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Jul 13, 2021 BY A Mighty Citizen UX Design & Content, Marketing

Resources for Government Agencies

Mighty Insights

Insights, delivered.

Truth: No matter how big or small, government websites are critical to the public. After all, they host valuable information and facilitate access to crucial services for the people they exist to serve. Another truth: Too many agency websites fall flat. Government communications professionals—in both local government and federal government—simply aren’t getting the most out of their websites.

Based on over 20 years of working with government agencies, here are some of our top resources and government communications best practices.

How Government Can Boost Its Most Powerful Communications Tool

Do any of these situations sound familiar?

  • It takes a long time to put new content on your site because of the many stakeholders and approvals it must go through.
  • Your homepage is cluttered because there isn’t a clear process for saying, “No, that content doesn’t belong there.”
  • You have a huge website and struggle to understand how the various parts are connected.
  • The website is a “side job” for a lot of people.
  • There are inconsistencies in tone, voice, and messaging across the site.
  • When a need arises for the website, it isn’t clear how to move forward.
  • You have to use bland stock images because you aren’t sure who might be upset by your choices.
  • There isn’t a concrete, defined process for generating, approving, and archiving content.

    Your agency’s website can (and should) be your most powerful communications tool. But for far too many government programs, the website is a complex, confusing endeavor. And it all comes back to a single problem: a lack of content governance.

    Content governance is a collection of rules, processes, and protocols that define how an organization identifies, creates, publishes, maintains, and archives content. It’s a lot of work, but the payoffs are enormous. For your agency, it will mean a faster turnaround time for publishing new content, a clearer outline of decision-makers, a more consistent agency message, and a lower risk of costly content issues. But the real payoff is for your users who will better understand who you are, learn something new, and easily find what they’re looking for when they visit your site.

    Read more on how to improve your agency’s most powerful communications tool:

    Our Guide to Content Governance

    If you want a deeper dive into the idea of content governance or what it could look like at your agency, this is the guide for you. If you own a website, you may not have thought to write any sort of process for upkeep into your communications plan. You may have a robust content strategy, but over time the amount of content you produce (e.g. articles, tools, webinars, case studies, white papers, etc.) needs to be evaluated, maintained, and archived. That goes for all of your communications materials. The best marketers have a plan for their content!

    Our guide will set you up with fundamental resources for establishing content governance. You’ll find information about conducting a content audit, a link to our free editorial content calendar template, and more.

    Accessibility Resources for Mission-Driven Organizations

    Government agencies should be aware of accessibility laws. Not only because it’s our social responsibility, but because government agencies are particularly positioned to come into legal trouble for not meeting accessibility standards.

    We’ve compiled some of our most helpful accessibility resources into this article. Inaccessible web design is bad web design—stay compliant to contribute to a more fair and equitable web.

    The Best Government Websites We’ve Seen in 2021

    We went looking for the best government agency websites of 2021 based on elements like web design, user experience, and accessibility. The agencies on our 2021 list have built their websites to serve the public through a pandemic and an election year. Some of our picks prove that the best design doesn’t have to be flashy. Others are giving a masterclass in accessibility. All of them are doing it right. Take a look:

    White Paper: Preparing Your Agency Website for the President’s Management Agenda

    The President’s Management Agenda (PMA) is a set of initiatives and standards designed to improve the impact of government agencies on the people they serve. At the foundation of the PMA is a spirit of bipartisanship and accountability that has been an effective change-maker over the years.

    The Biden administration will release the PMA soon, laying out its strategy for improving how agencies serve their constituents and carry out their missions. Once the PMA is released, agencies will need to quickly transition their digital services and websites to reflect the new direction. Our white paper is full of free tools and resources to aid you along each step to compliance on your website.

    Download the White Paper:

    We hope you find these resources helpful for maximizing your agency’s communication efforts!

    Mighty Citizen transforms government agencies through branding, marketing, and digital communications. We help agencies like yours increase their impact and the citizen experience by creating deeper connections with their audiences. If you’ve got a project in mind, reach out and start a conversation.

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