FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, June 29, 2007
CONTACT:
NIDDK Office of Communications and Public Liaison
301–496–3583
Dynamic graphics and an enhanced layout define the redesigned website launched today by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).
Although the look and feel of the site will be more appealing to visitors, the quality and fundamental architecture of information remains stable for longtime users of the site. Changes to www.niddk.nih.gov include
- colorful graphics that help convey the NIDDK’s science and public health mission
- a new layout that more easily steers scientific and lay audiences to appropriate information
- new features that highlight timely and sought-after news and events
“Our new design should save researchers, health professionals, and the public valuable time finding important scientific and consumer health information,” said NIDDK Director Griffin P. Rodgers, M.D. “We are continually striving to make our resources more readily available to a wider audience and in the latest formats. The website plays a key role in helping to disseminate this information.”
The newest features are the second phase of a three-part plan to revamp the entire NIDDK website to improve overall use and access. In September 2006, the NIDDK expanded the grant application section, redesigned the health education section for the public, and added new “scientific areas” to help researchers find funding and other opportunities more easily.
Primary goals driving the redesign effort are to
- integrate and unify the underpinning architecture
- create features that expand the site’s usefulness to all NIDDK audiences
- migrate all content to a content management system
- distribute website ownership and maintenance to primary content providers
- design an appealing and communicative graphic user interface
The last phase of the redesign, expected in late 2007, will include adding multimedia content and more data-driven tools, such as an automated event calendar and organizational chart to make finding staff contact information easier. Professional and NIDDK web staff will have new, interactive, electronic tools to keep content current.
The NIDDK website, which receives nearly 2 million visits per month, scored an 83 out of 100 possible points on the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) for March to June 2007, making it a top-performing site. The ACSI measures the performance of about 200 private-sector companies and many government agencies. Visitors rate government websites on various components of overall satisfaction, such as ease of search and navigation, look and feel, functionality, and content. Ratings are converted to a score on a 100-point scale using ACSI methodology.
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