Digital First Standards

The website conforms with New York State accessibility standards and provides equal access to all users.

• Evaluate the website using WCAG 2.2 AA guidelines or latest standards per New York State law.
  • Site has been tested using automated tools, such as (but not limited to) WAVE, IBM Equal Access Toolkit, Lighthouse, Pa11y, aXe Core, or SiteImprove
  • Site has been evaluated using NYS Digital Services Accessibility testing framework or comparable federal government method such as VPAT or DHS Section 508 Trusted Tester
  • Site has an authoritative and robust conformance report
  • Site has an accessibility roadmap, development or remediation plan, or similar
  • Agency has documented or conducted accessibility training for non-technical staff to remove accessibility barriers throughout their digital landscape (Ex. PDF tagging, alt text, plain language, simple native features, or similar)
  • Agency has evaluated their PDFs or other web documents for accessibility conformance (optional)
  • Agency has evaluated marketing materials, graphics, or other digital assets for conformance (optional)
  • Videos or mixed multimedia with audio have been provided with closed captioning and/or ASL where applicable
  • Data visualizations, dashboards, graphics, maps or other data driven interactive tools have been evaluated for accessibility conformance
  • Saas products, customized software, and vendor product integrations have VPAT or comparable accessibility reports
• Implement a robust manual testing process
  • Site has been tested using screen readers such as VoiceOver, NVDA, JAWS, or comparable.
  • New components, features, and patterns have planned manual testing integrated into Quality Assurance or User Acceptance Testing stages
  • Features, patterns, components, and integrated tools have been tested for operability using alternate input methods and keyboard navigation
  • Agency has engaged a third party accessibility vendor to conduct an audit or do a specific evaluation (optional)
• Be transparent about accessibility
  • Accessibility statement available on website
  • Known issues have been documented in a transparent way with an anticipated timeline to remediate

The information is easy to find, understand and use.

• Content is written for the user
  • Content is tailored to a user's specific needs and provides actionable information
  • Content is easy to understand and communicated in plain language
    • Average user reads at an eighth grade reading level
  • Content is logically grouped into manageable, smaller sections.
  • Limited use of jargon, abbreviations, or technical terms
• Content is structured and well-organized
  • User can easily navigate and find information
  • Headings are short and descriptive
  • Content is clear and concise with no grammatical errors
  • Direct hyperlinks are used so users can be brought to the most relevant page
  • Important information available up-front
• Avoid duplicate content
  • Each web page serves a unique purpose
  • Consistent information throughout all pages and/or state websites
• Test to ensure quality standards and reliable content
  • Content aligns with the site’s goals and strategies
  • Content is up-to-date
  • No broken or inactive links
  • Content should indicate when it was created or last updated (when appropriate)
  • Plan implemented to schedule monthly reviews
• Site offers multilingual support
  • Inclusive language translations available to users with limited English proficiency
  • Test for accuracy to ensure that the site functions and displays information correctly
    • Keep in mind language-specific formatting and special characteristic
• Effective, user-friendly search function
  • Consistent, accurate results
  • Clear and organized layout of results
  • Compatible on all devices

The website focuses on user-centered design and relies on research and data-driven decisions that reflect the New York State brand.

• The design adheres to the New York State brand
  • Visual elements such as colors, fonts and imagery adhere to the guides and are used consistently throughout the site
  • Consistent appearance for all users
• The design is easy to navigate
  • Navigation structure is consistent throughout all pages
  • Navigation items are concise
    • Aim for eight items or fewer
    • Avoid unnecessarily long or wordy text
    • Use terms that are familiar to users
    • Links accurately describe content
  • Visual hierarchy is used to guide users through content based on order of importance
  • Page titles and headings are descriptive
  • Calls-to-Actions are clear and stand out
  • White space is incorporated into design to help with readability
• The design is mobile-friendly
  • Design mobile-first experiences with a focus on content
  • Forms are available in digital format when possible
  • Design is responsive in all devices and browsers
• A design methodology is human-centered
  • Components are backed by research and industry standards
  • Involve users: Gather feedback and consider the needs of all users
  • Usability test to better understand how users interact with the site and to help assist with identifying areas of improvement
    • Use data collected during testing to identify common patterns
    • Prioritize usability issues
    • Refine the design
    • Re-test to ensure improvement in experience

The website has a management plan to help empower agencies to build a better digital experience.

• Dedicated team with roles and responsibilities
  • Analytics Program
  • Content
  • Technical
  • Procurement
  • Hiring
• Implement a management plan for digital content
  • Establish process for maintaining and updating content
  • Define and measure ways to monitor and report data (KPIs)
  • Involve subject matter experts in key decisions
  • Create a shared centralized system for resources

Collect feedback and use data to make informed decisions.

• Implement a website analytics strategy
  • Define key metrics and goals
  • Participates in the New York State Analytics Program (If an agency do not participate in the NYS Analytics Program, they must implement a website analytics strategy and provide comparable data)
• Leverage quantitative and qualitative data
  • Implement a tool like Google Analytics or something similar to track website traffic, events, user engagement, etc.
  • Identify patterns and areas for improvement
  • Prioritize improvements based on users needs
  • Implement feedback surveys

The website follows industry standards and is user-friendly.

• The site is compatible with different devices and screen sizes
  • Page loads quickly with no errors
    • Consider the total page weight of resources – Avoid serving large assets such as PDFs, images, and documents that are not optimized, compressed, or serve a critical purpose
    • Assets are optimized and compressed for web
    • Limit unused libraries and prefer async and deferred resources to improve load times
• The site is functional across various browsers
  • Pages function and appear consistently
  • Tested on the latest version of all major browsers including Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge
• Monitor the site’s web performance
  • Use a tool such as GTmetrix, Pagespeed Insights, and Lighthouse
  • Metrics to consider: Total page weight/size, Time to LCP (largest contentful paint), Time to FCP (first contentful paint), Total blocking time TBT, Cumulative layout shift CLS
• Website is optimized for search engines
  • Site-map is present
  • Proper use of H1-H6 Header tags
  • Analytics implemented to identify common search patterns
  • Site has expected metadata and industry standard meta patterns at the code level

Meets all security requirements and user information is protected

• The website follows security standards
  • Valid SSL certificate (HTTPS) and provides a secure connection
  • Follows ITS Policy for sensitive data
  • Provide appropriate notice for online collection of information (PII), if applicable
  • Provides notice and opt-out features where possible for cookies, tracking, or data retention
  • Agency has digital and web integrated into their Continuity of Operations / Continuity of Government plans
• Conduct regular security assessments and testing
  • Monitor website traffic for unusual activity and coordinate with appropriate teams on regular evaluations
  • Agency has an understanding of the risk landscape of their website or web tools and who to contact with issues
  • Participate in CISO, ITS, or third party security scanning (Qualys or similar, where applicable)
• Maintain clear, up-to-date policies available to public
  • Published and maintained privacy policy available on website
    • Be transparent about data collection

Identifies as an official government site and ensures consistent and transparent experiences for all users.

• Establish and maintain agency brand
  • Site adheres to the New York State Brand Guide for a consistent look and feel
  • Agency has an “About” section to provide mission, goals, and responsibilities
  • Contact information available to users
    • Email, phone, or social media
• Establish trust in state services
  • Prioritize and develop empathy for all users
  • Services effectively meet expectations
  • Openly provide transparency when appropriate
  • Focus on customer experience and allow users provide feedback
• The site identifies as an official government site
  • NY.gov domain is present
  • Trust bar for “An official website of New York State” is present
  • UNAV is in site header