Best Practices for Government Website Redesign

government website standards

Redesigning the website of a government agency or department is not an easy task. What needs to be managed here are the stakeholders that need to be involved, and the process that needs to be followed to ensure that the redesign meets your needs and is subsequently launched successfully.

While redesigning, you have to ensure that your digital communication platforms and strategies provide your audience with the correct information and services in the best format. This includes ensuring consistent branding and messaging, exceeding accessibility standards, ensuring that websites are responsive and as user-friendly as mobile phone desktops.

So, if your site is not meeting the government website standards, and you are looking to redesign your government website, you will find the tips mentioned below, useful.

Government Website Redesign Requirements

In general, when starting a government modernization project or website redesign, you should consider three main questions:

  • What are your needs? This meets the requirements. What improvements do you want in the next iteration of the digital platform or service tool? How can you better serve your employees, reduce workload and show your influence, etc.?
  • What do your users need? The main objective of your website should be to satisfy the needs of the main stakeholders. Think about why they came and what they need from him. This should serve as the basis for the content and structure of your new website.
  • What should the RFP convey? Setting the right starting point is critical to finding the right partner who can help you build the best website.

Understanding the Requirements

Your agency or office has a mission, so make sure your digital plan clearly supports and connects with the overall agency goals. Creating a list of requirements can be specific or general. If you know your needs, write them down so the provider can utilize them.

We recommend that you be clear about what you want to achieve, but don’t give too much guidance on the exact layout of the page. After all, you are hiring designers and experts who should be able to design pages to effectively achieve your goals.

If you know you need a redesign, but don’t want to go into detail, keep it comprehensive. You can hire a partner to guide you through the process.

Conducting Market Research

Government agency managers have many options when redesigning; however, a particularly important step is to conduct market research. This is true in the federal government, but it varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

For one thing, federal regulations require you to show that you’ve completed research to make sure your planned project is efficient, non-repetitive, and gets the most out of taxpayers’ money. There are several market research methods you can use:

  • Write a statement of work (SOW) and get industry feedback by posting it to the government program.
  • Contact the vendor directly and request an estimate or draft response for comment. You do not need an eraser to complete the operation. By issuing RFI, you can formally request feedback from interested vendors.
  • Some information requests require responses to specific problems, require companies to provide capabilities, or require short technical reports to gather more consistent feedback. If you choose this method, be concise. This is free work, and contractors and vendors prioritize responding to contract proposals or requirements, making them more likely to respond to requests for information.

RFP Development

In the RFP development process, a big part is knowing which contract tool to use. Considering all the available options, this can be an overwhelming problem in itself. Here are some questions to guide you through this process:

Consider the level of competition you want to participate in. If you think the vendors you want to target and the recruiting tools they use, it can be a good guide to moving in the right direction.

Simplify your work by reaching out to the small business community. You can speed up the acquisition process and help your agents achieve small business goals. The small business community is diverse and has a wealth of experience handling most digital needs, so don’t be afraid to explore it.

Government website redesign is not a particularly simple process, owing to the fact that the resources are limited. However, if your site is not meeting the government website standards, you must consider redesign as an option and follow the above tips and strategies to make your government website a success.

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