What we learned when we changed our web platform's hosting and support arrangements.
Why we needed to do this
We’ve done a lot of work on our websites since we first started to adopt Local Gov Drupal (LGD) in 2022.
We have replaced our main corporate websites and launched our first microsite. To support this, developers have been continuously improving system functionality.
Today, we have a backlog of websites to move across to LGD, and more features we want to build to better meet user needs.
The initial contracts supporting us with LGD were coming to an end. This prompted us to reflect on what would need to support the next phase of our journey. We concluded:
- hosting websites in house wasn’t right for the organisation right now
- continued high assurance on website availability, security and resilience was a must
- we saw an opportunity to combine support arrangements with two other LGD websites
- we needed the ability to develop and deploy on different sites at the same time
- we wanted flexibility to work with web developers through different contractual arrangements
We ran a procurement exercise and awarded contract to host and support our LGD websites to Big Blue Door.
The things that went well
- No downtime! Users experienced no service interruptions. Our content editors managed content freezes of around 24 hours.
- Careful thought on the specification ensured we found the right support partner
- Regular email communications kept core users and stakeholders informed
- Methodical testing by experienced users, who developed reusable test scenarios
- Incremental learning - we had 3 sites to move, so developed a step-by-step process that became easier each time.
The things that needed more focus
- Communication didn't reach everyone, leaving some people caught off guard by changes
- There were some unexpected impacts on content editors from small technical changes introduced
- Too many collaboration tools in use meant people risked missing key notifications
- We want better tracking of incidents like outages, aligned with other key metrics in the Essex Digital Service. It’s a work in progress.
What we’re doing next
We're refining the new processes for deploying development changes to our sites. We’re also aligning ways of working across our five Drupal instances. Content designers on all sites have similar challenges so there’s a lot of learning to exploit.
The vision for our LGD capability is to achieve an increase in the number of Council websites that meet important standards, and a reduction in overall costs. The new hosting positions us well to progress towards this. We'll blog more about both our successes, and the challenges we encounter as we go.
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