NOAA Web Modernization

Goals: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration initiated a digital transformation program several years ago and NOAA Fisheries (a division within the larger agency) contracted with Mobomo to lead their modernization efforts which were focused primarily on driving user engagement using human-centered design, improved site architecture, and modern, open-source technologies supporting that architecture.

Requirements: Achieving this goal required the consolidation of 16 disparate websites and migration of the content from these sites into a single resource that would be mobile ready, easy to navigate, and intuitive for a broad spectrum of users. The new site was to be delivered on an AWS/Acquia cloud-hosted enterprise Drupal platform to ensure a flexible environment where resources could be provisioned in real-time to address fluctuations in traffic and user demand. Redesign of the site would require a rigorous UX/UI design process to improve the content, efficiencies in content management, consistency in branding, and the establishment of a unifying “voice” representative of the entire NOAA ecosystem.

Outcomes: Mobomo delivered NOAA Fisheries redesigned website within 12 months (on time and on budget). We enhanced usability for NOAA Fisheries customers through improved information architecture, web content, and the addition of complex search features so users are able to find the information they need/want more efficiently. Our design experts continuously measured the user experience and made modifications as needed. The elegant, responsive design is built to accommodate an increasing number of customers using mobile devices, utilizes best practices for website design, and content that complies with plain language standards and good web writing practices. Our team implemented the COPE (create once publish everywhere) content strategy to maximize content syndication across the websiteand eliminated redundant pages and duplicative efforts.

The work we did developing Fisheries’ new site increased the overall ASCI rating from 65 to over 80, spiked overall traffic by about 145% and ramped mobile traffic to 50%. What’s more, 85% of visitors say they would recommend the NOAA Fisheries website, 90% return and 94% say information is easy to find. NOAA Fisheries was so satisfied with the work Mobomo performed during this contract that, Team Mobomo (Mobomo and U.Group) was recently awarded a new five-year contract that expands the enterprise Drupal platform to support additional websites within the NOAA portfolio. Additionally, the high-quality work we delivered resulted in two Vega Digital Awards (2020), a 2019 Webby Award, a 2019 Silver Winner W3 Award, a 2018 Acquia Award, and a 2018 Muse Creative Award.