Modernize its digital ecosystem with a WordPress site factory in line with the State Design System

Background

Like all public administrations, the Army Health Service (SSA) was required to comply with the State Design System (DSFR) before 2025. This transition required graphic and technical standardization, since the objective of the DSFR is to ensure consistent experience on all government platforms.

Rather than seeing this transition as a constraint, the SSA saw it as an opportunity to rethink the management of its digital ecosystem.

• Simplifying the contribution to daily life, with a more flexible and intuitive back-office.
• Ensuring accessibility in line with existing standards, to offer an inclusive experience to all users.
• Gaining coherence and efficiency, harmonising site management and reducing the technical burden, while providing some flexibility to adapt to the needs of each site.

An ambitious project, for which the SSA chose to trust Be API.

Collaboration

A technical challenge: integrate the DSFR with WordPress

The first issue of the project? Create a WordPress base that integrates the State Design System. Our teams have carried out extensive work to develop a WordPress theme 100% compliant with DSFR standards, guaranteeing:

• A uniform graphic charter, aligned to the constraints of the repository.
• Native compatibility with DSFR components.
• Optimized integration on Gutenberg

👉 This WP-DSFR theme is also available in open source, to allow all public institutions to comply with new standards without complexity and to enjoy the power of WordPress.

Learn more about our approach and access the theme

Focus on contributor experience

A redesign is not limited to the technical aspect: the experience of the contributors was at the heart of the project. To this end, we conducted several SXO workshops, directly involving the teams concerned (caregivers, administrators, training managers) in order to:

• Understand their business needs and constraints.
• Optimize contribution and content updating pathways.
• Design a clear and intuitive interface, accessible to non-technical profiles.

The goal: to adapt the tool to users, not the reverse.

On the design side, a specific artistic direction has been defined to combine the constraints of the DSFR with a modern and pleasant interface.

Collaboration

Progressive deployment for successful adoption

Rather than a simultaneous launch on all sites, we have adopted an iterative approach. A pilot site has been deployed for Béjean Hospital, allowing:

• Test technical and ergonomic choices
• Collect User Returns and refine the tool
• Ensuring a smooth transition adapted to the actual needs of contributors.

The lessons learned from this first phase allowed the solution to be refined before it was deployed on a large scale at all SSA sites.

Customized support for a smooth transition

Beyond the technical implementation, we have set up a dedicated support, so that each team can quickly appropriate the new tool.

• Training sessions in Gutenberg to ensure a quick grip.
• Custom monitoring adapted to the needs of each team.
• Pre-Contributed Sites Instead of delivering blank platforms, we provided pre-fed bases, facilitating the start-up and adoption of the tool.

Results

Today, the SSA benefits from website factory strong, scalable and easy to maintain and administer.

• Simplified management for teams, with an optimized back-office for a smoother contribution.
• Full compliance with DSFRensuring accessible and harmonised sites with other public services.
• A modular digital base, able to evolve over time without requiring heavy overhaul.

Thanks to a pragmatic and collaborative approach, the transition has been successfully adopted by the SSA teams, which now have an effective tool to manage their digital communication effectively.