10.1 Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to establish standardization and accessibility requirements for the Department of Veterans Services’ (DVS) web site.
10.2 References
This policy was developed in accordance with the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA) Web Site Policy ITRM Policy GOV105-00, and follows the guidelines and established by Virginia.gov for the Commonwealth of Virginia’s (the Commonwealth) web sites. The policy also is subject to the web site accessibility provisions of Va. Code § 2.2-3500.
10.3 Responsibility
The Director of Communications is responsible for the application of this policy.
10.4 Interpretation
The Webmaster is responsible for the interpretation of this policy.
10.5 Accessibility Guidelines
The DVS web site shall conform to the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) guidelines established by the World Wide Web Consortium known as W3C, an organization that maintains web standards and best practices.
10.6 Accessibility Requirements – General
DVS web site accessibility requirements shall be as follows:
- Level “A” Validation – the DVS web site must pass the WAI Level A validation (WAI Guidelines Level 1, Version 2).
- Site Title – the DVS web site shall provide appropriate and descriptive <TITLE> and <META> tags to allow both assistive technology and search engines to accurately access the site’s title, description and other information.
- Frames – the use of Frames within the DVS web site design template is prohibited.
- Equivalent Versions – the DVS web site shall provide equivalent versions for multimedia elements that can be read aloud using assistive technology.
- Color Usage – the DVS web site shall ensure that foreground and background color combinations provide sufficient contrast when viewed by someone having color deficits or when viewed on a black and white screen.
- Font Types – fonts used in the DVS web site should be selected only from the following choices:
Sans-serif should be used as the default backup font for non-PC systems that may not have Arial, Tahoma or Verdana installed.
10.7 Accessibility Requirements – Navigation and Design
At a minimum, the DVS web site must link to a web policy addressing the following components:
- Disclaimer – the DVS web site may contain links to or data from other, non-state web sites. When linking to another site, the DVS privacy components of this policy do not apply. DVS does not endorse any products or services linked from or supplied to its web site. In addition, some Virginia state agencies may have policies specific to their agency that augment or supersede this policy. While the DVS web site is intended to provide current and accurate information, neither DVS nor any of its employees, agents, agencies or officers can warranty the accuracy of information contained on the site and shall not be held liable for any losses caused on the reliance of information provided. Reliance upon information contained on these sites is done at the user’s risk.
The Disclaimer also must caution users on the following considerations:
- Use of Cookies – the DVS web site shall not use cookies to store information. Cookies are text files stored on a computer than enhance the usability of a particular web site. A cookie can store information on a web site that will show if a user has visited it before and can pass short bits of information from the web site back to itself the next time one visits. Any information, including personal information, provided at a site may be stored in a cookie. Users’ web browsers can be configured to refuse cookies or to notify them when a web site attempts to send them a cookie. Cookie files also may be found and deleted from users’ computer hard drives.
- Linking to other web sites – permission to link to the DVS web site is not required, but such links may not present Commonwealth web pages within frames. In addition, the web page users link to may change without notice. Sites linking to Commonwealth web pages should periodically verify those links for accuracy. In the course of providing the best service to the public, the DVS web site may provide links to content not controlled by DVS. In such cases, the link must meet one of the following criteria:
- Link leads to a site owned by the federal government, a state government or a local government. The extension of the URL (e.g., .org, .com) does not preclude a site from being linked to, as long as the site is under the ownership of one of the entities noted.
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- Link leads to a non-profit or non-partisan organization. The extension of the URL (e.g., .org, .com) does not preclude a site from being linked to, as long as the site is under the ownership of the approved entity.
- Link leads to additional information about government services.
- Link leads to a web site owned by an entity that has a contractual relationship with the Commonwealth of Virginia.
- No endorsement is intended or made of any link, product, service or information, either by its inclusion or exclusion from the DVS web site. DVS is not responsible for the content of web sites not controlled by it, nor does the Commonwealth’s privacy statement apply to external sites. Use of information obtained from such web sites is voluntary and should be independently verified.
– Privacy – personal privacy of individuals visiting the DVS web site shall be maintained, and personal information shall not be recorded, unless individuals choose to provide it. However, DVS does gather and store certain information about individuals’ visits to the web site automatically, but not personally identifying information. This information shall be limited to:
- The IP address (a number automatically assigned to users’ computers inorder to browse the web) and Internet domain (e.g., "company.com" for commercial organizations; or "school.edu" for schools and universities);
- The type of browser and operating system used to access the DVS web site;
- The date and time the DVS web site was accessed;
- The pages visited; and
- If the DVS web site was accessed through a link from another web site, the address of that web site.
This information is used to track site usage and user technology. This information in turn helps DVS make its site more useful to visitors. The information in DVS web logs is not personally viewable, and no attempt is made to link it with the individuals that browse its web site.
- Web site accessibility statement – DVS is committed to making its web site accessible according to the accessibility standards set forth by VITA. To improve the accessibility of its web site, DVS shall ensure that any major redesign or redevelopment conforms to these standards. DVS shall strive to achieve the highest level of accessibility.
- Plug-ins – the following plug-ins are acceptable for use with the DVS web site:
- Navigation Trail – a “bread crumb” navigation aid must be used in the DVS web site design template and must be placed in the designated area.
- Banner Image – if DVS creates its own banner image for use in the design template, it should be 50 pixels high and able to accommodate screen resolutions up to 1024.
- Content Sections – the two center content sections of the DVS design template may be merged into one large content section.
- Number of Navigation Links – no more than twelve main navigation links may be on the DVS home page left navigation, and VITA must approve exceptions to this requirement prior to the implementation of any site redesign.
- Agency Name – the DVS agency name shall be visible in the header space of the web site when the page is printed.
10.8 Portal Requirements
The DVS web site portal requirements shall be as follows:
- Customer-Centric Approach – the DVS web site information should be organized in the way citizens and businesses would intuitively seek it, using a customer-centric approach.
- Portal Standard-Link to My Virginia Portal – the DVS web site shall have a link to the My Virginia portal on its home page.
- Portal Standard-P3P Compliance – The DVS web site shall be P3P compliant.
- Portal Standard-Electronic Notification – If DVS post mails information to citizens to inform them of issues or actions, DVS shall offer the opportunity for citizens and businesses to request an online method of notification of the same information.
- Portal Standards-Search – the DVS web site shall provide citizens the opportunity to search for forms, services and other information within the agency webpage.
10.9 Template Requirements
DVS shall adhere to the provisions of the Virginia Strategic Plan, which calls for a common look and feel of all agency web sites to assist users in orienting themselves to a “one government” approach to Commonwealth services.
The DVS web site design template shall conform to the Commonwealth of Virginia template established by the VITA Web Design Advisory Committee.
The DVS web site design template shall encompass and implement each of the following standards:
- WAI Level A or better accessibility;
- Use current research in usable design; and
- Use current research in human engineering trends.
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