July 23

10 Tips to Build a Good Government Website

Author: Amit Chauhan

Sky view of residents walking down the street on a sunny day
 
Public engagement is a main concern for the federal government, and customer experiences wirh federal administrations show that satisfaction rates are at an eight-year low.

The American Customer Satisfaction Index's latest Federal Government Report shows that the satisfaction with the transparency and accessibility of office information and the interaction between getting federal administrations and residents has declined from years past.

This isn’t a good look for offices while things remain restricted, even so, residents still have expectations for how government information should be conveyed. The same is true for municipality websites that serve as the information center for residents across the US.
 
Here are 10 tips for improving the online user experience during a website redesign to maintain transparency and accessibility:

Resident waiting for order at local food truck

 

1. Design for stakeholders

A website designed for everybody will satisfy nobody. By leading meetings with both inside and outside stakeholders – representatives, accomplices, other government associations, organizations and residents – offices can pinpoint their audience, characterize precise user profiles, and further refine office objectives.

2. Regulate broad user surveys

Governments frequently assemble their websites from the "back to front," mirroring the association's necessities, rather than "outside in," which thinks about the user’s point of view. User surveys uncover what guests genuinely need to achieve through a government website.

By understanding user objectives, more users will visit the site and get the information they need.  An educated design based upon survey results will improve the overall website.

3. Survey web analytics

A web analytics survey gives a deeper understanding of user conduct, content worth, and creates focus on the kinds of gadgets used to get to the website. Organizations should jump into these measurements to acquire a comprehension of user objectives, and develop a superior user experience. Web analytics can likewise guide the way to build structure entries, memberships, downloads, and other user assignments that help organization objectives.

Women stacking books in shelf at local library

4. Perform card sort testing

The public doesn't hope to discover information the same way office insiders would envision. Website route should be coordinated in a manner the audience comprehends and anticipates. With card sort testing, organizations can distinguish designs in how users to order and focus on information so they can structure content to require less intellectual exertion, which further develops customer satisfaction.

 

5. Lead quick prototyping and user testing

The most ideal approach to assess another design is to allow users to interact with it. By rapidly modeling how a framework should look and act, having users assess after how well it lives up to their necessities and desires, organizations can use the feedback that can work on the last design.

This will guarantee that structures of the site are straightforward and usable, lessening the need for changes during the improvement cycle for municipality websites.

Young age man and woman looking onto computer screen

6. Make a function-focused home page

Residents visit government websites to achieve an objective, not to appreciate the visual computerization. By deliberately placing the most significant and most often used themes, highlights, and capacities, organizations can build a homepage that guides users to rapidly and effectively find information and complete wanted errands.

 

7. Utilize UX design standards

To stay aware of residents' expectations for government websites, government agencies should consider the user experience (UX), which incorporates the look, feel, and ease of use of a site. It also spotlights how users interact with a website design. With UX design, organizations can make websites that convey a predictable UX that is on-brand, in line with business goals, and gives exceptionally advanced customer administration.

 

8. Embrace responsive web design

Residents desire to receive top-notch advanced government information from any device, in a protected way. Rather than making a different website design for every different device offices should utilize responsive web design, which empowers a site to react to a user's inclinations with adaptable formats that adapt to the screen size, stage, and direction of the device utilized.

macbook with cool graphic design background

9. Guarantee accessibility

Organization websites should reduce any obstacles that impaired individuals might face navigating through their website. An open design guarantees that every single expected guest, incorporating those with impairments, will have an easy user experience. By making Content available through screen readers, voice orders, and consoles, government websites can guarantee that all users have the same access to government information and administrations.

 

10. Enhance for search engines

The information on any website is useless if users don't realize it is there, government offices should utilize search engine advancement procedures to guarantee that residents can discover their sites and the information they contain easily.

By deliberately utilizing keywords, unmistakable page titles, clear language, and other SEO best practices, government offices can help users straightforwardly discover the information they need.

 

Bottom Line: By following these 10 tips while building a government website, organizations can meet their main goal of conveying imperative taxpayer-driven information, drawing in residents, and developing customer satisfaction levels, all while productively incorporating monetary and staff goals.

 

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