Platform: Drupal

Managed Drupal WebOps for Government: Cities, Counties, and State Agencies

Drupal at government scale is its own engineering discipline.

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Why Government Runs on Drupal

Drupal powers more than 55% of U.S. federal government websites.For good reason.

Drupal's dominance in government is not accidental. No other open source CMS matches its content architecture flexibility, security track record, multilingual capability, and capacity for complex taxonomy and content governance at institutional scale. eWay Corp operates that complexity for you, as a fully managed WebOps engagement, not as a project with a launch date and a handoff.

What makes Drupal right for government

Flexible content architecture

Unlimited custom content types, fields, and taxonomies without plugin dependency. Built for the structured complexity of government publishing.

Enterprise multilingual built into core

Multi-language citizen services without third-party plugins. Language, Content Translation, Configuration Translation, and Interface Translation modules in core.

Granular role-based access control

Department-level permissions at institutional scale. Mapped to Active Directory, SAML 2.0, and LDAP for automatic role assignment.

Strong security architecture

A dedicated Drupal Security Team publishes advisories on a predictable schedule, with patch guidance and severity ratings for operators. Coordinated disclosure covers Drupal core and contributed modules.

No licensing fees

Open source with a global community and long-term LTS release cycle. Your investment goes into operations and improvement, not software rent.

API-first headless capability

Content delivered to web, mobile, and kiosk surfaces from a single content repository. No duplication of editorial effort across platforms.

What makes it hard to operate well

Drupal's flexibility requires deliberate architectural decisions that compound over time. Technical debt accumulates fast without sustained engineering oversight.
Module updates, security advisories, and Drupal core upgrades require testing and coordination across complex content models.
Multi-department governance with 50+ departments, different publishing needs, access levels, and workflows requires ongoing operational management.
Performance at government scale: high traffic during emergencies, elections, and public announcements requires infrastructure engineering, not just hosting.
Accessibility is a legal obligation under Title II. Maintaining WCAG 2.1 AA compliance is continuous, not a launch checkbox.

eWay Corp operates that complexity for you, as a fully managed WebOps engagement, not as a project with a launch date and a handoff.

55%+

of U.S. federal government websites run on Drupal

50+

department sub-sites on a single platform

100+

languages supported natively in Drupal core

licensing fees. Drupal is open source.

Content Architecture

Complex content models built for how government actually publishes

Government digital platforms are not brochure sites. They are service delivery platforms with deeply structured content. We design and build Drupal content architectures that reflect this complexity from the start, and maintain them as your organization's needs evolve.

Custom content types

Citizen service pages, program directories, news and press releases, event listings, regulatory documents, meeting agendas, permit and license information, and public records. Each with the right field structure and API output from day one.

Complex taxonomy and classification

Multi-dimensional classification by department, service category, geography, audience, topic, and document type. Supports faceted navigation, filtered listing pages, and cross-department content relationships.

Citizen-centric service pages

Structured service content models surfacing eligibility information, application pathways, required documents, deadlines, and contact information. Structured data markup and backend system integration via API.

News, blogs, and filtered listings

News archives and press release libraries with filtering by department, topic, and date. Built on Views with OpenSearch or Solr-powered faceted search for archives of tens of thousands of items.

Multi-Site and Multi-Department Architecture

50+ department sub-sites.Governed centrally, managed independently.

A county government with 50 departments is not running 50 separate websites. It is running one integrated platform with 50 publishing environments. Drupal multisite architecture is built for exactly this.

Multi-site architecture

Each department operates its own publishing space with its own content, URL structure, and editorial team while inheriting shared infrastructure, design, navigation patterns, and governance policies from the central platform. New department sites are provisioned from a template, not rebuilt from scratch.

Centralized governance

Central IT and communications teams maintain control over platform-wide design standards, accessibility compliance, security configuration, and core content policies, while department editors operate independently within their defined publishing scope. Updates deploy centrally without coordination across 50 departments.

Public-facing and intranet environments

Public-facing citizen platforms and staff intranet environments operated within the same managed engagement, sharing infrastructure, identity integration, and operational processes while maintaining appropriate access control and security boundaries.

Security and Compliance

Security built for government, continuously maintained, not configured at launch

Government websites are high-value targets. They carry institutional authority, citizen trust, and sensitive service information. We operate security as a continuous discipline across every layer of your Drupal platform.

Infrastructure security

WAF with Drupal-specific ruleset blocking SQL injection, XSS, and known Drupal exploit patterns
DDoS protection at the CDN and infrastructure layer, including during high-traffic civic events
Network segmentation: database and admin endpoints not exposed to public internet
Encrypted data at rest and in transit. SSL/TLS management and certificate lifecycle.
VPN and secure access for administrative functions

Application security

Drupal security hardening: file system permissions, trusted host configuration, and admin path protection
Two-factor authentication enforcement for all administrative users
File integrity monitoring with alerting on unexpected changes to Drupal core and custom module code
Vulnerability tracking for all contributed modules in your environment
Regular security scans and penetration testing coordination

Compliance and reporting

NIST Cybersecurity Framework alignment
StateRAMP and FedRAMP-aligned AWS architecture
Audit logging for user access, content changes, and administrative actions
Incident response with defined escalation paths and public communication support
Compliance documentation to support agency security reporting and procurement requirements

Security architecture documentation and operational controls are summarized in our Trust Center.

Why eWay vs. Alternatives

eWay vs. Acquia, Pantheon, and Drupal agencies

Government agencies evaluating managed Drupal typically encounter four categories of vendor. Here is the honest difference.

Acquia

Provides a proprietary Drupal cloud platform plus professional services and managed offerings. The platform is the lead product; deeper application architecture, content modeling, and operational ownership are typically scoped through their services tier or a partner agency. Licensing costs are significant and tied to Acquia's cloud infrastructure.

Pantheon

A managed Drupal hosting platform with strong developer tooling (Multidev, Quicksilver) and a professional services practice. Their go-to-market is platform-led: most customers buy the hosting product, and deeper application work, content architecture, search, multilingual configuration, and continuous operational ownership are typically scoped separately. The platform and the application are usually two purchases.

Drupal agencies

Drupal agencies typically lead with project delivery: scope, build, launch. Some offer post-launch retainers, but the predominant commercial motion is build-then-bill-hours, not continuous platform ownership. The team that built your platform is often not the team maintaining it long-term.

eWay Corp

Full-stack ownership: infrastructure, application, content architecture, search, security, accessibility
No Acquia licensing costs. Open source Drupal on your own AWS infrastructure.
Open source Drupal on AWS. No proprietary host or platform lock-in.
No agency handoff. The team that builds your platform is the team that operates it.
Dedicated project manager included. Not an optional add-on.
AWS Public Sector Partner: government procurement credentials and architecture expertise
WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility maintained continuously. Not just at launch.

How We Work

A structured engagement model built for government timelines and accountability

Platform Assessment

We audit your current Drupal environment or planned requirements: content architecture, existing modules, infrastructure, security posture, accessibility compliance, search, multilingual configuration, and integration landscape. You receive a clear gap analysis and recommended architecture. No obligation required.

Architecture and Build

We design and provision your environment pipeline (dev/test/staging/production), architect the content model and multi-site structure, configure search infrastructure, implement RBAC and identity integration, build custom content types and editorial workflows, and configure multilingual support.

QA and Launch

Structured QA covering functional testing, cross-browser testing, accessibility testing (automated and manual), performance testing, and security review, coordinated by your dedicated project manager. Content migration is validated. Stakeholder sign-off is obtained in staging before production cutover.

Continuous Operations

Post-launch, we take over full operational ownership through our Managed WebOps service: monitoring, patching, optimizing, building, and maintaining your Drupal platform continuously under defined SLAs. Security advisories are tracked and applied on an accelerated schedule. Your platform improves over time. It does not degrade between redesigns.

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions about managed Drupal for government

Why Drupal instead of WordPress for government?

Both are viable for government, and we operate both. Drupal is typically the better choice for governments with complex content governance requirements — granular role-based access control, structured content types with complex field relationships, multi-department multi-site architectures, multilingual citizen services, and strict content workflow and audit requirements. For county and state government platforms with 50+ departments and multilingual services, Drupal is almost always the right call.

We are currently on Acquia. Can you migrate us off?

Yes — this is a common engagement for us. Migrating from Acquia Cloud to eWay-managed AWS infrastructure eliminates Acquia licensing costs while maintaining full Drupal capability. The migration involves provisioning your environment pipeline on AWS, migrating the Drupal codebase and database, configuring search infrastructure, validating all integrations, and cutting over with no unplanned downtime. We handle the full technical migration and provide a cost comparison analysis before you commit to anything.

How do you handle ADA Title II compliance and WCAG requirements?

Title II requires WCAG 2.1 Level AA compliance for all public-facing web content, with active compliance deadlines now in effect for larger entities. We treat accessibility as a continuous operational discipline — not a launch audit. Development follows accessibility-first practices: semantic HTML, proper heading structure, ARIA implementation, keyboard navigation, and accessible color contrast. QA includes automated scanning and manual testing with screen readers. Post-launch, we monitor for accessibility regressions as content is added and features are updated.

We have 50+ departments that all need their own section of the website. How does that work in practice?

We architect a Drupal multi-site environment where each department has its own publishing space — its own URL path or subdomain, its own editorial team with role-scoped access, and its own content — while inheriting the shared design system, navigation architecture, accessibility configuration, and security posture from the central platform. New department sites are provisioned from a template in hours, not weeks. Central IT controls platform-wide changes. Department editors control their own content within defined boundaries.

What procurement vehicles can we use to engage eWay?

eWay is SBA 8(a) certified, a Minority Business Enterprise, a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise, and SBA Small Business certified — providing procurement pathways for agencies that can direct-award to 8(a) firms or set aside for these categories. We also work through standard competitive procurement processes, AWS Marketplace, and Carahsoft contract vehicles, and can support your team with the technical documentation required for government RFPs and RFIs.

Ready to operate Drupal properly?

Full-stack Drupal WebOps for government. One accountable partner. No licensing fees.

If your government agency runs Drupal, or is evaluating it, start with a platform assessment. We will audit your current environment or requirements, identify gaps in your content architecture, security posture, accessibility compliance, and infrastructure, and provide a clear path forward.