So, why do we believe in Drupal for Government bodies? Government services have been under fire to go digital-by-default for some time. As such, their websites are being asked not only for more features than ever before, serving as the digital town square — a primary location for networking, doing business, staying informed, exhibiting top attractions, and much more. Digital transformation can't happen quickly enough.
A quick word on digital transformation for governments
When we speak about digital transformation, we're not just talking about new technology; we're talking about mindset, culture, work processes, and organisational structure. These are the aspects that, along with digital technology adaption, need to be prioritised.
Here are a few benefits of adopting digital-by-default:
Providing a positive client experience
We all expect governmental services to be as personalised and accessible as private-sector services. As a result, the government must devise a strategy to address the public's expectations. There is a need to develop a customer-centric attitude to encourage transparent engagement that leads to a better customer experience.
Increasing the return on government investment
This is the time for the government to embrace digital technology, which may aid in the exploration of new service models and the wise and efficient use of resources.
Resident safety
There are advantages and disadvantages to everything. Technology may be both a help and a problem. There are many cyber assaults occurring all around the globe. As a result, it is the government's job to protect people from such risks, allowing them to live without fear of digital security. The government has implemented information security management systems to protect all of the vital data. Cloud computing is also an excellent way to boost computer power while also providing secure payment platforms for residents.
Infrastructure improvement
Adopting digital technologies that promote digital literacy among residents may help build a smart infrastructure. Software, smart devices, and sensors are just a few examples of what may be used to provide safe access to government services.
Improve communication
Over the past two years, we learned that the Gov UK site was of tremendous assistance during a pandemic, emergency since they are the first line of defence in such difficult times, providing residents with the required support.
Government authorities may engage with individuals in need and ensure that everyone is properly informed about essential updates and announcements by creating such effective websites with simple navigation.
Drupal for Government
The margin for mistake is small among government personnel responsible for maintaining and making judgments about the best content management system (CMS), and the stakes are high.
Security, scalability, engagement, flexibility, accessibility, dependability, and ease of navigation are all requirements for government websites. Websites must show cost efficiency when funds are cut, and all of this contributes to good governance.
Drupal is used by more than 150 nations across the globe for government and multilateral agency websites.
Drupal powers 56 per cent of all government websites across the globe.
Drupal's market dominance in government and public sector CMS is based on a strong foundation that comprises the following 10 factors. Let's discuss why it's wise to choose Drupal for Government bodies:
1. Drupal is compatible with a variety of applications and services
Drupal gets along well with people, which is really important. The ease with which additional services — even proprietary solutions — may be integrated assures that a government website will be able to meet both current and future demands.
Drupal is a modular content management system that may be readily integrated with other applications.
Chances are, if there's a feature you need, there's already a Drupal module waiting for you.
The fact that Drupal is open source adds to the usefulness of this functionality. As a result, no central authority is in charge of defining or restricting integration activities. Multiple integrations are also free since they are open source, which means there are no extra charges or licence requirements.
2. Security is both visible and reliable
For government websites, security is a top priority, and Drupal's track record of exceptional security is one of the reasons for its appeal among government customers. Because Drupal is open source, government IT personnel have access to the code for their websites and may do whatever degree of due diligence they see necessary to ensure that the site is secure against hacking and cyber threats.
With the contributions of various security modules, the Drupal community of 1.3 million people is working together to eliminate possible dangers. Login Security, Password Policy, Captcha, and Security Kit are among them.
The Drupal Security Working Group is dedicated to ensuring that Drupal core and the Drupal ecosystem of member contributions provide Drupal sites with world-class security.
Another thing to keep in mind is that Drupal is not a SAAS solution, which means the site's code is not shared in a database.
3. Drupal is multisite friendly
Drupal's multisite feature streamlines the creation of multi-sites by allowing developers to copy the main site's codebase and create as many offshoot sites as needed that leverage the same functionality.
Any CMS for the government or public sector will need to accommodate a wide range of sites, and Drupal's multisite feature streamlines the creation of multi-sites by allowing developers to copy the main site's codebase and create as many offshoot sites as needed that leverage the same functionality. This translates to considerable cost reductions in terms of both development and ongoing maintenance.
While multisite support is now a basic feature of most CMS systems, the thing that distinguishes Drupal from the proprietary solutions is cost — or rather, the lack of expense. There are no extra expenses involved with the addition of numerous sites since it is an Open Source CMS.
Drupal's scalability is linked to its multisite feature, allowing brand standards to be managed centrally while various agencies and departments control their own content. Just ask the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
4. Drupal sites can withstand high traffic surges
A significant flood of traffic on one site impacts all of the sites on the same Drupal codebase, hence Drupal's inherent scalability is another essential component in the multisite functionality.
Government websites must be prepared to handle a spike in traffic at any time. A government website is never more important than when a critical mass of residents goes to it at the same moment, whether due to severe weather warnings, civic upheaval, or even a joyous event.
Drupal powers some of the world's busiest government websites, and it's designed to withstand both spikes in traffic and millions of monthly visits without crashing or failing.
5. Hosting solutions can be tailored to meet individual needs
Site owners may choose the best hosting provider for their requirements, change hosting companies as needed, or host the website internally using Drupal. With a proprietary CMS system, this isn't necessarily the case. Though there are also specific Drupal hosting experts, like ourselves, who are on hand to help. We understand "Drupalisms", so we can devise the perfect hosting solution.
6. There is built-in multilingual support
Drupal comes with support for over a hundred languages out of the box. Despite the fact that many major CMS platforms now enable multilingual content, Drupal has additional tools that make translation easier.
Drupal's Content Translation module enables you to translate pages and individual content by producing a duplicate set in the target language.
The Entity Translation module enables you to translate particular web page elements.
7. Drupal sites are immediately available
Drupal is dedicated to meeting online accessibility requirements, which is an important concern for all government and public-sector websites. Drupal is compatible with the most current Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, so clients can rest assured (WCAG 2.1, soon to. be 2.2). This is a significant benefit of Drupal, since CMS systems that depend heavily on external plug-ins cannot be relied upon to be as compliant with online accessibility requirements.
8. Drupal is accessible to the majority of users
The Drupal community is dedicated to providing a highly accessible platform. And that promise comes directly from Dries, at the top. Drupal's most recent version is the most powerful and accessible version to date. With Drupal's built-in accessibility features, you can be confident that you'll be able to reach the audience you want to reach with your message. In fact, Drupal 9's front-end theme, Olivero, was created with accessibility at the core. Part of digital transformation is catering to as many users with varied needs as possible.
9. There are 1.3 million Drupal users worldwide
Both developers and public sector customers benefit greatly from the Drupal community. As a long-time member of the Drupal community, I've seen firsthand the power of a 1.3 million-strong community engaged in the project's development. In Drupal, there are no secrets. Because Drupal is based on a common OS development stack, Drupal developer expertise is more readily accessible than for proprietary CMS systems. Help and assistance are readily accessible for any issue or query that may emerge within the community.
10. Drupal has a dedicated initiative to cater specifically to government websites
LocalGov Drupal was created for the government by the government. It is a pre-configured Drupal version that meets the feature requirements of a government website in the United Kingdom. It's free and has no vendor lock-in since it's open-source software. It arose after the publication of new accessibility requirements in the United Kingdom.
All government websites must comply with the WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility guidelines. Many websites were discovered to be non-compliant. So, rather than recreating each council's website, an idea arose to reuse code across councils.
Councils, for the most part, have comparable functionality and accessibility requirements for their websites. As such, LocalGov Drupal offers a world class, fully accessible version of each of these and makes it freely available to every local government body. This method eliminates the need for councils to start from scratch.
Furthermore, it prevents spending on the same features again and over again. Instead, if a council creates a feature that others may benefit from, they share it.
Final word
The movement of governments to the digital realm is critical to our society. Government websites assist in determining residents' needs and responding to them quickly. These ideas offer every person a voice and provide new avenues for social progress.
https://www.codeenigma.com/blog/drupal-for-government. And it's easy to see why: Drupal's capability enables the creation of a fantastic environment for governmental reasons.
Drupal is in our blood at Code Enigma. We are active members of the Drupal community that believe in openly sharing knowledge and solutions and contributed modules, as well as having a long history of designing, developing and hosting Drupal sites for government and public sector clients. In fact, we can help with an entire digital transformation project. Talk to us today about how we can help.
Alternatively, we think you'd enjoy our other blog on the best Drupal modules for the public sector.