How-to Manuals

The California Courts website, courts.ca.gov, is the official online resource for California's judicial system and is the central hub to our universe of sites. It provides information on court services, forms, rules, and procedures, as well as resources for the public, legal professionals, and court staff. Visitors can navigate to our partner sites such as the Self Help Guide and program sites that stem from the work of the Judicial Council and its staff.  Find local courts and stay informed about judicial news and initiatives.

For authors and editors, training videos and user manuals are available for guidance. If you have additional questions or encounter any issues, contact the web team.

The District Courts of Appeal (DCA) have a standalone site that leverages the most current design system.  Authors and administrators can browse the latest component library for guidance on which components to best use for their content.  A unique feature for this site is its navigational structure, which provides shared information across the districts while also giving each district their own secondary navigation.  Consistency of the information architecture across the districts was important to maintain, particularly for the user experience for attorneys and other frequent users of the site who work across districts.  Authors and administrators may refer to the User Manual for DCAs for more detailed tutorials and information on how to administer the site.  

The Court Interpreters Program and Language Access Implementation Unit are two units under the LAS program. The two groups sought a newly redesigned website where both programs would coexist under one umbrella in Drupal. 

The LAS site is using the latest version of our design system and authors and administrators can browse our component library for guidance and best practices on how to best organize their content.   They may also access the User Manual for LAS on for more detailed tutorials.

Visit Language Access Services

The California Courts Newsroom is managed by the Digital Communications team in Public Affairs. Staff develop module content, news and features, manage distribution, and social media integrations.  It is one of the first sites we created and but is still using design standards developed for uniformity and consistency across Judicial Council platforms.  To collaborate on content for the Newsroom website, Supreme Court, Courts of Appeal and Superior Courts, please contact media staff.

For Newsroom Authors

For an overview of components used on the Newsroom instance, instructions for editing and adding new content within existing page templates, you can access the User Manual for Newsroom on SharePoint. Reference documents with step-by-step instructions for new features and customization integrated on the platform are also available.

The California Courts Newsroom

For authors, you can access the user manual for Racial Justice Toolkit on sharepoint.  

The CA Courts Self-Help Guide (SHG), is an online resource for information on legal matters specific to California, written for self-represented litigants (SRLs) or self-help assistors.  Because it is a widely used canonical source of information, local county court sites and other legal aid offices can link to the SHG for accurate information.  Highlights of the site include plain language writing, a Spanish variant of the site, additional language resources, accessible- and mobile-friendly content, and live chat and chatbot features for certain case types. 

For the Self-Help Guide Content Authors

If you need an overview of our Drupal content components and how they're used, or to refresh your memory, this handy guide shows how to assemble them into a well-structured webpage: Content Component Reference

We also offer detailed references for each content component on our Sharepoint Component Guide Folder (requires a Judicial Council email).

Writing for SRLs on the Web

Composing for this audience is very different from writing ordinary legal content. We've assembled a set of guidelines for how to write in the authoritative, welcoming voice of the SHG: Content Guide (Google Doc)

Self-Help Guide How-To

The Supreme Court is a standalone website that aims to exude modernity, trustworthiness, and is user-friendly to its core users. Because it is the highest court in California, the web theme being used for this site is unique to the Supreme Court, emphasizing its hierarchy in the judicial system while also emphasizing the court's human side and the diversity of California. Though it is on its own theme, the site continues to have commonalities shared with other web properties of the California Court system to ensure continuity of the Judicial Branch sites.  

For Supreme Court Content Authors

Our websites are built to accommodate stakeholders' and audiences' specific content needs.  If you need an overview of our Drupal content components and how they're used, or if you just need a refresher, you can access our site's user manual. This will provide guidance to content authors on how to build a well structured webpage.

Visit the Supreme Court of California

We offer web templates for county court sites across California, designed to be accessible, secure, user-centered, and flexible. Over 50 counties have used these templates, which are built on a previous version of our design system. The templates give each county court the flexibility to maintain a unique identity while still maintaining a cohesive look and feel with the broader Judicial Branch websites.  

Key Features of a Trial Court Site 

• Sense of Place. A trial court is also a key component of the civic sphere of a county, and may be co-located in physical space with other government buildings, libraries, etc. This means that Superior Court websites should reflect that sense of place and connection while offering detailed information about how to use the court and its services. 

• Intuitive Navigation. 

• Information about locations, facilities, and services offered at each  

• Calendars 

• Document Management for PDFs, tentative rulings, local rules etc.  

• Clear referral to other Branch and State web properties.  

Metrics of Success

How do we know a trial court site is working?

• Increased traffic, particularly on mobile. Channel shifting people from in-person to online.  

• Currency of information 

• Improved Uptime. 

• Improved Accessibility 

• Reduced Bounce Rate 

• Completion through behavior funnels 

• Search Engine Optimization.  

We have a dedicated site for our trial court partners where they can find how-to guides, best practices, and model content for their sites.  The Web Services team uses this site to prototype content & designs for Superior Court websites. 

Build or manage your trial court site