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How EPA Creates
EE Web Sites
Development Steps:
- Establish Development Team and Identify Goals
- Identify Your Audience
- Establish Timeline and Identify Needs and Resources
- Design Content and Site Functionality
- Submit Site to the EEWW
- Maintain and Update
Tips for Step 4
Review carefully the criteria used by OPA during the review of your draft site
Throughout the development process, pay close attention to usability. Visit Usability.gov for suggestions to consider during development.
Build in a tool that allows users to provide feedback, such as a Comments button.
Step 4: Design Content and Site Functionality
It is important that the content of your Web site agrees with the topic and purpose established under Step 1 and functions as you intend, from your user's perspective as well as yours. To do this:
- Design the content
- Demonstrate to your intended audience how the content of the site meets their needs
- Describe sources of information, as well as link to those sources as needed
- Ensure that the information provided on the site is accessible to people with disabilities (Section 508 compliance).
- Create functionality
- Work closely with your information technology (IT) developers and representatives from your audience or the EEWW to determine how the Web site will function and to identify what technologies will be used
- Lay out the visual, graphic, and site navigational design.
- Select appropriate Web technologies to create functionality to meet the needs of your audience.
- Prepare a site map to make sure the site has a clear structure. You might even consider providing the site map on the site.
- Work closely with your information technology (IT) developers and representatives from your audience or the EEWW to determine how the Web site will function and to identify what technologies will be used
- Assess the usability of your site
- Evaluate the content and functionality throughout the development process to ensure the site is organized, navigable, and meets all of the criteria identified during the planning stages.
- At this stage in development, appropriate assessment techniques are typically more informal than the usability assessment conducted in Step 5. For example, consider asking one or two representatives of your target audience to review the site and provide comments, request an independent review by “experts” who are not familiar with the site, or convene a small focus group.
- The best time to assess your site is at the beginning of the development process before you become vested in the site design and functionality. Consider requesting feedback from your target audience on alternative Web site designs. You may also find it helpful to ask your target audience their opinion of other Web sites that are similar in purpose to your site or are popular with them.
