Council Platform vs Government Site Builder

Council Platform is a web service for running local government CMS websites. Its drag-and-drop editor lets teams create complex pages without developer time, with a customisable front end based on the GOV.UK Design System. Features include service directories, news, event calendars, global search, CRM functions, forms, and editorial workflows. The platform supports manual and machine translation for bilingual sites, plus multi-site publishing and document management. The maker describes sites as accessible from the outset and says subscribers receive free accessibility audit scans. Listed integrations include Bartec, ModernGov, Elgin Roadworks, Council Advertising Network, Microsoft Azure Chatbots, Google Analytics, SiteImprove, and ReciteMe. Security provisions include two-factor authentication, password complexity requirements, and automatic logout. Subscriptions include production and test hosting, support, documentation, uptime monitoring, security updates, and a 99.9% uptime SLA. Pricing is based on monthly page views: the plan up to 5,000 page views costs £200 monthly licence fee (ex VAT), while the 5,001–15,000 tier costs £400 monthly licence fee (ex VAT). Plans above 100,000 monthly page views add features including microsites, cookie-less analytics, accessibility auditing, and PDF conversion.

Government Site Builder (GSB) is a web content management solution for creating, reviewing, approving, and publishing material on internet, intranet, and extranet sites. Its current release, GSB 11, is based on TYPO3 and intended for modern, accessible websites. Federal authorities required or choosing to participate in Dienstekonsolidierung are its primary users; states and municipalities can also reuse it. GSB 11 meets Germany’s BITV 2.0 accessibility requirements. Its modular editorial system has extensions for consent management, content modules and templates, website logins, metadata cleaning during uploads, and site configuration import and export. Search extensions include Solr and an adaptation for ITZBund hosting requirements. The product page describes regular updates and security checks by the federal government’s BSI, along with configurations intended to improve security and data protection. Authorities in Dienstekonsolidierung are generally hosted at ITZBund, though self-hosting is possible. Self-hosting or an external provider makes the authority responsible for updates, upgrades, and patches. The Open Source distribution is free under GPL 3.0; hosting, support, training, and custom development may cost extra.