Skip to Questions in This Article
- What are the benefits of using the new Web Open product?
- When can I move to Web Open?
- How will my team learn to use Web Open?
- Will my content and website setup migrate over automatically?
- What additional add-ons are available to purchase with Web Open?
- Will there be costs to migrate to the new version?
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What are the benefits of using the new Web Open product?
CivicPlus acquired Municode in 2021, which brought with it a Drupal open-source website product. Knowing Drupal 7 would be ending life, CivicPlus took the opportunity to create a new Drupal open-source product on a higher version that implements the knowledge and best practices we’ve learned with our over 5,500 website customers and combined 40+ years of municipal website experience at both Municode and CivicPlus. Our new Web Open product showcases many enhancements and continues to provide a full-service government solution and allows us to combine the two companies' Drupal 7 platforms into a single Drupal 10 solution.
CivicPlus set out to migrate all Municode and Web Open customers to the newest version of Drupal beginning in 2023 and continuing through all of 2024. We currently implement new customers on the Drupal 10 product that we call Web Open; existing customers are on the Municode Drupal 7 product or the Web Open Drupal 7 product. Eventually, all CivicPlus Municode and Web Open customers will be on the same updated version of Drupal, and ongoing updates will be as simple as an update to your phone!
Notable enhancements to the newest Drupal version include a full file management system, more robust options for department pages, modern module displays on the website (calendar, meetings, news, parks, projects, etc.), improved backend user interface, increased flexibility of page content, many CivicPlus integrations, an improved Help Center, and SMS Notifications are available (optional add-on).
Drupal 10 and future Drupal versions will be backward compatible and easier to upgrade from one version to the next, causing less disruption to your service and streamlined migrations.
Additionally, the new Web Open product is deeply integrated with the CivicPlus Power Products, bringing substantial benefits. See the Power Product question below for additional information.
When can I move to Web Open?
CivicPlus has successfully handled many large-scale migration efforts in the past and has a thorough plan in place to get everyone to Web Open (Drupal 10). Due to the importance of these migrations, we’ve taken the needed time to consult with industry experts and craft a thorough plan, so execution is as least impactful for you as possible. Migrations will be done in batches over the next 15 months, and you will receive an email a few months prior to migrating with additional instructions. CivicPlus will carry the primary lift of migrating your site design and content.
How much lead time will we get before migrating? Will my website be down for any time during the migration?
CivicPlus representative will contact you a couple of months before your planned migration date to discuss details.
How long will it take to migrate?
This will vary depending on your website design and the amount of content to migrate. An average site could take 2-4 months to migrate.
Will my website be down at any time during the migration?
No, we do not anticipate any downtime as we migrate your site to Web Open. We will launch the new website only after it has been completed on a staging site, to prevent interruptions.
How do we expedite the process of migrating our website to the new Web Open?
To ensure the smoothest transition possible, it’s important that you prepare now by cleaning up your old and unused content on your existing Drupal 7 website.
Your staff is best positioned to determine which pages, images, files, and videos are outdated and may need to be unpublished and deleted.
It may also be helpful to make a list of any data or content that needs revision, or that you are unable to update or delete on your own. Questions about deleting data or content can be shared with your Account Manager or Migration Specialist once you’ve been contacted by CivicPlus.
View the Preparing Your Website for Migration article for more tips to prepare your website for migration.
Can we redesign our website at the time of migration?
In order to move quickly and thoroughly through the migrations we will replicate your current site as closely as possible but can work with you on scheduling a redesign post-migration.
How will my team learn to use Web Open?
Web Open is just a new version of Drupal, so there is much familiarity with what you’re already used to doing today. Additionally, the product is very intuitive and simple to use and should be easy for teams to understand. To best support our customers during this transition, CivicPlus is developing an online training series that will be available to all customers, as well as working on an extensive Help Center with an automated answer bot built into the backend of the product for your staff.
Will my content and website setup migrate over automatically?
Due to the large existing base of 1600+ Drupal customers, there is a variety of Drupal 7 implementations that will need to be handled differently. Our intent is to automate as much of the migration as possible but specific details will need to be tailored individually.
What additional add-ons are available to purchase with Web Open?
Add-ons:
- Bids and RFPs
- Business Directory
- Parks Directory
- Projects Directory
- Properties Directory
- Specialty Sub-sites
- Text Notifications
- ADA Accessibility Compliance tool
- Chatbot
Additional CivicPlus products include:
- Agenda and Meeting Management Select (formerly CivicClerk): Board management, agendas and minutes management
- Community Development (formerly CivicGov): licensing, permitting, and inspections
- Municode Codification (formerly Municode): Industry-leading technology to deliver your Code of Ordinances via Web, Mobile, and Print
- NextRequest: FOIA request management
- Process Automation and Digital Services (formerly CivicOptimize): Online services to increase the efficiency of your local government
- Recreation Management (formerly CivicRec): Parks management solution and recreation facilities management
- SeeClickFix 311 CRM (formerly SeeClickFix): Residential reporting tool for municipal action
- Social Media Archiving (formerly ArchiveSocial): Records retention compliance and risk management
Will there be costs to migrate to the new version?
There will be a variety of options for customers to migrate their website; taking into account your future priorities, desire to update your design, etc. Details on the options will be included with the information on migration timing being sent later this year.
In-Article Glossary
- ADA: Americans with Disabilities Act
- FOIA: Freedom of Information Act
- RFPs: Request for Proposals
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