visit covesa.global.