Best Website Platforms for Government and Public Sector organizations in 2025

Traditional CMS Platforms

Traditional CMS platforms have powered government websites from the beginning, and they're still solid options for content management. These legacy platforms handle the basics well – publishing static department information, hosting documents, managing public resources.

The problems surface when you need more than basic content management. Want to add personalized citizen services? Set up complex approval workflows? Integrate payment systems? You'll likely end up with a patchwork of custom code and a growing dependency on your overburdened IT team.

Headless CMS

Headless platforms separate your content from how it's displayed. This means you can push content to your website, mobile apps, and digital signage all from one place.

It's a flexible approach, but it comes with a trade-off. Most changes need developer involvement – even small ones. For government organizations juggling limited technical resources, this often means waiting weeks for changes that should take minutes.

Digital Experience Platforms (DXPs)

DXPs were built because governments needed more than just content management – they needed to deliver proper digital services. These platforms bring everything together: content, citizen services, and your existing systems.

DXPs are more comprehensive and powerful, allowing you to scale and address more sophisticated use cases. More traditional DXPs are more rigid and promote using everything within their suite. Modern DXPs are composable – meaning you have more flexibility to use what you need from the platform and play well with other third-party tools without heavy code. More innovative DXPs are much easier to use than others, which impacts adoption and agility to adapt. It's a crucial difference we'll explore in detail when we look at specific platforms.

Drupal

Drupal is known for:

• Capability to build custom features when out-of-the-box options aren't enough
• Ready-to-use government versions (like Provus®Gov, GovCMS, and Drupal GovCon) with pre-built features
• Strong core security (though that strength is dependent on vigilant maintenance of modules and integrations)
• Active community of government developers sharing solutions and best practices
• Ready-made tools for document management, public consultation, and other common government needs

The challenges with Drupal:

• Standard Drupal implementations need significant technical expertise, budget, and maintenance (especially if you need to keep security tight)
• Government-specific versions like Provus®Gov can lock you into specific vendors and hosting
• While pre-built features help, Drupal requires specific knowledge and skills, which may be concentrated in a few developers within the organization
• Customization beyond prebuilt structures means workarounds that could become maintenance risks if the original developers leave
• Custom applications may rely on specific Drupal modules, which can become outdated or unsupported
• Costs can add up between licensing, hosting, and specialized developer support

Best fit for: Government organizations who want an established platform with the choice of either building custom solutions with bespoke specifications or using pre-configured government versions. Be prepared to invest in ongoing technical support either way.

WordPress

WordPress is known for:

• Simple content management that most people already know how to use (which means less training time for your content teams)
• A massive plugin library to add features – from basic forms to complex workflows
• Quick and relatively easy to set up, which can be appealing when budgets are tight
• Cost-effective to get started, especially for smaller departments or agencies

The challenges with WordPress:

• Relies heavily on plugins and themes vulnerable to exploitation – not ideal when you're handling sensitive government data and citizen information
• Performance suffers as you add more plugins, and government sites tend to need quite a few to meet citizen – this
• Accessible themes that meet high citizen standards are often not comprehensive out-of-the-box - requiring further customization to meet needs
• Enterprise features like complex workflows and user permissions are limited, especially managing multiple departments requiring different access levels
• Requires regular updates to themes, and plugins – leading to extra testing, troubleshooting and downtime to mitigate compatibility concerns.

Best fit for: Smaller government agencies or individual departments who need a straightforward content platform, have significant developer support and don't have complex integration requirements.

Granicus

Granicus is known for:

• A complete civic engagement platform built specifically for government
• Strong citizen communication tools (email, text, social) that reach over 200 million subscribers
• Digital services that help move traditional in-person interactions online
• Built-in meeting and agenda management for public consultations
• Analytics and reporting to help prove value and engagement
• Ready-made tools for common government needs like public meeting management

The challenges with Granicus:

• Implementation can become a major project – there's a lot to set up and integrate, adding complexity and long implementation times
• Connecting Granicus to legacy systems can be tricky – especially older document management systems and citizen service portals that weren't built with modern APIs
• Some pre-built solutions might need heavy customization to match your specific needs – for example forms
• Managing citizen data across multiple modules introduces security risks – you'll need robust policies for how personal information is shared and accessed between different Granicus services
• Costs stack up quickly, especially if you need multiple modules
• Can be overwhelming for staff – expect to invest in significant training

Best fit for: Large-scale government organizations looking for an all-in-one citizen engagement platform, who have the extensive budget and technical resources for a comprehensive, extended implementation.

Contentful

Contentful is known for:

• A modern approach to content – write it once, use it everywhere (handy when you need to share information across websites, apps, and digital services)
• API-first architecture that plays nicely with modern government tech stacks
• Strong content modeling that helps keep information structured and consistent
• Good developer tools that make custom integrations more straightforward (when you need them)

The challenges with Contentful:

• Your content teams won't be able to do much without developer support – even basic layout changes often need technical help
• The learning curve is steep, especially for non-technical users who just want to update content
• Costs can spiral quickly as your content and usage grow (not great when you're working with public sector budgets!)
• You'll need to build a lot from scratch - there's not much government-specific functionality out of the box

Best fit for: Government organizations with extensive development resources who need to deliver content across multiple platforms and channels.

Storyblok

Storyblok is known for:

• Flexible content modeling allows agencies to structure diverse content types (services, departments, public notices) exactly as needed
• Multi-channel delivery publishes the same content across government websites, citizen portals, and mobile apps
• Visual editing tools help non-technical staff view changes before publishing
• Strong internationalization capabilities manage content across different languages and regions for diverse populations

The challenges with Storyblok:

• Not government sector focused - most features need to be built from scratch without government templates
• Need strong technical resources to build and maintain it effectively beyond go live
• Learning curve for government staff who may struggle with the interface complexity
• Occasional stability issues reported in some contexts, which could affect mission-critical services
• Scaling costs may impact budget-conscious public sector organizations
• Customer support dependence when documentation is unclear, potentially slowing implementation

Best fit for: Smaller government organizations who prioritize multi-channel delivery and multi-lingual content. Should have ample internal technical resources and developer support, comfortable with maintaining custom solutions.

Sanity

Sanity is known for:

• Real-time collaboration tools that work well for distributed government teams
• A customizable content studio you can tailor to match your department's workflows
• Strong integration capabilities when you need to connect with other government systems
• Modern development tools that make custom features easier to build (if you have the team for it)

The challenges with Sanity:

• Your developers will need to learn GROQ, their unique query language
• Can get very expensive very quickly in larger implementations
• You'll need to build most government-specific features yourself
• Less established in government, so you won't find many pre-built features or templates for public sector needs

Best fit for: Government organizations with strong technical teams who want a modern, flexible platform and don't mind the extra complexity of building custom solutions.

Squiz

Squiz is known for:

• A composable architecture that integrates smoothly with existing government systems – from document management to citizen service portals
• No-code visual page building and testing interface - non-technical teams make updates in minutes instead of waiting days or weeks for IT support
• Easy-to-use personalization and authenticated self-service features to securely deliver the right information to different citizen or resident audiences, and staff
• Intuitive-yet-powerful AI content, site search, chat and brand governance features that can be trained on organizational data and guidelines
• Hybrid headless publishing for full multi-channel delivery - combining API-first architecture with powerful, easy visual editing interfaces
• Scalable governance tools that make complex approval workflows simple
• Bank-grade security and compliance controls that protect sensitive government data
• More cost-effective than traditional enterprise platforms – with predictable pricing model based on usage metrics
• Gartner-ranked DXP with a strong history in serving government and public sector organizations at every level for over 25 years

The challenges with Squiz:

• Some assume they need technical expertise to use it effectively - this is a misconception given their focus on ease-of-use, alongside advanced government-grade capabilities
• Fewer pre-built integrations than larger vendors (though the iPaaS capability makes third-party integrations easy, securely managed and monitored)
• Initial setup requires careful planning to maximize independence from IT – this is easily supported by Squiz project experts or via their partner network if needed
• Newer player in some markets compared to incumbent legacy platforms

Best fit for: Forward-thinking government and public sector organizations that need enterprise capabilities alongside ease-of-use. Designed to enable digital, marketing and IT teams to move quickly and securely, without technical complexity and risk.

Adobe Experience Manager (AEM)

AEM is known for:

• Powerful personalization features for targeting content based on citizen behavior and profiles
• Deep analytics about how citizens interact with your content and services
• Comprehensive digital asset management for all your documents and media
• Seamless integration with other Adobe tools (if you're already invested in their ecosystem)
• Strong reputation in enterprise environments

The challenges with AEM:

• A serious financial and resource commitment – both upfront and ongoing
• Implementation isn't just complex, it's a major organizational project that can take months or even years to complete
• Teams will need extensive training to use even basic features effectively
• Might be paying for more power than your organization actually needs
• Even simple changes often require developer intervention, which can slow down digital service delivery

Best fit for: Large government organizations with substantial budgets and highly skilled technical and Marketing teams. Most suited for those who need enterprise-level personalization and sophisticated use cases, and are already invested in the Adobe ecosystem.

Sitecore

Sitecore is known for:

• Solid personalization that can adapt content based on how citizens interact with your services
• Strong multi-site capabilities for managing multiple departments or locations
• Built-in marketing tools that help track engagement and automate content delivery
• Enterprise-grade security and compliance features that meet government standards
• Good multi-language support for diverse citizen populations

The challenges with Sitecore:

• One of the more expensive options on the market – both to buy and maintain
• You'll need Sitecore specialists to run it – regular developers won't cut it
• Often provides far more functionality than many departments actually need (with the price tag to match)
• Maintenance costs and complexity can eat into operational budgets
• Updates and changes typically need technical support, slowing down your digital teams

Best fit for: Large government organizations focused on delivering highly personalized digital experiences that have both the technical resources and budget to support complex enterprise software.

For Large, Multi-Department Organizations

If you're managing multiple departments and need serious integration capabilities, consider:

• Squiz if you want government-grade IT governance and customization, but need Marketing and non-technical teams to have ease-of-use, speed and agility to adapt
• Drupal if you've got strong technical resources and want complete control
• AEM if budget isn't a constraint and you need the full enterprise stack (and you're already using Adobe tools)

For Mid-Size Departments and Agencies

Working with more focused requirements? Look at:

• Squiz if you want enterprise features (including hybrid headless publishing), without the complexity and cost
• WordPress if you need something simple and cost-effective for basic content management
• Contentful or Storyblok if you have technical resources and need to deliver content across multiple channels

For Digital-First Teams

Got strong technical capabilities and want more flexibility? Consider:

• Any of the headless platforms (Contentful, Storyblok, Sanity) if you want to build custom solutions and have deep development expertise
• Drupal if you prefer a traditional CMS with deep customization options
• Squiz if you need both technical flexibility and marketing communications autonomy

For Citizen Service-Focused Teams

Need to move fast and create great citizen experiences without constant IT support?

• Squiz gives you enterprise capabilities without the technical overhead and complexity
• WordPress for simpler needs with minimal technical requirements
• AEM if you're already using Adobe tools, and have the budget and team to support it