State governments are increasingly working to make digital services more user friendly and accessible for constituents. The Pennsylvania Office of Digital Experience (CODE PA), created in 2023 with this objective, led the charge for this overhaul under the administration of Gov. Josh Shapiro.
The new website, which combines 64 previously separate state websites, has already had an impact, receiving nearly 9 million visits and more than 72 million page views in the month of December alone.
The refreshed site offers a services directory tool, allowing users to search and filter options to get information about state services across agencies. Previously, Pennsylvanians would have to search for information from different agencies on separate websites. This change also allows users to browse a variety of services that might be available to them related to a specific life event, such as having a child.
“For the first time, Pennsylvanians have a website that prioritizes their needs and what their state government can offer them,” Secretary of Administration Neil Weaver said in a statement.
In creating the new website, the state recognized that users have different abilities. To meet differing user needs, the state designed webpages to be compatible with assistive technologies like screen readers and to be navigable using only a keyboard.
The state’s efforts to make services more accessible are led by a dedicated accessibility team under Ellen Strom, Pennsylvania’s chief accessibility officer. This team was brought under CODE PA last year.
The website transformation effort started in May 2024 with the launch of the new pa.gov homepage and the Governor’s Office, Lieutenant Governor’s Office, and Department of Human Services websites. Other agencies then inventoried their existing websites’ information and reorganized it for ease of access. This process involved collaboration with subject matter experts as well as senior leadership.
This website overhaul also involved extensive user testing, in which 300 Pennsylvania residents participated in more than 370 hours of moderated and unmoderated interviews and 189 survey responses to inform the new design. Officials also held focus groups to inform improvements.
The new website is considered complete, but Executive Director of CODE PA Bry Pardoe said in a statement that efforts to improve the website through research and public feedback will continue.
