Council websites are built on structured systems like LGD, but the knowledge about how to use them well lives in people's heads - in induction sessions, team chats, and the memory of whoever's been doing the job longest.
When that person is away, moves on, or is simply new, editors are left guessing. The result is inconsistent content, avoidable mistakes, and content editors or citizens filling in forms wrong because the guidance they needed wasn't there when they needed it.
User stories
As a new content designer
I need guidance on the different LGD content formats
So that I can create appropriate content quickly
As an experienced content designer
I need access to community best practice
So that I can check or refresh my knowledge
As an editor
I need annotations that can be turned into documentation
So that guidance can be maintained and reused more efficiently
As a developer
I need different annotation types
So that guidance and metadata can support different technical and content-related purposes
Work
A guidance layer that lives inside the website itself. Short, targeted notes appear right where someone needs them - on the page an editor is filling in, instead of in a separate handbook nobody opens. It's already built and working; this project adapts it specifically for LocalGov Drupal and proves it on a small number of real council content types.
Our effort is going into building a way for guidance to be centrally maintained, safely locked from accidental local edits, and automatically refreshed when the project team improves it.
A small initial amount of guidance content will be included in the first version, so we can gauge its usefulness, and add more over time.
What we'll build
- A ready-to-install add-on for LocalGov Drupal, opt-in per council, covering 2-3 common content types (e.g. guides, events)
- Starter guidance for editors and citizens on those chosen content types, written with input from real council teams
- Guidance updates ship with module updates, via a new purpose-built mechanism, so every council gets the same reliable version
- A read-only behaviour on specific annotation types, so guidance shipped with LocalGov modules can’t be overwritten
- An accessibility check and a usability review with real content editors, so it's genuinely easy to use
- Automated tests confirming it installs cleanly and keeps working as LocalGov Drupal evolves
- A documented process so other councils, or the wider LGD community, can contribute new guidance over time - no special access required
This is a proof of concept covering a small number of LocalGov Drupal content types, deliberately scoped to prove the approach works before asking for a larger commitment. Broader content coverage, extra tooling for editors, and further automation are natural next steps once this phase shows results.
Estimate time/ costs
This project will be built by Drupal developer NikLP.
Day rate: £700
Estimated effort: 13 days (including 1 day from Cornerstone Content for creation of the guidance)
Core team management, oversight and maintenance factor (around 20%) 2 days
Total: £10,500 + VAT
Fund this work
If your council or supplier is interested in co-funding this work, please get in touch. Message Will Callaghan via the LocalGov Drupal Slack, or email will@localgovdrupal.org.
Find out more
Message Nik LePage via the LocalGov Drupal Slack (@NikLP), or email nik@niklp.com