When you’re looking for information or services from the federal government, it’s likely that you’ll try to access them online. After all, the government notes that federally run websites attract two billion hits monthly and that digital experiences are “now the default way the public wants to interact with the government.” Not only is it more convenient to access these services online—it also makes things far more accessible to individuals from diverse backgrounds, such as those with limited English proficiency (LEP) or disabilities.
Historically though, internet users haven’t been all too impressed with the experience that U.S. government websites provide—from awkward design to outdated information, government websites have often left a lot to be desired for users seeking out federal services. The 21st Century Integrated Digital Experiences Act (IDEA), signed into law in 2018, aims to solve that problem.
The 21st Century IDEA outlines several requirements for websites run by federal government agencies, including:
- Modernizing their websites
- Digitizing their services and forms
- Accelerating the use of e-signatures
- Improving the overall customer experience
- Transitioning to centralized shared devices
In September 2023, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued “M-23-22, Delivering a Digital-First Public Experience,” a memo that outlines further guidelines to help agencies meet the requirements of the 21st Century IDEA. The memo requires agencies to complete a series of reporting actions
Now that we are nearly a year out from the memo’s publication, most federal agencies should have had plenty of time to implement these guidelines in their websites. However, we know that these kinds of things can be easier said than done, and your agency may find itself struggling to meet all of the requirements of the 21st Century IDEA and M-23-22.
In this blog post, we’ve put together some key pointers to help you bring your agency’s website into the 21st Century and meet all of the requirements of the act, with a particular emphasis on the role of language and accessibility.
Requirements for Delivering a Digital-First Public Experience
Below, we’ll break things down by eight of the requirements outlined in M-23-22, and how you can utilize language services and alternative formats to make sure people from all backgrounds can access your website and make use of the services available through your agency’s digital presence.
Accessible to People of Diverse Abilities
The first requirement outlined in M-23-22 is that federal agencies’ websites must be “accessible to people of diverse abilities.” This means that agencies must make sure that their websites fully conform to the standards outlined in the most recent version of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
The WCAG sets several standards to make sure that websites are accessible to people with various disabilities, including, but not limited to blindness and hearing difficulties. It’s a good idea to seek out services such as document remediation and alternative formatting to make sure that your website is screen-reader friendly and easy for people from all backgrounds to access.
Consistent Visual Design and Agency Brand Identity
Federal websites also need to have a cohesive design across all platforms. As described in the memo, “this includes consistent and standardized use of everything that comprises the look and feel of an agency’s product or service (such as a logo or seal, color palette, typeface, imagery, voice and tone, or product or service name).” This helps build trust with users and ensures that users are able to easily identify the website as being associated with your agency.
When localizing your website for different languages and cultures, it’s important to ensure that the design standards you’ve set for your agency’s English site also come through in a way that’s culturally appropriate. Working with a language service provider that specializes in multicultural and multilingual design is crucial to make sure the localized versions of your website meet this requirement.
[You may also be interested in: 14 Common Website Localization Mistakes]
Authoritative and Easy-to-Understand Content
Federal agencies should prioritize clarity and simplicity in their content, ensuring that the information is accessible to everyone, regardless of their language or literacy level. This involves using plain language to convey complex information, which can then be easily translated into multiple languages. Additionally, content should be structured to allow for straightforward navigation, so users can find what they need quickly.
By ensuring that all content is easily translatable will help reach diverse audiences, you can make federal digital services more inclusive and effective for everyone. Our plain language guidelines can help you begin to assess your content’s understandability.
Discoverable and Optimized Information and Services
Generally speaking, it’s a good idea to follow best practices for search engine optimization (SEO) in all your web content. This helps your site rank better on search engines like Google or Yahoo, allowing users of these tools to easily find your website. The same goes when localizing your website into another language to target people with LEP—you’ll want to work with a language service provider that conducts multilingual keyword research and follows SEO best practices so that your website comes up when people are searching for your services in different languages.
Secure by Design, Secure by Default
It’s absolutely critical that federal agencies integrate robust security measures into every aspect of their digital platforms from the outset. This means you must ensure that all user data, including multilingual information, is protected through encryption and secure access protocols.
By prioritizing security in the design phase, agencies can safeguard against data breaches and unauthorized access, creating a trustworthy digital environment. Moreover, maintaining security standards across all language versions of the website ensures that all users, regardless of language, experience the same level of protection and reliability.
User-Centered and Data-Driven Design
Federal agencies’ websites should be designed in a way that makes it easy for users to identify and access their services. To do this, it’s a good idea to seek out and incorporate user feedback to make sure that you’re meeting their needs. This also goes for localized versions of your website—services that are easy to access in the English-language version of your agency’s site should also be easy to find for users who access your site in other languages.
Customized and Dynamic User Experiences
As you digitize your agency’s services, be sure to give users the ability to control their experience to a certain extent. This includes providing options to customize features like layout and content display through customizable text size, view configuration (i.e., allow users to view lists, tiles, etc.), and more. This customization enhances user satisfaction by enabling individuals to tailor their interactions to their specific needs, reducing the burden of completing tasks.
Language preference is also an important aspect of customization—users should be able to easily identify and select their preferred language so that individuals with LEP have equal access to your services and don’t have to try obtaining them in a language that can’t easily understand.
Mobile-First Design that Scales Across Devices
While you may be accustomed to viewing your agency’s website on a desktop computer or a laptop, most people will inevitably end up accessing your website through their mobile phone.
As such, agencies should be careful to make sure that their website and any of its localized variants are easily accessible on a mobile device, as it can be confusing for users to navigate a website that has not been optimized for mobile use. It’s important that your multilingual content is available on multiple different platforms so that people from different linguistic backgrounds can make use of your services just as easily as native English speakers.
Summary
As federal agencies continue to implement the requirements of the 21st Century IDEA, there are many considerations to make about language and the accessibility of your content. Not only do these requirements help bring your agency into the modern, digital era—they also enable people to access your services and programs with ease.
If you’re still looking for ways to meet these requirements, Avantpage is here to help. We offer website localization services that can help your agency modernize its web presence for people from all sorts of linguistic backgrounds. Contact us today at (530) 750-2040 or [email protected] to learn more about our services.
