NASA’s decision to build its new website on WordPress and launch it in July 2023 is a testament to the power of WordPress and its community. In this blog post, we’ll explore the new NASA website and the reasons behind NASA’s choice of WordPress for nasa.gov. We’ll highlight the benefits and features that made WordPress the perfect choice for this high-profile project, outshining over 100 other CMS options they considered.
NASA.gov, like many government sites, became challenging to manage due to outdated IT and web infrastructure. The policy of separating content into various subdomains, and sometimes even super subdomains (such as beta.science.nasa.gov), added to the complexity. Despite ongoing modernization and consolidation efforts, NASA will continue to use several subdomains and related sites. We’ve compiled a list based on a NASA IDEA Act report filed in December 2023.
| Website/Digital Service | Content |
| nasa.gov – Modernized | NASA’s primary web portal to share information and inspiration with the public. Information and images about NASA’s Mars Exploration Program. |
| mars.nasa.gov | Curated space images with public-friendly scientific captions. |
| apod.nasa.gov | Provides the public to find out when the ISS will pass over their city. |
| spotthestation.nasa.gov | Public-friendly, data-driven information about Earth’s changing climate. |
| climate.nasa.gov – Consolidation in progress | A real-time encyclopedia of our solar system’s planets, moons, asteroids, and comets and NASA’s robotic exploration of them. |
| solarsystem.nasa.gov – Consolidated into science.nasa.gov and redirected | Images, stories, and discoveries from NASA’s Earth science research. |
| earthobservatory.nasa.gov – Consolidation in progress | Information about Jet Propulsion Laboratory and its role in space exploration. |
| jpl.nasa.gov | Science content developed specifically for elementary school children. |
| spaceplace.nasa.gov – Consolidation in progress | Homepage of NASA’s Science Mission and Directorate with details on the Agency’s astrophysics, heliophysics, planetary, and Earth science programs. |
| science.nasa.gov – Modernized | A public blogging platform that allows the sharing of Agency expertise and knowledge. |
| blogs.nasa.gov – Modernization in progress | Mission homepage for NASA’s Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 missions, currently in interstellar space. |
| voyager.jpl.nasa.gov | Information, images, and documents related to NASA and previous space exploration efforts. |
| history.nasa.gov – Consolidation in progress | A complete catalog and public-friendly explanations of the 4,000+ planets discovered beyond our solar system. |
| exoplanets.nasa.gov – Consolidation in progress | Public repository of NASA scientific visualizations, images, and videos. |
| svs.gsfc.nasa.gov – Consolidation in progress | Public repository of NASA astronaut photography from the ISS. |
| eol.jsc.nasa.gov | Information, history, and images of NASA’s exploration of Earth’s Moon. |
| moon.nasa.gov – Consolidation in progress | Repository of NASA images and videos for the public and science community. |
| photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov | Catalog of NASA images and animations of Earth. |
| visibleearth.nasa.gov – Consolidation in progress | Public repository of NASA Earth science information. |
| mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov – Consolidated into www.nasa.gov and decommissioned | NASA science information for Spanish speakers. |
| ciencia.nasa.gov – Modernized | Mission homepage for the James Webb Space Telescope. |
| jwst.nasa.gov – Consolidation in progress | Information and images about NASA’s Mars Exploration Program. |
WordPress Web Design
We design WordPress sites that drive your business forwad, helping you achieve goals with a website that works as hard you do.
Book a Meeting
The project was led by Lone Rock Point, a WordPress VIP partner. WordPress VIP, a hosting service owned by Automattic—the company founded by WordPress’s creator—is designed for governments, universities, and high-profile sites. Consequently, the new NASA website was migrated from Amazon Web Services to WordPress VIP. This move likely provides NASA with greater support and a more integrated ecosystem with WordPress.
The new website build also took use of the new Gutenberg Block Editor.
Looking under the hood
All US government websites must use the US Web Design System (USWDS), which sets comprehensive design standards for every element on a government site, down to the smallest details like file upload boxes. This system ensures consistency, accessibility, and a user-friendly experience across all federal websites. You can explore the design principles and guidelines here: https://designsystem.digital.gov/design-principles.
Even the US government needs to focus on SEO to ensure their content is discoverable. They use Rank Math Pro for SEO optimization, a choice that stands out given the popularity of Yoast SEO. Nonetheless, congrats to the Rank Math team on the high profile win!
Interestingly, NASA uses a custom-built WordPress theme aptly named NASA. There are no page builders involved (sorry, Elementor!), which suggests a focus on performance and tailored functionality. The code looks impressive and well-structured when viewed in the browser.
The project included migrating a substantial 68,698 pages and 104,525 media assets from NASA’s previous Drupal CMS. They also had to solve access & integrate SAML for their 456 users that login to the site. This massive task required developing automation tools to ensure continuous content updates during the transition.
The new WordPress site seamlessly integrates with NASA’s SAML-based single sign-on system, search.gov, and the NASA image library. These integrations enhance user experience and streamline access to NASA’s extensive resources. Future updates will incorporate the WordPress REST API, further extending the site’s functionality to support NASA’s iOS and Android apps.
Why the government is choosing WordPress
Since January 2017, the US government has seen a slow but consistent shift to WordPress. As Drupal becomes outdated and left in the dust, it’s no surprise the government is switching sites to WordPress. According to J.J. Toothman of Lone Rock Point, they chose WordPress for the NASA project because “there’s a huge community around WordPress. That community is extending WordPress in innovative ways, sharing knowledge and training for WordPress, and continuously building up WordPress skills amongst the community. That makes it easier for an organization like NASA to acquire support. There’s options for that. What was found with commercial CMS solutions is that, more often than not, NASA would have to go back to the original CMS vendor to find resources. That’s limited flexibility, which is undesirable for them.”
At the time of this writing, and to the best of our abilities (and thanks for some quick research via ChatGPT), 8 sites currently use WordPress, with one of the most notable ones being WhiteHosue.gov.
| Website | Department/Agency |
| WhiteHouse.gov | White House |
| State.gov | Department of State |
| America.gov | Department of State |
| U.S. Embassy Websites | Department of State |
| NASA.gov | National Aeronautics and Space Administration |
| VA.gov | Department of Veterans Affairs |
| Energy.gov | Department of Energy |
| Archives.gov | National Archives |
In summary, NASA’s adoption of WordPress not only modernizes its web presence but also sets a precedent for other government agencies looking to enhance their digital services.
