Responsive Web Design

Utah.Gov-Government that listens

SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Within minutes of launching the redesigned Utah.Gov, tweets began posting from around the world. Users were commenting, blogging, and critiquing the new design. The response was overwhelming; the world loved the new design. More importantly, they were providing instant feedback regarding navigation and accessibility. For the first time, users are able to instantly respond and Utah.Gov listened. While over four years of analytics were utilized to shape the redesign, continual feedback from citizens and users is an important part of the process. Since launched several aspects of the site have been modified. While they may seem minimal to the average user, the changes illustrate Utah’s commitment to not only listening to user feedback, but also utilizing it. Modifications based on user feedback gathered from social media outlets include:

“It is always exciting to launch a re-designed Utah.Gov to Utah citizens, as well as our international audience”

• Several enhancements were made to Utah.Gov within the first week of launch to improve accessibility.
• Per citizen recommendation, the Near You section was expanded to allow citizens to add their own local schools, libraries and parks in their area, in addition to the current display of existing locations of record.
• Additional language and instructions were added to Collaborate.Utah.Gov to clarify any confusion citizens might have once they submit material to Utah.Gov.
• Website components were adjusted, and within an hour of being notified, page load speed increased by 75%.
• Customer support was integrated to identify what citizens are really looking for. The 24/7 Support page was updated to include the most requested business and citizen agencies based on user feedback.
• Search results were modified to be even more precise. Analytics were used to determine what searches didn’t yield results and tailored accordingly.

“It is always exciting to launch a re-designed Utah.Gov to Utah citizens, as well as our international audience,” said David Fletcher, Utah Chief Technology Officer. “With the internet always available at their fingertips, citizens now are able to instantly provide feedback and suggestions. Citizen involvement play an integral role in our improvement process, continually enhancing Utah.Gov as we incorporate valuable citizen response.”

In the first 48 hours of launching, over 800 tweets were posted about the new Utah.Gov design reaching an estimated 2.2 million people. Open dialogue that networks such as Twitter provide allow for continual discussion as well as an opportunity to listens and act on user feedback. Utah.Gov practices responsive web design and it is important that citizen feedback is a key component of that process.

To find out more information about Utah.gov please visit:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/UtahGov

Facebook: http://www.utah.gov/facebook/

RSS feeds: http://www.utah.gov/connect/feeds.html

Utah blogs: http://www.utah.gov/blogs/

About Utah.gov

Utah.gov is the entry point to over 1000 online services and benefits over 2.7 million residents in the State of Utah. Utah.gov provides citizens and businesses with more convenient options for interacting with government. Through Utah.gov, citizens can find public meetings, renew their vehicle registration, buy a hunting and fishing license, register a business, find a transparent state budget, and much more. In 2010 alone, Utah.gov received an unprecedented 15 awards making it the nation’s most honored state website.

Utah.gov is the official Web portal for the State of Utah (http://www.Utah.gov). It was ranked first in the nation in the Center for Digital Government’s 2009 Best of the Web competition. It is managed and operated without tax funds through a public-private partnership between the state and Utah Interactive, the Salt Lake City-based official eGovernment partner for the state of Utah. Utah Interactive is part of eGovernment firm NIC’s family of companies.

About NIC

NIC (NASDAQ: EGOV) is the nation's leading provider of government Web sites, online services, and secure payment processing solutions. The company's innovative eGovernment services help reduce costs and increase efficiencies for government agencies, citizens, and businesses across the country. The NIC family of companies provides eGovernment solutions for more than 3,000 federal, state, and local agencies across the United States. Additional information is available at http://www.egov.com.