SF.gov newsletter

March 2024

Hi SF.gov editors,

Bringing you the March edition of the SF.gov newsletter.

THE LATEST

In case you missed it

Karl is coming

In December 2024, Digital and Data Services will move SF.gov off Drupal and onto Wagtail. The new system, named “Karl the CMS”, will be more flexible, secure, and functional for city staff who edit SF.gov webpages.

As an SF.gov editor, you don’t need to do anything right now.

⏭️ Next steps

Digital and Data Services will transfer SF.gov sites into Karl. Our team will provide support to content leads to ensure a seamless transition. Editors will receive an orientation prior to launch.

ℹ️ Stay informed

We'll provide key updates via this monthly newsletter and in live info sessions as we move towards launch. You'll get an invite to our info sessions when we confirm the dates.

We upgraded Drupal 

In early March, we upgraded SF.gov and the practice site from Drupal 9 to Drupal 10 for security purposes. You may have noticed that the editor interface looks and feels a little different, but working in the CMS is the same.

If you haven't seen it yet, check out examples of Drupal 9 vs Drupal 10.

CMS

More Drupal updates

We fixed some bugs 🪲

Thank you for letting us know when something isn't right on our website. We do our best to keep everything running smoothly and we're grateful for your help!

Here's what we fixed:

• Apostrophes and quotation marks in Resources sections are no longer showing as symbols and numbers
• The "See more events" button is displaying normally on Agency pages with 3 or more events
• You can once again edit all sections of “What to do” in Transaction content type
• We solved an issue that was causing resource tiles to go blank in Resources sections

GET HELP

Training and support

Self-paced online SF.gov trainings

Take our trainings at any time, at your own pace. You don’t need to sign up for each training, but you do need to fill out a form at the end of each one to verify you’ve taken it. You can get your SF.gov login after taking the 3 required trainings and submitting a sample page.

• SF.gov concepts and structure 
• Writing for SF.gov 
• Working in the SF.gov CMS 
• Meetings on SF.gov (optional)

Sign up for self-paced online trainings to work on SF.gov.

Email us or ping us on Teams if you have any questions!

Office hours 

Sign up for office hours if you need help working on SF.gov. Our team can help you:

• Choose the right content type for your page

• Get your writing to a 5th grade reading level

• Structure your content
• And more!

You can book a half-hour session with us any day of the week:

• Persis (Monday)
• Amy (Tuesday)
• Liz (Wednesday)
• Wat (Thursday)
• Sharon (Friday)

Sometimes we swap days but there's always someone around to help you!

PUBLISHING TIPS

Best practices

Write short sentences

Short sentences are easier to read and understand. Users understand 100% of sentences at 9 words or less. Even at 14 words comprehension stays at 90%.

Aim to have 3 sentences or fewer per paragraph. Add subheadings every 3 paragraphs. This will break up your content and make it easier to read.

Use strong verbs

Verbs make it easy to get involved or take action. Strong verbs tell readers what they need to do. An easy way to check is to add “Now you can…” to the beginning of your sentence and see if it makes sense.

Read our full guidance on writing copy for SF.gov. 

Thanks as always for being fantastic partners, getting services and information to all San Franciscans.

Liz, Persis, Sharon, Joanne, Bridget, Wat, and the SF.gov team

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Office of the City Administrator 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 362 | San Francisco, CA 94102 US

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