By Katherine H. Crawford, ONR Corporate Strategic Communications
ARLINGTON, Va. - An international provider of Web content and portal solutions announced Feb. 1 that the Office of Naval Research (ONR) was named the best government website in its North American Site of the Year for 2011 contest.
As part of its annual recognition for organizations leveraging its technology, Sitecore recognized ONR for developing and launching an outstanding Web presence in fall 2009. ONR partnered with McLean, Va.-based NavigationArts to re-architect and rebrand its command site, improve the user experience and lend technological polish to the command's business portal.
"We wanted a 'front door' that was more in sync with the type of sophisticated technology that ONR develops and engages in and with every day," said Dr. Walter F. Jones, ONR's executive director.
The update is designed to harness the power of digital media to effectively and efficiently articulate the Navy's portfolio of science and technology investments, research and funding opportunities, domestic and international collaborations, and education and outreach initiatives.
ONR's website reaches a broad and diverse audience, including 1,035 institutions of higher learning and 914 industry partners. The new site has succeeded in better meeting customers' needs, and it has demonstrably altered visitor behavior. In all measured areas - number of visits, number of page views, pages viewed per visit and average time on site - traffic has increased since ONR unveiled its modern design.
During the redesign process, ONR spent months gathering feedback as well as using surveys and focus groups to ensure users' needs came first. ONR focused on facilitating intuitive navigation, content organization and search against a slick digital backdrop. The site's new Sitecore platform supports this goal, providing many infrastructure upgrades that allow greater flexibility in content display and publishing.
"By investing in our website, we're investing in our ability to expand the scientific dialogue that supports future naval capabilities," Jones said.
The portal will evolve through future additions and enhancements. Currently, the science and technology provider for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps is also exploring real-time funding awards announcements; a redesign of its K-12 Focus educational portal, which promotes science, technology, engineering and mathematics; an enhanced mobile platform and applications, or apps, designed for mobile devices and more.
The annual Sitecore Site of the Year awards recognize organizations that utilize Sitecore's technology to develop an outstanding Web presence and to deliver an engaging online experience. Nominations are judged on creativity; integration with rich data sources and applications; the ability to engage, educate and motivate an action; and the overall user experience the site is able to deliver to its visitors.