Websites are a primary means of contact for the community to obtain information and services from government. The Western Australian public sector must manage this vital service delivery asset with a consistent approach based on best practice to ensure government services and information are:
- easy to find and access
- easy to read and understand
- easy to use
- relevant and current
- available to as many people as possible.
The standard aims to:
- reduce the proliferation of Western Australian Government informational websites
- standardise the user experience of informational websites across the Western Australian Government through the use of standards and common digital platforms
- reduce duplication of website management and maintenance effort across the Western Australian public sector
- reduce content duplication through rationalisation and consolidation of websites to deliver more cohesive customer focussed websites.
This standard is part of the Digital Services Policy Framework that underpins the Digital Services Policy.
Overview
The Western Australian (WA) Government is implementing a digital reform agenda that is focused on delivering better services to the community through providing online services that are based on consumer needs.
This will set the Government on a path towards consolidation and standardisation of WA Government websites across the public sector, making it easier for consumers (including people with disabilities, in regional areas with low bandwidth and low digital skills) to interact with government.
The WA Government ICT Strategy establishes the strategic direction for agencies to deliver a more consistent online presence, and deliver more and better digital services through the whole of government digital services portal – WA.gov.au
Definition of terms
| Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
| Domain name | Unique text descriptor for a service, website, application or network. |
| Informational website | Informational website has the simple goal of informing the community about a specific topic. While text is more common, video, images and audio can also be used to inform. Examples of informational websites include most Western Australian Government agency websites. |
Purpose
This Website Standard (the Standard) establishes the governance framework and a consistent approach to the creation and management of WA Government websites.
Objectives
The Standard aims to:
- reduce the proliferation of WA Government informational websites
- standardise the user experience of informational websites across the WA Government through the use of standards and common digital platforms
- reduce duplication of website management and maintenance cost and effort across the WA Government
- provide consistency in how WA Government information is managed and delivered through the digital channel
- deliver a better digital experience for consumer, through fewer, better-quality websites that are focussed on the community’s needs.
Scope
This Standard applies to all entities as defined under Section 3 of the Public Sector Management Act 1994 (the Act). This includes all agencies except those listed in Schedule 1 of the Act.
This Standard covers all informational websites by any of the above entities, and include existing and new websites.
Authority
This Standard underpins the Digital Services Policy and is a mandatory component of the Digital Services Policy Framework (DSPF).
Requirements
- Projects including the development of a new or existing website are required to align with the whole of government common platform approach.
- Websites must comply with the Digital Services Policy and the Digital Services Policy Framework.
- Agencies must ensure web content is actively reviewed to ensure they are accurate, current, relevant and accessible.
- WA Government websites must be decommissioned if they no longer serve their business purpose, are no longer relevant, or are not being utilised.
- WA Government websites must use the wa.gov.au domain. Full details are provided in the Domain Name Standard.
Exemptions
Agencies seeking EXEMPTION from aligning with the whole of government common digital platform approach and/or compliance with the Digital Services Policy and Framework will require Directors General ICT Council approval. The intention of this requirement is to avoid unnecessary website investments outside of a whole of government approach. Appendix A provides details on the common web platform.
Full details including scope and affected project types, assessment criteria and the exemption approval process are provided in the Website Project Governance Process. Guidance on website creation and compliance with standards are provided in Appendix B.
Before seeking exemption, agencies are encouraged to discuss their requirements with the Office of Digital Government, telephone 08 6551 3900 or by email to dgov-strategy@dpc.wa.gov.au
Related policies, standards and guidance
The Standard should be read in conjunction with the Digital Services Policy Framework suite of policies, standards and guidance materials.
Appendix A – Common web platform
WA.gov.au is the platform to standardise the delivery of online services and drive consistent user experience across WA Government digital information and services.
The whole of government digital services portal (WA.gov.au) will become the primary channel through which consumers can securely search and access government digital services, regardless of which agency provides those information and services.
It is designed to make it easier for consumers to find information and transact with Government based on a ‘one Government’ approach to service delivery, and allows for better integration across government.
Transition to the common web platform
All informational websites should be delivered through WA.gov.au.
A number of trigger points have been identified to facilitate the transition of informational websites to the common web platform.
- Creation of new websites, for example:
- Agency website
- Machinery of Government changes
- Topic specific website
- Campaign website
- Redesign or redevelopment of current websites
- Upgrades to agency website infrastructure (technology / software / platform updates)
- Scheduled website refresh
- Website contract / managed service contract renewals.
WA Government web platform
The Office of Digital Government has developed a whole of government content management system and common web hosting platform for agencies to build and manage their digital presence.
The platform offers agencies two options:
- WA.gov.au platform
- Web platform hosting-only service
Before you create a new website, redesign or redevelop a current website, you must assess if some or all of the content is suitable to be hosted on the whole of government common web platform and provided through WA.gov.au.
WA.gov.au platform
The WA.gov.au platform host the whole of government digital services portal – WA.gov.au. WA.gov.au has a standard site-wide visual and user experience web design. Content on WA.gov.au is grouped into two sections – services to the community (presented through the community persona view) and agency corporate information (presented through the Government audience persona view).
Services to the community – Community persona view
This section contains content related to everything a person needs to be able to transact with Government. Content is grouped by ‘Government services to the community’ categories, not by agencies. These service categories are based on the whole of government WA Enterprise Architecture Framework service category terms.
Agency corporate information – Government audience persona view
Agency corporate information is presented through respective agency landing pages. These pages are accessible from the ‘Find an agency’ section on WA.gov.au.
The agency section provides some flexibility in design to accommodate agency branding while still delivering a consistent user experience (UX) through a set structure. The agency section has a different information architecture to the community section.
Web platform hosting-only service
Agencies requiring campaign or promotional websites, or entities requiring a level of separation from Government, such as independent entities and statutory authorities, can choose to utilise the web platform hosting-only service. These websites are not required to adopt the WA.gov.au ‘one Government’ UX design.
Appendix B – Creation of a new website and compliance with digital policy and standards
Creating a new website
If exemption is granted, agencies creating a new website or redeveloping a website must have a website business plan endorsed by your agency’s Director General or equivalent.
The website business plan should demonstrate that you have considered all aspects of website planning, and should include:
- The website business objectives
- How those objectives are to be measured and evaluated
- The business and technical requirements
- A risk analysis
- The standards to be applied
- How the website will be built and managed
- The total cost involved.
The following scenarios provide examples and guidance on whether a new website is warranted.
| Business need | Considerations and recommendations |
|---|---|
I want to create a website for my department or agency | In most cases, your agency’s website content should be hosted on the whole of government web platform WA.gov.au All website projects are required to align with the whole of government common platform approach, or comply with relevant policies and standards provided to support the outcomes of the state digital strategy. If you believe your content cannot or should not be hosted on the WA.gov.au platform, you can apply for an exemption through the Website Project Governance Process. All new websites must comply with relevant policies and standards provided to support the outcomes of the state digital strategy, including those that fall under the Digital Services Policy Framework. |
I want to create a website for a specific topic or initiative that is owned by my agency. | It is not necessary to have a separate website and domain name for each product or service you offer. In most cases your agency’s initiatives or projects will form part of your agency’s existing website. If your existing agency website cannot accommodate the content, you should consider hosting that content on WA.gov.au |
I want to create a website for a campaign | High-profile agency-specific initiatives or agency specific initiative at a whole of government level may warrant a separate campaign website. The whole of government web platform offers a hosting-only service for campaign or promotional websites. Whole of government campaign (i.e.: politically oriented campaign) or advertising websites are required to adhere to the Premier’s Circular 2017/02: Advertising and communications expenditure and related policies. |
I want to create a website for my division or business unit within my agency | Your agency’s website structure should be based on the services it offers rather than by its organisation structure. Content relating to a division, team or business unit within an agency should be contained within the agency’s website; not as a separate website. |
I want to create a website for a whole of government, cross-agency or multi-agency project or topic | Initiatives providing comprehensive information from a whole of government and/or cross-agency perspective should be hosted on the WA.gov.au Depending on the initiative, it may warrant the creation of a short URL for promotional purposes. For example: topic.wa.gov.au or wa.gov.au/topic Considerations when planning for this type of content:
|
Compliance with Digital Services Policy and Digital Services Policy Framework
The Digital Services Policy and associated framework contains or references a number of standards, relevant legislation and best practice guidelines to assist you in developing and maintaining quality websites. These include, but are not limited to:
One Government UX website design
The UX website design standards prove the usability and accessibility of Western Australian Government websites by requiring a level of consistency in:
the positioning and functionality of key website elements; including website navigation, branding, search and footer content. UX website design standard for the WA Government are detailed in the Visual Design and Functional Standard.
how online content is written and presented; to ensure content is easy to read, meaningful and easily understood. Content strategy and writing style for the WA Government are detailed in the Digital Services Content Standard.
how online content is tagged; to ensure relevant content can be easily found and provides contextual search. Details on how to capture metadata for online content are available in the Website Metadata Tagging Standard.
Accessibility
It is important that websites are developed to meet website accessibility standards to ensure they cater for a broad range of needs. This includes people with disabilities, people in rural and remote areas that have slow Internet connections and people using alternative technologies such as smart phones and other mobile devices. Accessibility requirements for the WA Government websites are detailed in the Accessibility and Inclusivity Standard.
Content management and website maintenance
Content management plays a critical role in ensuring that the information and services you provide through your website can easily be found, and is meaningful and useful to the consumer.
If you move your content to a different online location, or if your website URL is changed for any reason, you must ensure you have a redirect in place and so that people visiting the content will not find broken links or abandoned web pages. A 301 redirect is recommended to redirect one web page to another.
If there is no alternative content or page, consider using 301 redirect to direct consumer to a page to advise that the page or content has been removed or deleted. If you do not put this redirect in place, consumers will be presented with a broken link, generally in the form of 404 error page.
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