Recently we had a great conversation on “Best and Worst Government websites” – I wanted to take a step back and highlight 5 great state and local government websites from the bunch (and not just the usual suspects who rock but are often featured like utah.gov).
1) City of Austin – Clean, crisp navigation and a clear push to use the search function.
2) TN.gov – Vibrant background, clear calls to action. I also love that they give viewing options to increase size for the elderly.
3) West Hollywood – Great colors, big focus on most popular tasks, and simple translation to serve multiple populations.
4) British Columbia, Canada – Clear call to action on #1 task – apply for student loan. Lots of good white space, so it’s easy to make sense of and good use of non-cheesy photos and real language (e.g. “need help paying for school?”)
5) Buncombe County – clear calls on top tasks, love the weather touch in the top right.
I also recommend checking out the National Association of Government Webmasters 2012 Pinnacle Award Winners.
Picking up on #4, in British Columbia we have adopted user experience (UX) principles in new web for government ministries. Translating newly won web success to mobile web is the next frontier.
Thanks for the West Hollywood shout out! 🙂
Thanks so much for the StudentAid BC (British Columbia) shout out! The site was designed and built entirely in-house and also integrates a new twitter feed that students love! Implementing responsive design was both fun and challenging, but we are certain it was the right way to go – especially now with the iPhone 5 screen size, etc. 😉