Politics
Why CMS matters: Giving government the tools to manage its own voice
As government agencies work to modernize digital services, there’s growing pressure to make websites more efficient and easier to maintain. Technologists often advocate for the use of popular, new tools like Gatsby, GoHugo, Grav or Greenwood that might be more developer-friendly. However, many of these tools are generally created for technical authors. As such, it would take considerable training to have a non-technical person maintain the content on platforms like these.
For government websites, this is often a problem. Accurate, up-to-date content is key to serving the public. Commonly used content management systems (CMS) are designed for authors. This ensures that the people closest to the content — not just developers — can shape, publish and maintain it. These systems support collaboration across teams, reduce bottlenecks and help agencies meet their mission.
Putting content control in the right hands
Using a CMS allows content to be updated and maintained by teams who understand the programs they support. These include policy advisers, program managers, communications officers and public engagement staff. A CMS gives these professionals a simple, secure way to manage content directly, without relying on technical staff. Instead of routing every content change through a developer, teams can make updates through a user-friendly interface.
By far, the most popular CMS in government is Drupal. In our survey of more than 1,300 federal government domains, more Drupal sites were identified than the combined total of all others. Other identified CMSs included WordPress, Joomla and DNN. These are open-source commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software projects that provide support to authors and have commercial support for agencies.
In January, the Drupal community launched Drupal CMS. This extends the power of authors to have a low-code/no-code experience, using commercially supported open-source tools. It also provides support for artificial intelligence-assisted tools so that teams can spend more time focused on the message and not the mechanics.
Publishing quickly and responsively
Public information needs to move fast, especially when there is time-sensitive content. With a CMS, authorized users can publish immediately or schedule content updates in advance. This flexibility supports timely communications while preserving oversight.
Agencies that serve multilingual communities benefit as well. Mature CMSs support structured workflows for managing translations. This makes it easier to deliver consistent, accurate content across languages without duplicating effort.
Supporting accuracy and reducing errors
Not everyone working in government communications is a technical specialist. Frankly, they shouldn’t have to be. The structure of a CMS helps reduce confusion and prevent errors for less technical editors. Fields are clearly labeled, instructions are embedded in the interface and changes can be reviewed before going live.
Mature CMSs also support their authors by including built-in tools that help authors catch errors. This contributes to overall clarity, and saves both time and money. These small improvements make a big difference for busy teams juggling multiple priorities.
Supporting government mission and oversight
Government content carries legal and policy weight. It must reflect current rules and guidance. Often, content goes through extensive internal reviews before being published. A CMS supports this need for oversight by clearly separating content from code. That means content creators can do their job without worrying about technical disruptions, and developers can improve systems without blocking updates.
By giving subject-matter experts the ability to directly manage content, agencies ensure that what’s published aligns with their mission and meets legal requirements. It also helps build trust with the public.
CMSs are needed for many complex government sites
For government teams that maintain complex websites and public communications, content management systems are not a nice-to-have — they’re essential. Picking an open source COTS CMS can provide structured workflows, accountability and accessibility while reducing the need for constant developer involvement.
It is important that the right people can do the work they were hired to do, communicate with the public effectively, accurately and efficiently. A CMS gives government agencies the flexibility and structure to do just that.
Mike Gifford is the open standards and practices lead for CivicActions, a digital services firm that pairs expertise in free and open source (FOSS), Drupal and accessibility to help the government deliver high-impact public services. He is also an invited expert with the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
The post Why CMS matters: Giving government the tools to manage its own voice first appeared on Federal News Network.