FEDERAL MAIN GOVERNMENT TITLE Comparisons Sub title whitepaper WEB GUIDE FEDERAL WEBSITE REQUIREMENTS via DigitalGov HOW SITEIMPROVE HELPS Accessibility/Section 508 Ensure that people with any disability type including motor, auditory, cognitive, seizure/neurological, and visual impairments are able to use your agency s Web content and digital services; Ensure content is perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust. Train staff to create accessible products, and conduct accessibility testing when making significant changes to your site, or before launching a new site or digital service. Check for modern accessibility standards, including WCAG 2.0 levels A, AA, AAA, and Section 508 Perform 105 total checks against perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust standards Attend certification courses on both technical and non-technical accessibility Customize reporting issues specific to editors and developers so that issues are in the right hands Highlight potential accessibility issues on agency s web pages with explanation of the issue and how to correct it Analytics Understand the needs of your customers, collect and address customer feedback, and use that evaluation and feedback to continuously improve your programs. Implement performance and customer satisfaction measuring tools on all.gov websites. Set performance standards and use metrics and customer feedback to improve the customer experience. On page survey capability (User Feedback) with ranking of the page and comments Segment data by section of site to review individual department performance Receive data on document downloads with no additional tagging necessary Track navigation behavior to and from specific pages to understand page performance Easily distribute information through scheduled email reports
Content/Information Quality Create digital content that s accurate, relevant, easyto-use, and conveyed in plain language. Maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of information and services provided to the public, and make information and services available on a timely and equitable basis. Reasonably assure suitable information and service quality, consistent with the level of importance of the information. Monitor style guide infractions Monitor for broken links accurately and on a set schedule Monitor for misspellings accurately and on a set schedule Copyright Inform the public about your policies on digital rights, copyrights, trademarks, and patents. If your organization uses or duplicates private sector information, ensure that the property rights of the private sector source are adequately protected. (These protections apply to any material posted to federal public websites, such as documents, graphics, or audio files.) Track all instances of copyright and trademark symbols on website Locate words or phrases missing required terms or symbols Digital Strategy Manage and fund your digital presence as an integral part of your agency s overall business, communications, and customer experience strategies. Ensure that digital services meet agency mission and program goals, and deliver a positive experience for citizens. Focus on digital services that are the most useful and valuable for your customers. Before creating or procuring a new digital service (website, mobile app, social media engagement, etc.), separate content from presentation by addressing these layers: Information layer (open data and content) Platform layer (systems, processes, shared platforms) Presentation layer (websites, applications, thirdparty services) Deliver positive digital experience by implementing Siteimprove for website maintenance Implement Siteimprove tools to check for broken links and missing pages Be alerted of downed servers before your visitors ever see Error 404 Not Found Domains and Branding Federal executive branch agency websites must use only.gov,.mil or.fed.us domains unless the agency head explicitly determines another domain is necessary for the proper performance of an agency function. New federal websites should only be established on.gov or.mil domains (established sites may continue to use.fed.us) and must be approved by OMB. Clearly display the name of your agency on every page on the website. Use Policy tool to track any pages that do not contain agency name 2
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Your website must have a page that includes certain content as required by the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), including information about how the public can request information under the Act. Monitor pages for missing information via Policy tool Governance Establish a digital governance structure to provide accountability and enforce policies and standards. Manage and fund your digital presence as an integral part of your overall business, communications, and customer experience strategies Explore on-demand resources for successful web governance strategy via Siteimprove toolkit, including Policy, Analytics, Q&A, and Accessibility modules Monitor agency website integrity by tracking broken links and misspellings Receive tailored strategies from web governance thought leader and Siteimprove partner, Mark Greenfield Linking Publish your policy describing how and why you link to other websites; Publish and follow a schedule for reviewing the appropriateness and relevancy of external links. Notify visitors when a link on your website will take them to a non-federal-government website, include a disclaimer about content and privacy policies; Refrain from disclaiming content when linking to other federal sites. Follow the rule of 3 ; Show at least three examples when linking to non-government information, to avoid the appearance of endorsing a single source, service or product. Gather inventory of all external links, streamlining regular review process Mobile Improve priority customer facing services for mobile use. Shift to an enterprise-wide asset management and procurement model, including mobile-related procurements. Segment visitor data by mobile-only users and view which services are being used most on the desktop site 3
Open Government/Data/Content Publish information in ways that make it easy to find, access, share, distribute, and re-purpose; Structure content and tag with standard metadata. Make open data, content, and application programming interfaces (APIs) the new default, and make existing high-value data and content available through APIs. Use challenges and prizes to promote open government, innovation, and other national priorities. In the spirit of transparency, participation and collaboration, agencies are directed to: make government information available online; improve the quality of government information; create and institutionalize a culture of open government; and create an enabling policy framework for open government. Gather inventory of all existing meta data for review and audit Paperwork Reduction Ensure that information collected from the public minimizes burden and maximizes public utility. Your agency must have OMB approval before collecting information from the public (surveys, forms, etc.), and you much include the OMB control number on the collection. OMB s Fast-Track PRA Review Process can help you collect information in a timely manner. Federal organizations should use electronic forms, electronic filing, and electronic signatures to conduct official business with the public. Whenever possible, deliver services via your customers channel of choice (online, apps, etc.). Designate a single point of contact for small businesses, and post the contact information on your website. Review forms for accessibility Track form completion in Analytics tool Performance Measurement and Reporting Regularly evaluate all digital products for performance and cost effectiveness by collecting and acting on metrics and customer feedback, conducting usability testing, and measuring return on investment. Establish performance measures to demonstrate mission achievement; Make your annual performance plans readily available to the public. Track analytics for both the metrics of performance and feedback from customers Response for monitoring website technical performance 4
Privacy and Identity Management Implement security and management controls to prevent the inappropriate disclosure of sensitive information. Provide a link to your privacy policy on every page (can be included in your overall site policies); Conduct a privacy impact assessment of your website; Post a Privacy Act Statement that explains your legal authority for collecting personal data and how the data will be used; Translate privacy policies into a standardized machine-readable format. Be aware of and comply with all other existing laws and directives that address the need to protect the privacy of the American people when they interact with their government online. Allow the public and business partners to register or log on to Assurance Level 1 systems using externally-issued credentials. Monitor for pages missing the privacy policy link Ensure privacy policy page is crawlable and accessible Records Management Work with your agency Records Officer and follow NARA guidance to establish and maintain inventories, priorities, and records schedules, and regularly delete or archive content that is obsolete and is not required by law or regulation. Create content inventories which identify categories of information (e.g., press releases or publications), not specific documents. Post inventories, priorities, and schedules for posting additional content on the website for comment. Implement SiteInventory for content inventory Segment information categories by content groups Track pages with 0 visits for easy deletion/archive options Required Content Include all required content and links on your site, in compliance with relevant guidance. Required content includes, but is not limited to: privacy policy; FOIA info; organizational info; budget and performance reports; USA.gov; some cross-agency portals. Every page on your site should have a text link back to your homepage (if you use a graphical link, it must have appropriate alt text). Monitor for pages missing required content Monitor for alternative text on graphical links back to home page 5
Search Ensure your website includes a search function which follows industry standard best practices, to help the public easily locate government information. Write content in Plain Language, using the words of your customers, so they can easily find what they need when searching the web or your website. Track searches performed, pages visited, and exits from search via Analytics Technology Standards Use the most recent and up-to-date technical standards for your digital services. Enjoy the peace of mind that comes with being a Siteimprove customer, as Siteimprove is consistently updated with latest technical standards Usability/User Experience Ensure that digital services are easy to use and accessible, including for people with disabilities and those who aren t proficient in English. Address and ensure accessibility for all web visitors with Siteimprove Accessibility module User Feedback Understand the needs of your customers, collect and address customer feedback, and use that evaluation and feedback to continuously improve your programs. Use social media and other third-party platforms to listen to your customers. Track and analyze user feedback in Analytics by gathering customer survey responses go.siteimprove.com/demo Web Governance Made Easy Siteimprove s Web Governance Suite helps organizations manage and maintain their websites through quality assurance, policy, accessibility, analytics, SEO analysis, and performance response all in one tool. WGGVFFUS0815.01_Government_Comparisons