Project Evolve: Another Step Forward
Written by Andrew Wilson – SAMHSA’s Office of Communications
Today, we are posting a first draft of what the new SAMHSA.gov home page might look like. Obviously, this is very much a work in progress. There is no functionality, significant design changes are still pending and the test is largely a placeholder. However, important changes are included in the prototype and these reflect SAMHSA’s commitment to including our stakeholders as an integral part of the web development process.
Changes and How You Helped Shaped Them
Based on numerous feedback sessions with visitors to the SAMHSA site, we are proposing some significant changes. These include:
- Improved Navigation: This past November, when we launched Project Evolve, we asked for volunteers to participate in an online “cardsort” exercise designed to help us better understand how the information on SAMHSA’s website should be organized. The response was tremendous with almost 500 individuals completing the exercise. The new top navigation on the page directly reflects insight from the card sort and subsequent usability testing.
- Alternative Ways to Find What You Need: Another clear outcome from the recent testing was that visitors to our site want to find information categorized by audience as well as by topic. The draft page has a new section that would allow visitors to find behavioral health information organized to reflect their personal or professional role.
- A “Cleaner” site: There is a lot of information on the current SAMHSA.gov home page. Fewer choices that better align with the needs of our visitors is a message that we heard consistently during our testing.
Tell us What You Think
The development of a new website is a process and we are still near the beginning. The draft of the new SAMHSA.gov home page is merely another step along the way where we can engage with and listen to our stakeholders. We are asking everyone to take a look at the prototype and answer the question “What is Missing?” on our feedback forum site. We want to know what is most important to you when you come to the SAMHSA.gov home page. This information will be invaluable as we continue along the development process and begin to consider where and how information or services should be emphasized on the site, so please consider participating.
If you have questions about the process, feel free to drop a comment on the post and we will respond as soon as we can. However, we are asking everyone to address the “What is Missing?” question on the forum to help better structure the conversation and feedback.
Great job! I really like the redesigned Website. It seems that it will be very easy to navigate.
I think the new page is very good.But i would like to see a bright invitation for those in desperate suicidal need to contact without having to go through lots of words helen
Looks clean and well thought out, I would suggest a link to Correctional Professionals such as, http://nicic.gov/.
I’m a parents, a student, and in recovery for more than 25 years and been in 12 step & tradition programs for 26+ years. I’ve been In overeaters Program 9 years with a 237+ lb weight loss, its not just vanity buy sanity. I feel there needs to be a category for recovery. If not make a student category people can see who is entering the field, and for recovering addicts, alchoholics, ect. A lot of us have much experience and much to offer.
I like it,,,, simple, eye catching, easy to find what I’m looking for…. it’s what I need when I’m going to a home webpage.
If a counselor can ask for help from other professionals and gain insight on problems and solutions for the user would be good. Also, the professionals need more places to write their experences that can help others besides professional publications would be nice. The informtion I see looks great, I would have to find time to read and use the system.
I like the look of the proposed home page. It appears easy to read and navigate.
SAMHSA, it appears to me, has a growing insensitivity to rural America. Whether it be as a category on the new web site or with the complexity of grant applications. Rural American seems to be being squeezed out by this insensitivity and complexity while issues in rural areas are becoming more and more acute. Rethinking of how SAMHSA responds to the needs of rural American needs to occur.
I like this format, it’s clean, easy to read and alot of options. As a parent, it looks like it covers everything I would need even in a crisis.
The updates are appealing and easier to read for information.
it is like a very good index. lots less searching to get where i am going
Good that seeking help is easy to find at the top of the page. Perhaps could drop “disorders” and just put Conditions & Substances. Great to see “recovery” with prevention and treatment; and prevention being proactive rather than reactive. Also good to see suicide prevention prominently displayed. Improvement in that can search by family member vs. professional. The only thing missing would be elimination of stigma and how to sign up for advocacy action alerts.
How about an “I am a consumer” option?
nothing that I can see. It looks more user friendly to me. I like the hyper links.. It’s a go with me..
I am a Prevention Specialist. Would be a helpful tag.
It would be great if there would be a psychologist / counselors who are available to receive clients, or have a referral system in place that is always updated. I ran into a couple of situations where I referred a person to a psychologist and the psychologist said they would NOT talk to anything connected with suicide.