Right-sizing government websites is one of the biggest challenges for digital teams. Should everything live within one large portal, or do microsites provide a better user experience? The answer isn’t one-size-fits-all—it depends on the audience, content, and technology powering the site.
Government websites often face a tough balancing act:
- One massive, centralized portal that tries to serve every need but becomes overwhelming for users.
- A scattered collection of microsites that are easier to navigate individually but can quickly spiral into governance chaos.
Neither extreme is ideal. The right answer isn’t about big vs. small websites—it’s about right-sizing architecture based on user needs, scalability, and long-term maintainability.
At the same time, the web itself has evolved. Traditional CMS-driven sites are no longer the only option. With modern frontend architectures—decoupled, headless, static, and hybrid approaches—governments and large organizations now have more flexibility than ever to build right-sized digital experiences that align with their goals.
So, how do we decide what’s best for a given project? And where does Drupal fit into all of this?
Picking the Right Tool for the Job
The monolithic CMS (Drupal’s traditional model) still has a strong place in government websites, particularly for large content-heavy portals that require accessibility, security, and long-term stability.
But modern web architecture offers alternative patterns that can complement or replace the traditional CMS, depending on the needs of a project. The LogRocket article outlines several useful frontend patterns:
✅ Server-Side Rendering (SSR): Ideal for dynamic content that needs SEO optimization.
✅ Static Site Generation (SSG): Great for low-maintenance, high-performance sites where content updates are infrequent.
✅ Single Page Applications (SPA): Best for interactive, app-like experiences where fast client-side navigation matters.
✅ Islands Architecture: A balance between static performance and dynamic interactivity.
In the Drupal world, we now have the flexibility to mix and match these approaches:
- Traditional Drupal for large portals.
- Drupal with SSG (e.g., Next.js, Gatsby, Astro) for static, high-performance microsites.
- Decoupled Drupal with SPAs for interactive web applications.
- Hybrid approaches where Drupal powers structured content, but the frontend is selectively decoupled.
Some opt for a hybrid approach—a well-structured main site + microsite strategy that offers the best of both worlds. The main site provides a stable, authoritative home for essential content, while microsites allow departments and initiatives to move faster with targeted, user-centered experiences. The key is governance—ensuring branding, accessibility, and maintenance don’t become afterthoughts.
This flexibility means we no longer have to choose between one massive site or hundreds of microsites—we can architect solutions that make sense for users.
The Role of Drupal CMS and the Shift to Simplicity
One of the biggest blockers to adopting modern web architecture in Drupal has been complexity. While frameworks like Next.js, Astro, and SvelteKit have made decoupling easier, Drupal has historically required significant developer resources to manage even basic implementations.
That’s why the introduction of Drupal CMS—an effort to simplify Drupal installation and make it work better on shared hosting—is so interesting. There’s also growing discussion about one-click hosting solutions for Drupal, which could open the door for a more streamlined experience, especially for small teams and non-technical users.
If Drupal can evolve to support easier deployment, lower hosting costs, and better integration with modern frontend architectures, it could position itself as the best of both worlds: a CMS with enterprise-grade capabilities that doesn’t require an enterprise-sized team to maintain.
Looking Ahead: Where Do We Go from Here?
The conversation about right-sizing government websites is really about right-sizing architecture—not just for government, but for any organization managing large-scale digital experiences.
- Should every government service live inside one large portal? Probably not.
- Should every campaign or service have its own microsite? Not always.
- Should we be thinking in terms of structured, reusable patterns instead of one-size-fits-all solutions? Absolutely.
Drupal is in a unique position to bridge the gap between traditional content management and modern frontend architectures. But it needs to continue evolving—simplifying hosting, improving developer experience, and making decoupling easier for those who need it.
The key takeaway? We don’t need to choose between monolithic and decoupled, or between one big site and many small ones. We need to use the right tool for the job, backed by a CMS that doesn’t get in the way.
Final Thoughts: A Call for Simplicity and Strategy
Drupal has always been powerful. The challenge now is making that power more accessible—both for developers and non-developers alike.
Where do you see things heading? Are we moving toward more flexibility in government web strategy, or are we still stuck in old debates? Let’s keep the conversation going.
Call to Action for Engagement
- Share your thoughts in the comments. What’s your experience with balancing large portals, microsites, and decoupled architectures?
- Check out the LogRocket article for more on modern frontend patterns: https://blog.logrocket.com/guide-modern-frontend-architecture-patterns/
- If you’re curious about Drupal CMS and shared hosting efforts, follow the discussion here: https://www.drupal.org/project/drupal_cms/issues/3500075
- If you’re interested in how Drupal enables powerful, user-centered microsites, check out my latest post on the Love Essex Microsite and why I love Drupal for microsites
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