WordPress has come a long way since it was launched a little over a decade ago. In fact, it is estimated that over 22% of sites on the web today are powered by this popular content management system. While it has always boasted the ability to run projects as varied as self-hosted personal websites all the way up to Fortune 500 company web properties, its solid reputation as a blogging platform is what WordPress is most widely known for.
To write off WordPress as blogging software for amateurs, however, would be to overlook a flexible and feature-rich CMS capable of powering even the most complex and information-rich of websites.
In a recent presentation, Peter Slutsky, Director of Platform Services at Automattic and Dan Munz, Finance Director at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, explained how WordPress has quickly become the CMS platform of choice among government entities.
(Source: vip.wordpress.com)
Both presenters provided a comprehensive overview of the features that make WordPress a great platform for a variety of different government web projects, including the White House, Data.gov, the Department of Justice, Library of Congress, the US Army, and even the CFPB where Dan Munz himself works. While their focus was primarily on federal government and enterprise level websites, WordPress is an equally effective CMS for government entities on the local city and county levels as well, for a variety of similar reasons outlined below.
A Highly Flexible, Easy to Use CMS
As a local government entity, time and resources are often in short supply. Fortunately, WordPress as a CMS is not only incredibly flexible in terms of data and appearance customizations but also easily navigable for users. With its ability to select multi-author roles and permissions across multiple website properties, WordPress offers a wholly customizable experience on a user-by-user basis. This ensures various users are granted the permissions appropriate to their anticipated roles within the CMS platform itself.
WordPress is also able to run multiple websites on a single code base and user system, vastly simplifying the website administration experience, as well as allowing government agencies to consolidate CMS bases and run on one cohesive yet wholly customizable platform. A simple, well laid-out dashboard interface additionally makes it a platform virtually anyone can navigate with ease.
Full Integration with Complimentary Technologies
Additional features can be installed on your website once it is up and running via WordPress’s expansive plugin inventory. These plugins can serve a variety of purposes and often make a government website more dynamic and directly relevant to its user base. Syndication features like RSS feeds and APIs are simple to integrate into an existing WordPress back-end, as is linking to social media accounts like Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.
A Large Development Community Focused on Innovation and Security
It makes sense that a government agency would be concerned about security pertaining to any web properties under its administration. WordPress has a robust community of developers committed to identifying security vulnerabilities and pushing them to users via three major version releases every year.
The development community out of which these upgrades arises is also responsible for an ever-growing set of innovative features that are capable of full integration with your current WordPress site. At present, WordPress boasts over 25,000 available plugins and an intuitive upgrade notification system to ensure you’re always running the latest, most secure version of WordPress.
Get Started with Professional WordPress Web Design and Development Today
As a custom web and creative agency based in the Washington, D.C. Metro area, Materiell wants to help you meet and surpass your goals, on a timeline that works best for you. Our work with government agencies, such as Arlington County, Virginia’s local government, has led to the development of dynamic, responsive WordPress multisites that meet clients’ overall site goals and expectations. Materiell can create a similarly successful web design and development plan for your local government agency, as well as advise you on the merits of using WordPress as your content management system of choice.
In addition to website design and development, we also offer code auditing and reviews performed by recognized experts in the field of WordPress development. These audit services are available throughout every stage of the web development process, as well as on existing websites. Contact us today for a website design and development plan that caters to the unique needs of your government agency.