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Govforms vs. Power Pages

Area Govforms Microsoft Power Pages
Who it’s for Public‑sector and regulated teams across central government, agencies and local authorities who need GOV.UK‑style digital services with strong governance and UK hosting. Organisations of all sizes that want data‑centric business portals and external websites built on Microsoft Power Platform and Dataverse.
Design & UX Native GOV.UK and MOJ Design System components and patterns (start pages, task lists, check‑your‑answers, summary cards and more) so services look and behave like GOV.UK by default. Drag‑and‑drop page builder with Bootstrap‑based layouts, themes and templates for modern business portals and external websites, but not specifically aligned to GOV.UK patterns. ([microsoft.com](https://www.microsoft.com/en/power-platform/products/power-pages/?utm_source=openai))
Security & hosting UK‑hosted platform with UK data residency for live services, designed around public‑sector security expectations, cookie‑free analytics and support for assurance processes. Runs on Microsoft Azure with enterprise‑grade security, web application firewall, DDoS protection, role‑based access control and compliance with standards such as ISO and GDPR. ([microsoft.com](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/blog/power-pages/announcing-microsoft-power-pages-build-secure-low-code-websites-2/?utm_source=openai))
Data & integrations Deep Microsoft 365 integration for public‑sector workflows: SharePoint document libraries and lists, Dataverse, REST/HTTPS APIs, GOV.UK Notify email and SMS, Ordnance Survey data feeds and PDF generation. Tight coupling with Dataverse, Power Automate, Power BI, Dynamics 365 and other Microsoft cloud services to expose and capture business data through secure portals. ([microsoft.com](https://www.microsoft.com/en/power-platform/products/power-pages/?utm_source=openai))
Journeys & complexity Built for multi‑page, transactional GOV.UK‑style services with complex branching, task lists, review and approval workflows, dynamic content via Liquid templates and repeatable patterns across many services. Optimised for data‑centric portals—such as customer, supplier or member portals—with multi‑step forms, role‑based access to records and AI‑assisted build using Copilot. ([microsoft.com](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/blog/power-pages/microsoft-power-pages-is-bringing-the-new-standard-in-secure-ai-powered-capabilities?utm_source=openai))
Environments & change Separate Prototype, QA and Production environments with one‑click deploy, automatic version history, roll‑back and links to analytics for each environment, matching Alpha/Beta/Live ways of working. Uses Power Platform environments and lifecycle management; admins manage sites through the Power Platform admin centre with diagnostics, capacity reports and governance tools. ([learn.microsoft.com](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/release-plan/2023wave2/power-pages/?utm_source=openai))
Analytics & audit Built‑in, cookie‑free performance analytics for every service with journey‑level, page‑level and field‑level metrics plus submission and action audit trails suitable for operational monitoring and assurance. Analytics typically handled via Dataverse, Power BI and Azure monitoring; strong for enterprise reporting but requires additional configuration and licences to mirror GOV.UK‑style journey analytics.
Pricing mindset Free while designing and testing; once live, simple per‑transaction pricing with a low, fixed UK support fee per service to keep budgeting and procurement straightforward for public‑sector teams. Power Pages licences charged per authenticated and anonymous user capacity per site, on top of wider Power Platform and Dataverse licensing. ([microsoft.com](https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/power-platform/products/power-pages?utm_source=openai))
Support & expertise UK‑based live‑service support with SLAs, proactive monitoring and optional help from specialists in GOV.UK‑aligned service design, content and integration for complex public‑sector services. Supported through Microsoft and partner ecosystem, with strong enterprise‑grade support and consultancy available via Power Platform and Azure partners worldwide. ([microsoft.com](https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/power-platform/products/power-pages?utm_source=openai))