Mass.gov web platform
The Mass.gov web platform is easy to use. It gives non-technical staff a forum to publish agency content that’s user-friendly and accessible to visitors on any device.
Authors and editors on the Mass.gov platform have access to useful tools, including form builders and analytics. Mass Digital also offers technical and content support, help with digital strategy, and guidance for using the tools that come with the platform.
What's included in a Mass.gov subscription
Organizations that are part of the Mass.gov web platform can focus on creating the best content possible while the Mass.gov team takes care of hosting, accessibility, search engine optimization, and management of the technology behind the website. You’ll also have access to web analytics dashboards to help report on how visitors interact with your pages, and a simple user interface to explore and download verbatim constituent feedback.
In addition, through our Product and Service Catalog page you can request access to and use:
- Formstack: Drag-and-drop interface for building web forms
- Google Analytics & Google Data Studio: Web analytics and data visualization tools
- Siteimprove: Content monitoring tools
- The Mass.gov image library: Stock photos for enhancing web content
The CMS and Knowledge Base
The Mass.gov content management system (CMS) provides an intuitive and flexible way to publish information that's easy for your audience to find and use. The Knowledge Base helps you learn the CMS at your own pace, with options to get additional help from the Mass.gov team when needed.
In the Knowledge Base you’ll find:
- Training videos on CMS basics
- Style guide and writing tips
- Step-by-step guides to different page templates
- Best practices for documents, images, and video
- Content improvement tools
Use our Product and Service Catalog page to get access to the Mass.gov CMS or to ask questions. You can also sign up for office hours by making a request through ServiceNow.
Content writing & design
If you want to build out your organization's digital presence, Mass Digital can help. Our content designers will work with your organization to create, edit, and optimize content. We can also assist with digital marketing campaigns, search engine optimization, information architecture, and social media.
To learn how we think about government digital content, watch this presentation on organizing your content or read about how using plain language helps us support constituents.
Web analytics & feedback
Do you want more insight into how people engage with your content? Do you want to learn if changes you make to your websites improve the experience of using them?
Mass Digital can help by building web analytics dashboards, evaluating if your digital campaigns are successful, getting the most out of user feedback, and implementing cross-domain tracking between Mass.gov and your organization's other websites. We also offer training for your personnel in using Google Analytics and Google Data Studio.
Web design
If you want to build an easy-to-use, modern, accessible website to deliver your agency’s services, Mass Digital can help. We'll work with you to plan a project that meets your business requirements, conduct usability tests, and mock up visual prototypes. We can also provide graphic design, conduct accessibility audits, and recommend enhancements that will add value for your users.
You can also use Mayflower, our open source design system, to build a web application that looks and feels like Mass.gov and follows the Commonwealth’s Web Design Guidelines.
Web development
If you want to build an easy-to-use, modern, accessible website to deliver your organization's services, Mass Digital can help you:
- Plan a project that meets your business requirements, conduct usability testing, and create prototypes.
- Build new features, modernize code, and automate processes.
- Operationalize your products, continuously improve them, and keep up with evolving technology.
We can also help align your websites with guidelines in the Commonwealth’s Website Domain Policy.
What working with Mass Digital looks like
Most engagements begin with a brief consultation so that we can better understand your needs. Then, depending on what you want to accomplish, we'll scope out a project plan.
This might mean our team works with you by:
- Working on your content directly
- Helping to augment your staff quickly and for less
- Creating dashboards and automated reports
- Helping your team learn to use technology you already have access to
We have relationships with a number of talented, proven vendors, and adding them to a project is much faster than undergoing the standard Request for Response/Proposals (RFR/RFP) process.