DOC Web Policies

1
DOC Web Policies Best Practices

• http//www.doc.gov/webresources/
• Jennifer Hammond
• NOAA Research WebShop 2002
• August 7, 2002

2
Web Policies (Mandatory)

• Links to DOC Home Page
• Links to Organizational Home Page
• Identification of Web Site Owner
• Web Site Contact Information
• Domain Names
• Web Site Accessibility
• Privacy of Visitors
• Privacy Statement and Information Collection
• Annual Web Site Certification

3
Web Policies (Mandatory)

• 1. Links to DOC Home Page
• Policy http//www.noaa.gov must link to DOCs
  home page
• Purpose To identify high level organizations as
  part of DOC, while allowing flexibility and
  creativity in the development of Web pages and
  Web sites
• Deadline
• August 11, 2000

4
Web Policies (Mandatory)

• Links to DOC Home Page
• Links to Organizational Home Page
• Identification of Web Site Owner
• Web Site Contact Information
• Domain Names
• Web Site Accessibility
• Privacy of Visitors
• Privacy Statement and Information Collection
• Annual Web Site Certification

5
Web Policies (Mandatory)

• 2. Links to Organizational Home Page
• Policy Any home page maintained by or for a DOC
  organization shall include a link to home page of
  higher organization within its hierarchy
• i.e. OAR must link to NOAA OGP must link to
  OAR
• Purpose To establish a series of links that will
  eventually lead the user to the home page of one
  of the organization listed in Policy 1.
• Deadline
• Certification due June 21 annually beginning in
  2001

6
Web Policies (Mandatory)

• Links to DOC Home Page
• Links to Organizational Home Page
• Identification of Web Site Owner
• Web Site Contact Information
• Domain Names
• Web Site Accessibility
• Privacy of Visitors
• Privacy Statement and Information Collection
• Annual Web Site Certification

7
Web Policies (Mandatory)

• 3. Identification of Web Site Owner
• Policy All DOC web pages shall identify the Web
  site owner
• Policy does not spell out how or where on the
  page the identifier should appear
• Purpose To identify the DOC organization that
  manages the Web site
• Deadline
• August 11, 2000

8
Web Policies (Mandatory)

• Links to DOC Home Page
• Links to Organizational Home Page
• Identification of Web Site Owner
• Web Site Contact Information
• Domain Names
• Web Site Accessibility
• Privacy of Visitors
• Privacy Statement and Information Collection
• Annual Web Site Certification

9
Web Policies (Mandatory)

• 4. Web Site Contact Information
• Policy Every Web site of a DOC organization
  shall provide an e-mail address for comments,
  inquiries, and accessibility issues
• Purpose To ensure that users of DOC Web sites
  are provided a way to contact the organization
• Deadline
• Original Implementation August 11, 2000
• Accessibility Amendments June 21, 2001

10
Web Policies (Mandatory)

• Links to DOC Home Page
• Links to Organizational Home Page
• Identification of Web Site Owner
• Web Site Contact Information
• Domain Names
• Web Site Accessibility
• Privacy of Visitors
• Privacy Statement and Information Collection
• Annual Web Site Certification

11
Web Policies (Mandatory)

• 5. Domain Names
• Policy All new Web sites of DOC organizations
  shall have .gov as the top level domain. Within
  one year of the adoption of this policy, all
  existing Web sites shall have .gov as the top
  level domain
• Purpose To ensure that the public can easily
  recognize DOC Web sites as U.S. Government sites
  and to ensure that DOC Web sites are indexed by
  FirstGov.gov search engine
• Deadline
• February 8, 2002

12
Web Policies (Mandatory)

• Links to DOC Home Page
• Links to Organizational Home Page
• Identification of Web Site Owner
• Web Site Contact Information
• Domain Names
• Web Site Accessibility
• Privacy of Visitors
• Privacy Statement and Information Collection
• Annual Web Site Certification

13
Web Policies (Mandatory)

• 6. Web Site Accessibility
• Policy All new Web sites of DOC organizations
  shall be designed to ensure that members of the
  public with disabilities, and Federal employees
  with disabilities, have access to, and use of,
  information and data that is comparable to the
  access and use available to persons who do not
  have disabilities, unless an undue burden would
  be imposed on the agency. (Section 508 36 CFR
  1194.22)
• Purpose Incorporating 36 CFR 1194.22 as a DOC
  Web policy ensures that DOC organizations will
  certify the accessibility of their Web sites
  under Annual Web Site Certification Policy and
  provides a framework for the Department to
  provide guidance to DOC organizations attempting
  to make their Web sites accessible.
• Deadline
• Immediate
• Web pages posted before June 21, 2001 are
  grandfathered however, DOC organizations are
  encouraged to make all pages compliant

14
Web Policies (Mandatory)

• Links to DOC Home Page
• Links to Organizational Home Page
• Identification of Web Site Owner
• Web Site Contact Information
• Domain Names
• Web Site Accessibility
• Privacy of Visitors
• Privacy Statement and Information Collection
• Annual Web Site Certification

15
Web Policies (Mandatory)

• 7. Privacy of Visitors
• Policy It is the policy of the Department of
  Commerce (DOC) to respect the privacy of visitors
  to Web sites of Department of Commerce
  organizations to the maximum extent possible
  consistent with law.
• Privacy Statement and Persistent Cookies
• Purpose To assure members of the public that
  their privacy will be respected when they view
  Web sites of Department of Commerce organizations
• Deadline
• Immediate

16
Web Policies (Mandatory)

• 7. Privacy of Visitors Privacy Statement
• Major points of entry and any page where
  information is collected on any Department of
  Commerce organization's Web site shall include a
  clearly identifiable link to the Privacy
  Statement, which shall be labeled either "Privacy
  Statement" or "Privacy Notice." The Privacy
  Statement shall identify the information
  collection practices of the site with regard to
  the following elements, if applicable
• the kinds of information collected, how long
  the information is retained, how it is used, the
  conditions under which the information may be
  shared, who it might be shared with, the
  conditions under which the information may be
  made available to the public, and whether
  information is collected from children.
• In addition, the Privacy Statement shall
  specifically address
• how email is handled, and the use of "cookies"
  and the extent to which information gathered
  through the use of "cookies" is safeguarded.

17
Web Policies (Mandatory)

• 7. Privacy of Visitors Persistent Cookies
• It is the policy of the Department to prohibit
  the use of persistent cookies on Department of
  Commerce Web sites except where there is a
  compelling need there are appropriate safeguards
  in place the use is personally approved by the
  Secretary of Commerce and there is clear and
  conspicuous notice to the public.
• Approval Process Before using a persistent
  cookie on any Department of Commerce Web site,
  the Web site owner must submit an Approval
  Request to the Secretary of Commerce through the
  Web site owner's CIO and the Department's Chief
  Information Officer.
• Since the Approval Request may divulge methods
  used in safeguarding information it should always
  be marked as "For Official Use Only"

18
Web Policies (Mandatory)

• Links to DOC Home Page
• Links to Organizational Home Page
• Identification of Web Site Owner
• Web Site Contact Information
• Domain Names
• Web Site Accessibility
• Privacy of Visitors
• Privacy Statement and Information Collection
• Annual Web Site Certification

19
Web Policies (Mandatory)

• 8. Annual Web Site Certification
• Policy The CIOs listed in Policy 1 shall
  annually certify to the Department's CIO that all
  Web sites of their organization comply with the
  Department's Web policies. If any deficiencies
  exist, the CIO shall provide a plan to bring the
  Web sites into compliance. The Department's CIO
  will determine whether the proposed approach is
  acceptable, and retains the authority to shut
  down any site for non-compliance.
• Purpose To ensure that Web sites of Department
  of Commerce organizations comply with Department
  Web policies
• Deadline
• Certification is due in April of each year

20
Web Policies (Proposed)

• Content Management Policy
• Endorsement Disclaimer Policy

21
Web Policies (Proposed)

• 9. Content Management Policy
• Policy Web sites of DOC organizations shall be
  related to the mission, goals, and objectives of
  the Department and be subject to appropriate
  management controls
• It is imperative that Web content be overseen
  by management to ensure its quality, relevance to
  the agency's mission, and that it is delivered in
  a usable and accessible form. The head of each
  DOC organization is ultimately responsible for
  the content on Web sites of his or her
  organization and for its delivery. Therefore,
  managers should consider establishing guidelines
  for the approval of Web content and its delivery.
• Purpose to ensure and maximize the quality of
  information on DOC Web sites
• Deadline
• Immediate

22
Web Policies (Proposed)

• Content Management Policy
• Endorsement Disclaimer Policy

23
Web Policies (Proposed)

• 10. Endorsement Disclaimer Policy
• Policy All DOC Web sites shall have a disclaimer
  stating that links to non-Federal Government Web
  sites do not imply endorsement of any particular
  product, service, organization, company,
  information provider, or content.
• The decision on where to place the disclaimer
  and the exact wording is left up to the
  individual Operating Units. It could be on a
  separate page linked to from the home page,
  adjacent to the link itself, or handled in any
  number of ways. However, it must be clear to the
  Web site visitor that no Department of Commerce
  endorsement is implied.
• Purpose to ensure that visitors to DOC Web sites
  know that links do not imply endorsement
• Deadline
• Thirty days following approval of this policy by
  the Department's CIO.

24
Web Best Practices (Recommended)

• Identification of Content Source
• Process in Support of the Annual Web Site
  Certification
• Testing Web Site Accessibility for Persons with
  Disabilities
• Making Public Pages Easy to Find
• Internet Use Policy
• PDF
• GIF Licensing

25
Web Best Practices (Recommended)

• Identification of Content Source
• Best Practice If the source of the content of a
  Web page of a Department of Commerce organization
  is not the "Web site owner," the source of the
  content should be identified
• Purpose To identify the source of the content
  when it is not the same as the Web site owner.

26
Web Best Practices (Recommended)

• Process in Support of the Annual Web Site
  Certification
• Best Practice DOC CIOs should maintain a list
  of their organizations' Web sites and have in
  place a process designed to support annual
  certification so that as new Web sites are
  launched and existing Web sites are modified,
  ongoing compliance with Department Web site
  policies is maintained.

27
Web Best Practices (Recommended)

• Testing Web Site Accessibility for Persons with
  Disabilities
• Best Practice All DOC organizations should
  establish a policy and procedures for testing
  their Web sites for compliance with Web Policy 6
  (on Accessibility).
• Purpose To help CIOs and Department of Commerce
  organizations ensure that DOC Web sites comply
  with Web Policy 6 and to support the Annual Web
  Site Certification Policy.

28
Web Best Practices (Recommended)

• Making Public Web Pages Easy to Find
• Best Practice All DOC organizations should use
  HTML title tags and appropriate meta tags to make
  their Web pages easier to find by Web search
  engines and should consider submission to the
  major search engines.
• Purpose To make DOC Web sites easy to find

29
Web Best Practices (Recommended)

• PDF
• GIF Licensing