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Why WordPress Best Fits the Unique Goals of the Public Sector

ByLone Rock Point
A group of people sitting at a table with multiple laptops.

As many US Government Agencies continue to evolve their websites as a result of the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act, the use cases for WordPress continue to grow across the public sector.

WordPress has many strengths to support agency websites full of information and content to transition into 21st Century portals of easy to locate information. Government and large-scale organizations will find WordPress a secure and reliable option for managing their website and its content as small websites and bloggers.

According to W3Techs, 43.5% of all websites use the WordPress CMS platform. WordPress supports several large-scale organization websites including New York Post, Al Jazeera, TechCrunch, Time Magazine, and FiveThirtyEight (meeting election night traffic demands on the FiveThirtyEight website). This uptake should persuade cynics and cautious adopters of WordPress’ capabilities.

What WordPress options are there?

There are three WordPress options to choose from for those seeking a robust hosting platform.

WordPress.com

The easiest way to get online and share your thoughts is with WordPress.com. This free option is most ideal for bloggers and hobbyists. For businesses and organizations that need more server space, design features and customization options, we’d suggest self-hosted WordPress as the best choice.

Self-hosted WordPress

More than 50% of CMS sites run on self-hosted WordPress sites. With little more than a domain provider and managed WordPress web hosting, a small business website can be built in a short time using WordPress’ self-hosted solutions. This creates a secure environment with daily backups and much more.

WordPress VIP

For large-scale organizations including government agencies, WordPress VIP is the ideal option. It is a WordPress owned secure and managed hosting platform. Offering support beyond hosting, this is the best option when dependability and support are key.

The diversity of WordPress solutions means no matter the size or scale; there is a reliable and affordable solution.

What are the unique goals of the public sector?

Once the 21st Century IDEA was signed into law in 2018, agencies started to consider the goals within the Act and how to transform their web footprint into websites that are quick, easy, secure, and accessible. These are top of mind as Agencies have begun to redesign their websites: 

  • Offering a satisfactory user experience (UX). Visitors come to public sites for information making functionality and consistency essential at all times.
  • Curating the most accurate and up-to-date information across billions of pages. Incorrect or false data can cause problems for users and the public body.
  • Following accessibility regulations. Agencies must make their websites accessible to all individuals by following Section 508.
  • Delivering a fully responsive website to users functional across all mobile devices. 
  • Creating a secure and dependable website given the sensitive information and public access.

WordPress delivers on each of these points as the ideal platform, meeting the unique goals of public sector websites.

How does WordPress help the public sector achieve its goals?

The core features of WordPress will assist Agencies in meeting their goals to provide a better digital experience. The platform software creates an environment of

  • Simplicity – allowing everyone to use it with confidence
  • Dependability – hosting websites of the most significant Government agencies in the world
  • Scalability – as a Agency grows, WordPress supports large bodies of content and applications
  • Flexibility – Can adapt to use the U.S. Web Design Standards and any UX designs

WordPress is an open-source platform and is constantly updated to create a secure environment, every line of code is reviewed to ensure the platform is secure. Many public sector websites are running old software which creates insecure environments hosting information trusted by the public. Websites are only as secure as their last patch. 

It’s common for different Agencies and their departments to host websites using a wide variety of Content Management Systems (CMS) vs. one system for all to maintain control over their content at the departmental level. This creates a wider and unmanaged web footprint. 

WordPress meets this challenge by utilizing multi-site capabilities to bring an entire organization under the same, centralized platform. This facilitates cross-department work, controlled access to departmental content, and as teams evolve, a single place to manage users and transfer content for others to manage and update.

In 2024, the public sector should deliver a modern customer experience and WordPress is helping Agencies across the US Federal and State Governments meet that goal and many others.

Are there examples of public sector agencies using WordPress?

WordPress has a body of excellent evidence of related use across the U.S. federal government. Here is just a taste of some high-profile public sector organizations currently using WordPress:

1.       The White House

2.       Department of Justice (DOJ)

3.       Department of Defense (DOD)

4.       Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA)

5.       The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives

How does Lone Rock Point help public sector organizations access WordPress?

One of the most challenging aspects of updating a website and its design is getting started. Lone Rock Point specializes in data-driven analysis of all potential Content Management Systems, including WordPress, providing insight and supporting evidence of the platform’s suitability for individual Agencies and their goals as a result of the 21st Century IDEA.

We solve the challenges of onboarding public sector organizations into WordPress, acting as an extension of your team, and taking responsibility for the development of supporting environments for your content and managing cross-department access.