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Public Sector Website Modernization for Accessibility, Documents & Digital Services

An accessibility-first public-sector platform built for document-heavy content, Drupal migration, PDF remediation, GIS-enabled services, and long-term compliance operations.

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Overview

Key Metrics & Impact

This case is based on a Vermont regional planning organization serving 27 towns and approximately 45,000 residents. The project included a full migration from Drupal 7 to Drupal 10, restructuring more than 180 pages and 600 PDFs, launching role-based editorial workflows, enabling GIS and online forms, and establishing a third-party-audited accessibility operating model with VPAT support, public accessibility feedback mechanisms, and annual re-audits.

  • Migrated 180+ pages and 600+ PDF documents.

  • Achieved 0 critical and 0 serious findings after launch in the third-party accessibility audit.

  • Remediated 430 PDF files to PDF/UA standards.

  • Maintained 99.99% uptime in 2025.

  • Trained 12 staff members on accessible content creation.

Solutions
Challenges
Use Cases
Key Metrics & Impact
01

Problem

The organization's legacy Drupal 7 website had become a risk across several fronts at once: accessibility compliance, content manageability, document discoverability, and platform sustainability. For a regional public-sector body publishing hundreds of plans, reports, maps, and municipal-facing documents, weak document search and inaccessible PDFs created operational friction and public access problems.

The platform needed to serve many municipalities, support heavy public documentation, and maintain strong accessibility and governance standards over time.

Problem
02

Challenge

The project needed to migrate from Drupal 7 to Drupal 10, restructure 180+ pages and a very large PDF archive, implement third-party-audited accessibility workflows, support VPAT 2.4 and a public accessibility statement, remediate or archive hundreds of PDFs, provide GIS tools, municipal service request forms, and grant forms, train staff on accessible content publishing, and operate with stronger security controls and long-term compliance monitoring.

A major constraint was that accessibility could not stop at launch. The organization needed an ongoing model that included editor training, PDF remediation discipline, automated scanning, manual audits, and user feedback.

Challenge

Solution

Modernizing Public Sector Digital Infrastructure with Drupal 10

A secure, accessible public sector platform that embeds cybersecurity, document governance, and service delivery into everyday operations.

Product Highlights

    • Drupal 10 public-sector platform.

    • Third-party accessibility audits and VPAT 2.4 support.

    • Public accessibility statement and feedback workflow.

    • PDF remediation and PDF/UA compliance program.

    • Solr + Apache Tika document search.

    • GIS mapping with Leaflet and a custom tile server.

    • Ongoing accessibility monitoring and cybersecurity controls, backed by Plavno's website support model.

User Flows

    • Find Regional Documents: Users search across plans, reports, maps, and PDFs using a document-aware search engine.

    • Access Accessible Public Information: Visitors navigate an accessibility-tested website with structured content and remediated public documents.

    • Submit Public Requests: Municipal stakeholders submit service requests and grant-related forms online.

    • Use GIS Tools: Users access zoning overlays and other regional planning information through interactive maps.

Experience & Scalability

    • Built for a regional public-sector organization serving 27 towns.

    • Supports a 12-person staff with internal and public-facing workflows.

    • Designed for document-heavy government publishing and multi-municipality service delivery.

    • Includes annual accessibility re-audits and long-term support commitments.

Architecture Overview

Deep Dive: Project Architecture

  • CMS Layer: Drupal 10 on Acquia Cloud.

  • Accessibility Layer: Deque, Level Access, WAVE, NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver, TalkBack, real-user testing, axe Monitor, and quarterly manual auditing.

  • Search Layer: Apache Solr plus Apache Tika for text extraction across PDFs.

  • Forms & GIS Layer: Webform templates and Leaflet with a custom tile server.

  • Governance & Security Layer: Custom roles, Group module access, MFA, WAF, DDoS mitigation, SIEM, quarterly penetration testing, and incident response planning.

Deep Dive: Project Architecture

Value

Quality & Fidelity

Accessibility by design, audited by third parties, and sustained through ongoing compliance operations.

Accessibility by Design

Accessibility by Design

The project included third-party audits, zero critical findings post-launch, and ongoing monitoring.

Better Document Access

Better Document Access

Hundreds of files were remediated and made easier to search and use.

Better Editorial Readiness

Better Editorial Readiness

All 12 staff members were trained on accessible publishing practices.

Better Compliance Sustainability

Better Compliance Sustainability

Accessibility remained part of the long-term operating contract, not just the launch phase.

Benchmarks

Scale & Reliability

Enterprise-grade availability and document-handling capacity built for regional public-sector demands.

High Availability

High Availability

The site maintained 99.99% uptime in 2025.

Strong Accessibility Stability

Strong Accessibility Stability

Post-launch audits found zero critical or serious accessibility issues.

Large-Scale Document Handling

Large-Scale Document Handling

The platform supported hundreds of PDFs with remediation and search.

Secure Public-Sector Operations

Secure Public-Sector Operations

The solution included MFA, SIEM, WAF, DDoS mitigation, penetration testing, and incident response planning.

Data Protection

Security & Compliance

Defense-in-depth cybersecurity layered with WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility and formal VPAT documentation.

WCAG 2.1 AA and Beyond

WCAG 2.1 AA and Beyond

The project explicitly targeted WCAG 2.1 AA and a pathway toward WCAG 2.2 AA.

VPAT and Accessibility Statement

VPAT and Accessibility Statement

The platform included public-facing accessibility disclosures and formal VPAT documentation.

Cybersecurity Controls

Cybersecurity Controls

Security planning included WAF, SIEM, MFA, DDoS mitigation, and quarterly penetration testing.

Innovative Experience

Industries & Use Cases

Purpose-built for regional planning commissions, document-heavy public agencies, and government accessibility programs.

Regional Planning Commissions

Regional Planning Commissions

Ideal for organizations serving many municipalities with complex publishing needs.

Document-Heavy Public Agencies

Document-Heavy Public Agencies

Well suited for plans, reports, maps, and PDF-heavy websites.

Government Accessibility Programs

Government Accessibility Programs

Strong fit for accessibility-first modernization efforts and formal compliance programs.

Digital Services Expansion

Digital Services Expansion

Supports forms, GIS tools, searchable content, and long-term platform governance.

Delivery Crew

Project Team

High-performing developers for growing companies

Eugene Katovich

Eugene Katovich

Sales Manager

Need a public-sector website that improves accessibility, document access, and digital service delivery?

Plavno helps government organizations modernize legacy platforms, remediate accessibility risks, improve document usability, and build more sustainable public-facing digital services.

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Competitive Ability

Key Performance Flow

Demonstrating how Plavno transforms an aging government website into an accessibility-led digital services platform

From legacy migration to document remediation and ongoing compliance operations — everything runs through one structured public-sector modernization workflow.

01

Audit and restructure content

Review pages, documents, and publishing logic across the organization.

02

Migrate to a modern platform

Move content into Drupal 10 with accessible templates and structured workflows.

03

Remediate accessibility and documents

Run audits, remediate PDFs, publish VPAT documentation, and train editors.

04

Operate and monitor long term

Maintain accessibility monitoring, cybersecurity controls, and annual re-audits.

Delivery & Automation

Delivery & Automation

    • Serves 27 towns and approximately 45,000 residents

    • 99.99% uptime maintained in 2025

    • Supports 12-person staff with internal and public-facing workflows

    • Document-heavy government publishing with hundreds of remediated PDFs

    • Interactive GIS functionality with Leaflet and custom tile server

    • Enhanced cybersecurity controls: WAF, SIEM, MFA, DDoS mitigation, quarterly penetration testing, and incident response planning

    • Built on Acquia Cloud for enterprise-grade reliability and scalability

Throughput & Scale

Throughput & Scale

    • Serves 27 towns and approximately 45,000 residents

    • 99.99% uptime maintained in 2025

    • Supports 12-person staff with internal and public-facing workflows

    • Document-heavy government publishing with hundreds of remediated PDFs

    • Interactive GIS functionality with Leaflet and custom tile server

    • Enhanced cybersecurity controls: WAF, SIEM, MFA, DDoS mitigation, quarterly penetration testing, and incident response planning

    • Built on Acquia Cloud for enterprise-grade reliability and scalability

Accessibility & Compliance Governance

Accessibility & Compliance Governance

    • Third-party accessibility audits before and after launch

    • Zero critical and zero serious findings post-launch

    • 430 PDF files remediated to PDF/UA standards

    • VPAT 2.4 documentation and public accessibility statement

    • WCAG 2.1 AA compliance with pathway to WCAG 2.2 AA

    • Annual re-audits embedded in the support model

    • Public accessibility feedback mechanism and user testing across screen readers (NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver, TalkBack)

Results

Measurable improvements in accessibility, document usability, staff readiness, and long-term digital governance.

Stronger Accessibility Performance

Stronger Accessibility Performance

The project closed all pre-launch findings and reached a stable post-launch accessibility state.

Better Public Document Usability

Better Public Document Usability

430 files were remediated to PDF/UA standards.

Better Staff Readiness

Better Staff Readiness

All staff were trained to publish more accessible content.

Better Long-Term Digital Governance

Better Long-Term Digital Governance

Accessibility re-audits and operational monitoring were included in support.

Stronger Security Posture

Stronger Security Posture

WAF, SIEM, MFA, and quarterly penetration testing were implemented to protect public-sector digital assets.

Tools We Used

Technology stack

CMS

CMS

Drupal 10
Acquia Cloud
Forms & GIS

Forms & GIS

Webform
Leaflet
Custom tile server
Security & Governance

Security & Governance

MFA
WAF
SIEM
Penetration testing
Group permissions
Accessibility

Accessibility

Deque
Level Access
WAVE
NVDA
JAWS
VoiceOver
Search & Forms

Search & Forms

Apache Solr
Apache Tika
PDF remediation

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Frequently Asked Questions

Quick Answers

Find answers to your common concerns

Was accessibility a core part of the project?

Yes. Accessibility was central to both the launch and long-term support model.

Did the project include PDF remediation?

Yes. The PDF archive was triaged, remediated, reconstructed, or archived depending on file condition.

Was there a third-party audit?

Yes. Third-party accessibility audits were included before and after launch.

Did the platform include digital services beyond content pages?

Yes. It included forms, GIS functionality, and document search.

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