Colorado Judicial Branch site on a mobile phone

Public Sector Innovation with Drupal

Spotlight on Drupal modernizations and implementations for government agencies

Since adopting Drupal in 2010, GovWebworks has made the open-source platform our primary tool for building future-ready content management solutions. Its stability, security, and flexibility make it particularly well-suited for high-performance government and public-sector websites—many of which we’ve had the opportunity to develop and modernize, as detailed below.

Drupal’s powerful ecosystem and low-code framework allow us to quickly deliver highly configurable, feature-rich tools tailored to specific client needs.

Our development approach follows best practices that align with the official Drupal roadmap, using core components and vetted modules while introducing customizations responsibly. This results in solutions that are easy to update, scalable over time, and cost-effective to maintain—delivering better long-term value for our clients.

Many of our team members hold Acquia certifications and stay active in the global Drupal community through conferences and forums, ensuring our work reflects the latest best practices. We’ve applied our expertise across a range of modernization efforts by combining our UX design and content expertise with technical implementation to help agencies across all sectors to deliver smarter digital services.

Here’s a look at some of the Drupal sites we’ve developed for our clients in the primary sectors.

ADMINISTRATION

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Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance: Drupal redesign

In 2023, the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance (DCI) engaged GovWebworks to modernize its digital presence by migrating to the latest version of Drupal, the state’s preferred CMS. The project leveraged Drupal’s strengths to unify five distinct agency sites under one platform, featuring a shared theme with sub-theming flexibility, component-based page building across 7,000+ pages, and standardized workflows. Drupal’s robust content architecture supported custom content types, reusable design patterns, and integration with a statewide search appliance. GovWebworks also developed custom APIs within Drupal to securely expose data from 14 internal systems and implemented dynamic public-facing forms using Drupal’s form-building capabilities. Delivered ahead of schedule and on budget in just 10 months, the new Drupal implementation significantly improved site management, performance, and user experience across all DCI web properties.

EDUCATION

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Maine Department of Education: MOOSE education platform

To improve usability and engagement on Maine’s Drupal-based MOOSE (Maine Online Open-Source Education) platform, GovWebworks partnered with the Department of Education to redesign the site with a kid-friendly, exploration-themed interface and enhance its technical functionality. Key Drupal highlights included improvements to the platform’s handling of nested hierarchical content and the integration of H5P for dynamic curriculum creation. The redesign made content search more accessible and navigation more intuitive, particularly for K–12 users. The open-access platform, featuring over 300 learning modules, now offers a more seamless and engaging experience, earning both W3 and Web Excellence design awards in 2023.

ENVIRONMENT

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Missouri Department of Conservation: Drupal redesign & ongoing enhancement

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) selected GovWebworks via public RFP to provide ongoing website redevelopment and user experience enhancements for their Drupal-based platform. GovWebworks began with projects including GIS mapping integration and the development of a 508 Accessibility Task Management portal to ensure compliance with WCAG standards. Additionally, a chatbot pilot was introduced to explore AI-driven conversational interfaces.

MDC then partnered with GovWebworks to consolidate three separate primary public facing sites into their main Drupal platform and public site to improve content management, user experience, and technical updates for their 5.5 million annual visitors. GovWebworks implemented a component-based redesign, allowing administrators to build pages using reusable content blocks and a flexible Page Builder system. A Solr-based search with faceted filtering was also added to improve navigation across the 17,500-page site. The result is a more cohesive, user-friendly platform with streamlined functionality, better content discoverability, and a seamless experience for users. In 2019, GovWebworks implemented an upgrade to the Drupal platform for the new MDC redesign.

HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES

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Idaho Department of Health and Welfare State: Drupal modernization

To modernize its outdated and content-heavy website, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (IDHW) partnered with GovWebworks to implement a streamlined, Drupal-based solution using the CiviServ platform. The redesign focused on user experience, mobile optimization, and compliance with ADA and state cybersecurity standards. A major Drupal highlight was the consolidation of over 1,000 pages down to 500 through a curated content migration process, improving clarity and access. The new site architecture uses flexible Drupal templates and components tailored to different audiences—Providers, Programs & Services, and Health & Wellness—enabling IDHW to maintain content efficiently and present information clearly without technical support.

JUDICIAL

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Colorado Judicial Branch: Drupal redesign

Colorado Courts on a mobile device

The Colorado Judicial Branch (CJB) faced challenges with outdated technology and poor usability on its public website and intranet, resulting in confusing navigation, conflicting content, and accessibility issues. GovWebworks was selected to redesign and rebuild the website with a focus on user-centered design, accessibility, and mobile-friendliness. The project began with user research, focus groups, and stakeholder interviews to improve the site’s architecture, navigation, and content strategy. Using an agile Scrum process, the team implemented a robust Drupal CMS aligned with WCAG 2.1 AA standards. The redesigned site now offers an accessible, mobile-friendly platform with modern design, improved navigation, and a streamlined content strategy, meeting the needs of the public, legal professionals, and court administrators while ensuring sustainability and ease of maintenance.

TRANSPORTATION

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Missouri Department of Transportation: Drupal redesign

To modernize its decade-old, non-responsive website and improve content management, the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) partnered with GovWebworks for a full Drupal rebuild. The new Drupal-based platform resolved long-standing challenges by consolidating more than 30 unique page layouts into just two highly configurable content types, paired with a custom GUI-driven page builder. This allowed over 50 non-technical content editors to update and manage site content independently, improving speed and consistency. Key Drupal highlights include custom modules for content workflows, Solr-powered faceted search, topic-based permission controls for decentralized content governance, and API integrations for GIS and data feeds. The result is a fully accessible, mobile-responsive, and scalable platform that supports MoDOT’s mission to provide reliable and user-friendly transportation information to millions of annual site visitors.

WORKFORCE

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Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development: CareerForce portal development

In response to a statewide need for a centralized employment and workforce services portal, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) partnered with GovWebworks to develop CareerForceMN. Leveraging a proprietary Drupal-based SaaS platform, the project accelerated development through reusable components, scalable architecture, and configurable features tailored to DEED’s unique service model. The platform integrates diverse data sources and dynamically personalizes content for job seekers, employers, and workforce professionals based on user profiles. Drupal’s flexible content types and taxonomy system enabled efficient structuring of resources, training tools, and support services, while agile development ensured iterative testing and refinement. Launched in late 2018, the Drupal-powered CareerForceMN site now provides Minnesotans with a modern, accessible, and user-centric portal to advance workforce engagement and economic opportunity.

Learn more

Want to learn more about what Drupal can do for your agency? We’d love to hear from you.

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