Development of an Accessible Website with a Scalable CMS for the German Federal Ministry for the Environment
coding. powerful. systems. CPS GmbH provides clarity and functionality to a complex government portal using TYPO3
The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUKN) is Germany’s main authority overseeing environmental protection, nature conservation, nuclear safety, radiation control, and consumer protection. The BMUKN promotes sustainable developments and supports environmental innovations.
In 2012, the Federal Ministry for the Environment issued a tender to find an agency capable of managing a complex website relaunch. The Ministry’s in-house solution lacked the features and editorial flexibility of a modern CMS. It aimed to transition to an open-source CMS that would enable greater editorial independence. The tender was awarded to coding. powerful. systems. CPS GmbH, a full-service agency based in Berlin, to lead the digital transformation using TYPO3.
Since then, CPS has partnered with the Ministry through multiple successful relaunches culminating in the award-winning 2023 redesign, which earned the 2024 TYPO3 Award for Accessibility.
TYPO3-Powered Redesign Focused on Accessibility, Usability, and Editorial Independence
In 2022, the Federal Ministry for the Environment set out to enhance its website further by undergoing a relaunch to meet modern standards, including:
- Overall improvement of the information architecture
- Functional and aesthetic overhaul of main navigation
- Development of new and modern modules
- Optimization and sustainable data handling
- Full content migration and reorganization
To meet these ambitious goals, CPS developed a comprehensive relaunch strategy centered on accessibility, editorial usability, and future-proof performance.
Delivering Multilingual, High-Volume Resources at Scale
The Ministry’s website is a highly trafficked and sought out resource center. With up to 2.5 million visits per month, it was imperative that their digital infrastructure was equipped to handle high volume traffic, designed as a centralized hub for digital services and resources. The portal would need to include an extensive data base with environmental protection laws, a robust media library, interfaces for their downloadable literature (brochures, leaflets, teaching aids, etc.) and a hub for their daily press releases and news. To accommodate those needs, in-house extension development was essential.
As part of the relaunch, there was a clear goal to simplify the overall structure to improve the user experience. This led to a reorganization of the content and a redesign of the main navigation. The structure would need to offer material in full parity in both German and English, an area where TYPO3 excels in its multilingual capabilities. The website includes over 3,000 SEO-optimized pages, along with an integrated ordering system for brochures, image, video, and audio galleries, a newsletter system, and more. In addition to its multilingual capabilities, TYPO3’s scalability, customizable extensions, editorial workflows and permissions made it the perfect CMS to take on a project of this size and volume.
TYPO3 Delivers Tangible Impact Within a Complex Digital Infrastructure
The modernized Ministry portal went live in the fall of 2023 with overwhelmingly positive feedback from internal and external users. The revamped website reflected a new design and revised structure which was received positively from visitors and Ministry employees alike. Internal editors are now satisfied with an uncomplicated backend which resulted in a reduction of workload and complexity. TYPO3 was the solution for internal and external flows and matched the desired working style.
The Ministry’s website offers optimized navigation within a multifaceted system. Multiple front end pages were developed with a central back-end system to alleviate complex workflows. The site reflects a modern, high-performance platform with improved accessibility components. Additionally, mobile accessibility was enhanced to meet modern requirements.
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The long-standing partnership continues between CPS and the Federal Ministry for the Environment. With over a decade of successful collaboration, they’ve built a foundation of mutual trust enabling the consistent delivery of future forward solutions. In this context, TYPO3 was an all-encompassing solution for the Ministry’s website requirements. By alleviating the workload for editors and frontend users, TYPO3 demonstrates its ability to simplify complex projects while allowing room for future growth and improvements.
Are you looking to tackle a complex project? TYPO3 is a scalable, reliable and fast CMS suited for projects of varying complexity, size and industry.
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