State website gets revamped |
January 23, 2017 |
Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter announced Friday that
the State of Idaho’s official website,
www.idaho.gov,
has a fresh, user-friendly new design and
significantly improved functionality.
“We want to that ensure interaction with Idaho’s
State government is as pleasant and efficient as
possible,” Governor Otter said. “Easy online
access to information and services that citizens
and businesses need is crucial in our
increasingly digital world. I’m pleased to
announce the new website design, which cost our
taxpayers nothing.”
At first glance, visitors will notice that the
website makeover leverages Idaho’s beauty by
prominently featuring a scenic Gem State photo
that will change seasonally. Test users
preferred homepage designs that included
landscapes, rating them as easier to navigate,
more enjoyable to use and more trustworthy.
In addition to improved visual appeal, the
homepage has been reconfigured to more nimbly
accommodate the two most common tasks performed
by users: scrolling and searching. Homepage
content is divided into groups with easily
understood category titles. The most visited
services, pages and searches are displayed for
each category. This additional context guides
website visitors to the content they need.
The website actively measures the most popular
clicks within the site and dynamically
reprioritizes content in real time. Popular
links require only one click from the homepage.
The search results page is even more robust,
with content from online services, topics and
state agency data. The search engine indexes all
Idaho State websites and Twitter feeds. In
addition, the results page remains on
www.idaho.gov
so users still have access to the site
navigation.
Since a growing number of Idahoans access the
Internet primarily through mobile devices,
www.idaho.gov
incorporates the latest in responsive design to
maintain mobile compatibility. Additionally, the
revamped site meets international online
accessibility requirements and is screen-reader
compatible.
The new version of
www.idaho.gov
is the fifth redesign in the 20-year history of
Idaho’s official Internet presence. The site is
managed and operated without taxpayer funds
through a public-private partnership between the
State and Access Idaho, a Boise-based company. |
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