Rebuilding HCFL․gov — A 1,500+ Page Enterprise Website Transformation

Project at a Glance

Lead Content Strategist & UX Partner

• Timeline: 2022–2024

• Size: 1,500+ pages, 40+ departments

• CMS: Sitecore → Contentstack

• My Role: Lead Content Strategist & UX Partner

• Team: 1× direct report (until Mar 2023), plus dev/design partners

• Launch: Jan 29, 2024

• Tech Stack: Sitecore → Contentstack CMS, Algolia Search, Cloudinary DAM, Formstack, JSON Editors

I led content strategy, governance, and UX improvements for a countywide digital transformation impacting 1.5M+ residents. Over two years, I directed a full content audit across 40+ departments, rebuilt site navigation, improved search with Algolia, created scalable content systems, and managed the migration of 1,500+ pages and 5,000+ documents into a new CMS. The result was a modern, accessible, intuitive site that dramatically improved resident experience and operational efficiency.

01 — Project Overview

Between 2022 and 2024, I served as the Lead Content Specialist on a countywide digital transformation initiative: rebuilding the 1,500+ page HCFLGov.net Sitecore website and launching a modern, accessible redesigned version at HCFL.gov.

I led content strategy, governance, information architecture, and stakeholder engagement throughout the multi-year effort.

This work required:

• Conducting a full content audit across 40+ departments

• Redesigning navigation and improving sitewide UX

• Migrating thousands of pages and documents into the new CMS

• Creating new content governance frameworks and naming standards

• Managing communication with dozens of stakeholders

• Coordinating with development on reusable modules, search, and templates

• Leading training for new CMS editors

• Maintaining the legacy Sitecore site while building the new one

The result was a faster, clearer, more accessible site with dramatically improved navigation, search, and overall user experience for residents, businesses, and County employees.

02 — The Problem

HCFLGov.net had become a sprawling, disorganized digital ecosystem.

Major problems included:

• Navigation was error-prone, requiring precise hovering that caused confusion.

• Site search frequently failed, returning inconsistent results based on capitalization.

• Content ownership was unclear, leading to inconsistent updates across departments.

• Document libraries were bloated, with thousands of redundant or outdated PDFs.

• Stakeholders had no way to preview content, due to the lack of a staging environment.

• Sitecore slowed production, with heavy workflows and inefficient editing tools.

• Accessibility was inconsistent, affecting readability and compliance.

The County didn’t just need a redesign — it needed a new content system, a new governance model, and an entirely new way to maintain digital services.

03 — My Role

As Lead Content Specialist, I directed the content strategy, information architecture, governance, and stakeholder engagement pillars of the HCFL.gov transformation.

Content Strategy & Audit Leadership

• Designed and executed a 7-month content audit across 40+ departments

• Created templates, questionnaires, and structured workflows for stakeholders

• Led kickoff meetings and maintained audit timelines with targeted reminders

• Conducted follow-up sessions for complex or high-impact content areas

• Updated Sitecore content in parallel as audits were returned

Information Architecture & Navigation Strategy

• Led content-side IA decisions

• Designed Level 2 navigation and category groupings

• Successfully advocated for major improvements:

  • New “Seniors” section

  • New “Health Care Plan” section

  • Social Services → Human Services

  • Citizens → Community Resources

• Helped elevate high-traffic services into more visible intuitive locations

Migration & CMS Implementation

• Participated in CMS procurement

• Designed folder structures and naming conventions

• Managed document cleanup of 5,000+ PDFs

• Coordinated a multi-phase document migration

• Helped develop reusable components

• Created new content editing workflow documentation

Stakeholder Management

• Communicated with 40+ department groups

• Provided staging links and review instructions

• Handled edits, feedback rounds, and content clarifications

• Held numerous training sessions and troubleshooting support

Daily Operations

When my junior coordinator left in March 2023, I became the sole content coordinator for more than two months — maintaining both the legacy Sitecore site and the new CMS build simultaneously.

04 — The Approach

Below is the structured framework I led or co-led, presented in five pillars.

Pillar 1 — Countywide Content Audit (40+ Departments)

I designed and managed the entire audit process:

• Built audit templates and stakeholder questionnaires

• Identified key stakeholders for all 40+ departments

• Scheduled and led kickoff meetings

• Helped departments inventory their content

• Ensured all content was reviewed, categorized, and updated

• Updated legacy Sitecore pages while planning for migration

• Prepared content for migration into Contentstack

Duration: 7 months
Challenge: Became the only content coordinator mid-process when my junior left.

Pillar 2 — Information Architecture & Navigation Redesign

IA was one of my most strategic contributions.

I led the content-informed structure for the new Level 2 navigation:

• Seniors (new; consolidated scattered content that residents struggled to find)

• Health Care Plan (new; previously buried but highly used)

• Social Services → Human Services (clarified purpose)

• Citizens → Community Resources (modernized and more intuitive)

I defended these changes in executive-level discussions — and they were adopted.

Pillar 3 — CMS Procurement, Migration & Document Governance

CMS Procurement

• Part of the year-long CMS selection process

• Evaluated platform capabilities

• Ensured the chosen system supported better governance

Document Migration

Cloudinary proved too unstable for documents.
I led the emergency pivot:

• Created folder structure & naming conventions

• Identified duplicate/outdated material

• Successfully removed ~2,000+ unnecessary PDFs

• Oversaw manual migration into Contentstack

• Helped design the new editorial experience for document management

Pillar 4 — Migration Execution in Contentstack

Unexpected blockers

During migration:

• Contentstack released a major UI update

• The update broke our editors for over a month

• Bullets wouldn’t format

• Links disappeared

• Content grayed out

• Stage didn’t match backend

• Cloudinary API output was inconsistent

• Simple edits took up to an hour each

I helped identify workarounds, communicated issues to developers, and documented temporary fixes so work could continue.

This pushed the launch date from August → January.

Pillar 5 — UX, Search & Accessibility Improvements

Search Improvements

Moving to Algolia instantly solved years of issues:

• No more case-sensitive results

• No more “zero results” when content clearly existed

• Immediate, relevant filtering

Navigation & Layout Improvements

• Introduced “sticky” Level 2 pages

• Reorganized high-traffic content into intuitive groupings

• Created landing pages with clear calls-to-action

• Dramatically decreased “Where do I click?” confusion

Accessibility

• Consolidated PDFs into pages when possible

• Improved H tag structure, link clarity, and readability

• Ensured new components met WCAG guidance

05 — Key Challenges & How I Solved Them

Challenge 1: A 12-month CMS procurement delay

Solution: Maintained stakeholder momentum with proactive updates and audit progress.

Challenge 2: Loss of junior content coordinator during audit

Solution: Took over all daily site work + audit updates while building the new site.

Challenge 3: Unrealistic launch deadlines

Solution: Provided data-driven rationale for adjusting timeline; contributed to shifting final launch date to a realistic window.

Challenge 4: Contentstack UI update breaking editors

Solution: Helped develop temporary hacks, documented issues, and supported team through the instability.

Challenge 5: Cloudinary unusable for documents

Solution: Designed alternative system, removed 2,000+ redundant files, and led manual migration.

Challenge 6: Hurricane activations halting work

Solution: Rapid reprioritization and clear communication with stakeholders.

06 — Outcomes & Impact

Key improvement outcomes and impacts:

• Major UX Improvements

• Improved Governance

• Improved Editorial Workflow

• Higher Resident Satisfaction

Outcome — Major UX Improvement

• Search results became accurate and fast

• Navigation became intuitive and stable

• High-demand services moved to top visibility

• Residents could actually find what they needed

• Accessible templates improved usability for seniors and screen-reader users

Outcome — Improved Governance 

• Clear audit ownership

• Content is now standardized and easier to maintain

• Stakeholders have consistent expectations and structure

• Document clutter was reduced by 2,000+ files

Outcome — Improved Editorial Workflow 

• Real staging environment introduced

• Faster turnaround on updates

• Fewer errors

• More consistent formatting

• Training materials improved editor onboarding

Impact — Higher Resident Satisfaction 

Measured through:

• “Was this page helpful?” scores

• Direct user comments

• Fewer complaints about navigation

• Fewer requests asking staff to “help find a page”

07 — My Contribution in Summary

• Led end-to-end content audit: Worked with stakeholders across 40+ departments

• Re-architected navigation: Introduced new “Seniors,” “Health Care Plan,” and “Community Resources” sections

• Incorporated UX: Partnered with UX to redesign IA, search, and content workflows

• Established governance systems: Created frameworks, templates, naming standards, and editor training

• Coordinated migration efforts: Managed content migration, cleanup, and stakeholder approvals

Results at Glance

• 1,500+ pages audited, reorganized, and migrated

• 40+ departments engaged and trained

• ~2,000 outdated documents retired

• Search success dramatically improved via Algolia

• New IA for high-impact services (Seniors, Health Care Plan)

• Launching a full enterprise website on a new CMS

• Reduced help-desk complaints about navigation and page findability