Digital Communications

The Digital Communications Division (DCD), part of the office of the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs (ASPA), leads the development and review of HHS Web content, social media, and supporting technologies. This Digital Communications sub-site (HHS.gov/web) is a resource for HHS employees and contractors who are responsible for building and maintaining the Department’s digital presence.

Feature: HHS.gov Reimagined

Rethought. Restructured. Reimagined.

Access this video with audio description on YouTube.

The new HHS.gov is guided by mobile-first thinking and informed by extensive research. “Mobile-first” means more than simply incorporating responsive design. It’s a whole new mindset. Until now, we have typically built websites for desktop display and then adapted them for mobile devices. Mobile-first means designing and building the site for mobile devices first, taking into account not only the mobile platforms, but also the mobile experience—how people interface with the site, how they look for content, and what they expect from the experience.

The new HHS.gov is a mobile-first responsive design with a powerful smart search, increased opportunities for engagement, and structured content that enables dynamic reuse. The streamlined tile navigation is clear and intuitive, and we moved the most important content—the “bite,” up to the top of every page. We eliminated 154,000 outdated files to drastically improve start-to-finish times on tasks. And we organized content by topic so you won’t need to know, for example, that for HIPAA information, you need to find the Office for Civil Rights section.

The May 2015 launch is the first of several phases of “Project H.” The redesign is a work in progress, with three more releases planned this year. In those upcoming releases, we will continue to post updates and share resources here on HHS.gov/web. Want to help out the Project H team? Let us know what you think about the reimagined website by taking our website feedback survey.

Want to learn more about the reimagining of HHS.gov?

• Read the HHS Blog post, “Welcome to the Reimagined HHS.gov”
• Learn about Project H user personas (DigitalGov)
• Find out how we got started with structured content (DigitalGov)