Development
Build usable products
Clean code, consistent components, security, and accessibility are just a few of the considerations that you must address in your development process. Use these USDA guidelines as a starting point as you build and update your digital products.
Goals
- Leverage existing code libraries and assets
- Create efficient, understandable, maintainable, and reusable code
- Ensure site search is usable and useful for your visitors
- Build fast and responsive digital experiences
Understand USDA Guidance and Learn More!
Check your site for proper Google Analytics tagging!
Implement Digital Analytics Program (DAP) code
Implement USDA Official Code
Site Performance: Load Balancing and Testing
Follow Federal Guidance and Mandates
- 21st Century IDEA Act
The 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act (IDEA) lists requirements (including some outlined here separately) that new and redesigned websites must:
Sec. 3(a)
Comply with Section 508 accessibility requirements
Have consistent appearance
Not overlap with or duplicate legacy websites
Have a site search feature
Use industry-standard secure connection (https)
Be designed around user needs based on qualitative and quantitative data
Have an option for a more customized digital experience
Be fully functional on common mobile devices
Section 3(b)(2)(A)
Report to Congress their agency’s most-viewed or most-utilized websites and services
Sec. 3(e)
Comply with U.S. Website Standards (the U.S. Web Design System)
- Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 [Accessibility]
Agencies must give disabled employees and members of the public access to information comparable to the access available to others. In 2017, the Access Board updated the 508 Standards and Guidelines with several major changes to provide clarity and keep up with advances in technology and standards. Significantly, the revised standards incorporate the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, which require websites to meet Level A and Level AA success criteria.
- Follow Federal Guidance and Mandates
The Connected Government Act requires that all new and redesigned agency websites be mobile-friendly.
Previous: Design and Brand Plays Next: Development Plays
This page was last updated July 31, 2019
Tell Us What You Think
The USDA Digital Strategy is being produced iteratively and relies on feedback from you to tell us what content you need to see, as well as what is and isn’t working. To send feedback, email us at feedback@usda.gov.
