August 27

Design Tips for Public Sector Websites

Author: Amit Chauhan

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When someone clicks on a government or a public sector website, they usually have high hopes for the site. While some users come looking for specific information, others access the site for core services. Government websites and offices still need work before they can fully embrace the digital world. Some public sector websites lack basic design structure, and have a long way to go before their websites can be informative or comfortable to use. That being said, government websites are nothing like private business websites. They are far more challenging to design, designed to be useful, and built to cater to residents’ specific needs.

 

While administrators handling government websites may think their website looks informative and aesthetic, some users may have a completely different opinion. To ensure you follow best practice stands for public sector websites, you’d have to make sure that the site checks all the right boxes and serves its intended purpose. Here are a few tips on how to make your public sector website more useful.

Blurry image of people walking in subway in NY

 

Tips on Making Your Public Sector Site More Useful

  • User surveys: Most government websites are built around what they want to accomplish, with little thought put into what people expect to see on the website. User surveys are a great way of finding out what people really want from the specific site, and how they intend to use it. Surveys usually help the digital agency in understanding people’s expectations, the tasks they look to perform through the site, and the devices through which they’d be accessing the site.

 

  • Good user experience: The main purpose of government websites is not to look cool, but to get the job done for accessibility and user experience. When an agency starts working on a site they have a specific goal in mind, designing the site using clear navigational paths that’s easy to use for all. As a result, the best public sector websites put all the important notices and services for users on the homepage, so that people wouldn’t have to go digging for information. This type of design philosophy clearly encourages further engagement.

 

  • Review web analytics: Web analytics offers some of the most useful reports regarding website usage and helps agencies to improve the site based on the data collected. The analytics data provides information on the behavior of the people on the site, the services used, the content accessed, the entrances and exits, and the kind of devices on which the site was accessed. This helps government websites to see which parts of the site need attention and redesign.

 

  • Responsive design: With the rise in the use of smartphones all around the globe, more people have started accessing the internet anytime, anywhere. People expect to use government websites on their phones just as they do on laptops and on desktops. Creating separate websites for each kind of device isn’t logical, and digital agencies have started adopting a responsive design principle where the layout of the site adapts to the device it’s been accessed on.

 

  • Test runs: Are you getting your website designed around people’s typical usage? Although that seems quite logical, people find different ways of navigating the content on the site. Thus, implementing test runs is a good way of finding out if things work from different user’s points of view. Performing such test runs allow agencies to figure out how users prioritize various information on different pages of the site, providing optimal customer satisfaction.

 

Why choose Revize?
Are you looking to upgrade your public sector website to better suit the audience? We at Revize are committed to making government websites look beautiful and functional. We’ve been in business since 1995, and have worked towards revolutionizing the way public sector offices interact with people and the users they serve. Check out some of our best public sector websites to witness our mastery of design and user experience. Connect with us now!

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