These days, government websites are doing a lot more than just existing in a brochure-like site cluttered with information. They’re working hard to keep up with a fast-moving digital world. To meet the public’s growing interests and high demands, they’re using tools that fulfill public trust, civic engagement, and national resilience.
So, the concern here is: how to build something secure as well as future-ready while being able to serve everyone with the information they’re looking for?
This blog is the answer to that question: Drupal is how you do it!
Don’t just believe my words here; local councils in the UK to federal agencies in Australia have already placed their trust in Drupal for their digital foundation. Why do you think Drupal, the open-source platform, carries so much power in the public sector?
In this blog, I shall highlight the reasons why Drupal is highly regarded by governments, along with some real-life examples to support such reliance on Drupal today.
1. Fort Knox-level security
This goes without saying that governments account for heavy weights of public data. Whether it’s tax files or medical records, or infrastructure projects, security cannot be compromised. Drupal’s security is built into its core. Its architecture is built to minimize security vulnerabilities, while a dedicated team for Drupal security protects the platform vigilantly with regular patches and updates.
To paint you a better picture of its solid security reliance, here’s a true story. During Obama’s administration, the White House had selected Drupal for building its digital presence. It was a strategic move, rather than a symbolic one. Drupal’s intense security scrutiny met the requirements of the U.S. government’s highest digital office.
Further, more than 30% of federal government sites in Australia employ Drupal for their mandatory security compliance. Drupal wins the battle among its competitors here with its regular updates, role-based permissions, and community-monitored modules.
2. Accessibility – more like inclusivity
“Public” is a term that stands for everyone; thus, public services are meant for everyone. So why should your website leave out anybody? Even a person with low vision in rural Montana should be able to use your website as effectively as any other mobile user in downtown Toronto.
Drupal makes sure your website is accessible to all. It stands true to WCAG 2.1 accessibility standards, making it easier for agencies to adhere to Section 508 (US) or EN 301 549 (EU) requirements, and so on. It doesn’t limit itself to checking a box but extends towards building truly inclusive experiences.
For example, let’s talk about the LocalGov Drupal initiative in the UK. It’s a shared Drupal platform curated by councils for the councils. What does it aspire to achieve? Its focus is to deliver fast, accessible, and affordable digital experiences to its citizens, irrespective of the device or their abilities. More than 44 local governments take advantage of this initiative, especially for its accessibility as a core tenet. And not as an afterthought.
3. Scalability - making it reliable under pressure
Emergencies wait for no one. So, I’m guessing it won’t wait for better servers either, right?
At times of a pandemic or a surge in unemployment applications overnight, government systems cannot afford to buckle under pressure. This is where Drupal thrives in its scalability.
Its scalable architecture and caching mechanisms, such as BigPipe, Redis, and Varnish, allow it to handle thousands of users simultaneously and seamlessly.
Did you know that the Federal IT Dashboard went public, and there was unprecedented access to the U.S. government tech spending?
That’s when they chose Drupal for its reliability and scalability. Even during COVID-19, several information portals globally trusted Drupal to fulfill their need for up-to-the-minute accuracy and uninterrupted uptime.
4. Multilingual, multisite features embracing diversity
Every country consists of more than one dialect. Drupal’s native multilingual support allows you to reach a wider audience through your content, delivered in their preferred language without duplicate sites or complex workflows.
Additionally, Drupal’s multisite capabilities enable you to manage dozens of sites while serving content in various languages like English, French, Inuktitut, etc. For example, the Canadian Human Rights Museum delivers rich, bilingual content, reflecting the country’s cultural fabric. This example highlights Drupal’s efficiency.
5. Cost effectiveness and open-source
Public sector projects often have tight budgets with high expectations. Enter Drupal. It helps balance that equation.
Drupal’s collaborative open-source ecosystem and a huge range of reusable modules without any licensing fees save the budget for what matters more.
For instance, the LocalGov Drupal project reports around 80% developmental cost savings for UK councils simply by working with a shared codebase.
Cost-effectiveness doesn’t necessarily mean compromising. Especially not in terms of government projects. Governments have full control over their platforms without any vendor interference that may come from proprietary CMSs.
6. AI-readiness and evolution
Let’s be honest – AI is the hot topic today, and if not anything else, it is definitely reshaping day-to-day digital experiences. And Drupal is already keeping up!
Drupal’s growing support for AI modules, machine learning integrations, and a structured content model for feeding LLMs (Large Language Models), makes it future-ready, already on the path for evolution. The Drupal community does it all transparently and ethically, gaining public trust while aligning with core values.
The “audit first” approach to AI focuses on privacy, transparency, and control. This is a set of values in high demand by government agencies as they step into AI-powered services.
7. Information with engagement
Today, instead of static billboard-like websites, we get to experience dynamic, service hubs as government websites that act as communication tools and trust-building engines.
Drupal’s API capabilities bring in features like polls, forums, comment threads, and citizen portals. Its seamless integration facilities allow you to collaborate with CRMs, CDPs, and more. Agencies, in the present-day scenario, can deliver personalized experiences based on user needs, behavior, and geography while staying secure and compliant.
Data.gov.uk is a government website, not simply a dump of spreadsheets, but a vibrant open data ecosystem. It enables interactions among developers, researchers, and the public and builds upon government data. This is a simple example of civic engagement that Drupal helps you build.
8. A global community with a shared vision
Drupal is backed by a widespread community of passionate and mission-driven tech and non-tech members. More than 1.39 million members, 50,000 modules, and thousands of developers work together to improve the platform. The community is driven by a purpose and not for profit.
Examples of this community-driven initiatives are Drupal for Gov, OpenPublic, and LocalGov Drupal that showcase empathy and openness of the community, aligned with the values of democratic service. Drupal isn’t just a CMS; with its community, it becomes a digital movement.
A Case Study - New York State Department of Health
Our experts at Specbee have helped global enterprises and public sector leaders leverage the power of Drupal to build digital platforms that are people-first, future-ready, and built to last. A great example of our work is the project we did for Wadsworth Center - New York State’s public health lab that focuses on disease detection, lab testing, and research to keep communities safe.
We migrated their website from Drupal 7 to Drupal 10, trimmed down messy content types, regrouped similar ones, and created custom migration tools to move everything over smoothly. Then we optimized performance and accessibility, added CSV uploads for their test catalog, improved search filtering, and stuck around post-launch to iron out any snags.
Final thoughts
When citizens visit a government site, they aren’t just seeking information. They’re trusting that institution to serve, protect, and include them.
Drupal extends the opportunity for governments to earn that trust through their digital presence. It distributes values like transparency, inclusion, security, and innovation, just what such agencies need.
If you’re planning to take a digital leap for your government agency, you don’t have to build it from scratch, nor do it alone. Talk to us and we’ll help you build what your citizens deserve.
