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Introduction Acknowledgements Executive Summary Scope and Purpose of Report Background Methodology Legislator Information Explanations of Legislative Process Legislative Tracking and Monitoring Legislative Administration State Resources Statements Addressing User Expectations Site Design Site Navigation Conclusion Overview of State Legislatures State Legislative Resource Websites Federal Territories Practices of Note

Plugged In, Tuning Up (March 2001) SITE NAVIGATION Background Websites are ideally designed to maximize the ease with which users can access the range of features and volume of content they contain. Items Examined The minimum set of design elements used on websites to provide site navigation include: Site Index/Site Map: a descriptive listing of the main sections, features, and content areas of the site Help Section: a general overview of the site's functions, either a single document or contextual assistance provided under each section Navigation Bar: a persistent or semi-persistent element on a majority of web pages, consisting of text or graphics, that helps users move among various sections of a website What's New/Site Updates: a feature, usually on a site's home page, that outlines those sections features, or services that have been added, deleted, or modified, and when Registration for Site Updates: the ability to receive update notices regarding site modifications, in advance of future visits to a site, to avoid confusion about content sections and features that have been modified Summary of Findings By State State Site Index Help Section Navigation Bar What's New Registration for Site Updates Alabama Yes Yes No No No Alaska No No Icon No No Arizona No No No Yes No Arkansas No No Text No No California No Yes Icon Yes No Colorado No No No No No Connecticut No Yes No No Yes Delaware No Yes Icon and Text No No Florida No Yes Icon No No Georgia No Yes No No Yes Hawaii No Yes No No No Idaho No No No No No Illinois No No Text No No Indiana No No Icon and Text Yes No Iowa No No No No No Kansas No No No No No Kentucky Yes No Icon No No Louisiana Yes No Icon Yes No Maine Yes No No No No Maryland No No No No No Massachusetts No No No No No Michigan No Yes No No No Minnesota Yes Yes Icon Yes No Mississippi No No No No No Missouri No No No No No Montana No Yes Icon No No Nebraska Yes Yes Icon No No Nevada Yes No No No No New Hampshire Yes No No No No New Jersey Yes No Icon Yes No New Mexico No Yes Icon No No New York (Senate) No No No No No New York (Assembly) No No No Yes No North Carolina Yes Yes Icon Yes No North Dakota No No No No No Ohio Yes No Icon and Text No No Oklahoma No No No No No Oregon No No Icon No No Pennsylvania No No No Yes No Rhode Island No No No No No South Carolina Yes No No No No South Dakota No No Text Yes No Tennessee Yes No No No No Texas Yes Yes Icon Yes No Utah No No Icon No No Vermont No No No No No Virginia Yes No Icon No No Washington No Yes No No No West Virginia No No Icon and Text No No Wisconsin No No No No No Wyoming Yes No No No No This was one of the weaker areas for state legislative websites across the board, as the summary table shows. Overall, the state legislative sites lacked a number of basic features to ensure easy navigability. Most notably, as the table above shows, 69% of the state legislative websites lacked a site index or site outline that could be easily located 70% of the sites lacked even a basic help section 57% of the sites lacked some form of navigation scheme that could be found and used by site visitors at key points throughout the site 78% of the sites had no section for listing site modifications 96% of the sites did not clearly feature the means for users to receive updates on site modifications via e-mail Considerations Minnesota, Nebraska, North Carolina, and Texas were the only states that featured site maps, help sections, and a navigation scheme. Additionally, only Minnesota, North Carolina, and Texas also included a section devoted to site modifications. None of the states that featured a "what's new" section, however, also provided the means for users to receive e-mail updates on new site features. Sites that provided help sections addressing website features, as opposed to legislative procedural matters, usually presented this information as one documents through which users have to scroll to find the answers to their needs. Often, the links to help features in different parts of the site were not useful in addressing user questions within the context of the particular site feature. Some states, moreover, have flaws in their navigational approaches that should be addressed via thorough site evaluations. Tennessee, for example, does not allow easy access to certain pages if cookies are ignored. Virginia, meanwhile, did not allow users to return to a previously loaded page after an automatic redirection on one section of the site. These quirks in design emphasize the importance of consistent navigational structures. There was little in the way of an identifiable standard for navigational features. Navigation bars, to the extent that they were present, usually consisted of a link to the main page, help documents, and key content areas or features. Moreover, nineteen sites featured icons or button graphics, and seven sites featured text headers to guide users. The advantage of graphics, in addition to aesthetic appeal, is that they can bridge content accessibility barriers for those users with reading difficulties. Yet, unless those images are accompanied by text explanations, they not only confuse other users, but also are not accessible to visually impaired users. Delaware, Indiana, Ohio, and West Virginia use both icons and text throughout the site to meet both sets of user needs. Recommendations At a minimum, state legislative websites should regularly alert users about modifications that have been made, preferably providing an option allowing for e-mail updates. In order to facilitate access to relevant content and promote overall ease of use, navigation schemes should be implemented that speak to the widest range of user needs, including: Easily accessible site indexes that lay out where main features and content areas are located Help sections that are not available only as a single document, but that are broken up to match specific sections of a site Navigation bars that feature both text and icons to help provide quick functionality to sites, particularly those with large amounts of content. If navigation bars and menus are used, however, attention must be paid to utilizing a text alternative. A number of search engines have difficulty indexing links to graphics. Additionally, some sites that utilize Javascript, Java applets, image maps, and server-side functions, require a user's browser to process a number of functions before those functions are made available.