News - Web Guidelines review underway

Web Guidelines review underway

September 2002

Work has just begun to prepare a revised version of the New Zealand Government Web Guidelines. The new draft will be the starting point for consultation across government and with vendors involved in building government websites. The four-week period of consultation will begin on 25 October. Feedback will be collected online and a summary report produced at the end of the consultation.

The draft revision will incorporate some of the feedback the E-government Unit has already received from agencies and from industry sources who have built and assessed sites for Government since the guidelines were first issued in August 2001. Clearer language and organisation in the revised draft will aim to make the guidelines easier to use. The new draft will also highlight the principles that underpin the many practical recommendations and requirements in the guidelines, so that site managers can more easily resolve design dilemmas. Links to other e-government standards will be made more explicit.

It is unlikely that the guideline’s current technical requirements will change greatly. A reference group of technical and accessibility specialists will review the consultation feedback and make recommendations to the State Services Commission, as the custodian and steward of the guidelines, on what should be incorporated into the final version.

[Amended: 26 March 2003]