Government agencies usually get a bad rap when it comes to communication. Government websites are more often described as “boring” or “hard to read” than they are credited as “useful” or “easy to navigate.

But an update for the Consumer Product Safety Council, or CSPC, got it right. The design keeps things simple while it offers multiple options:consumers can choose to get recall notices via email or Twitter, see photos of recalled products on Flickr, watch educational videos on YouTube, and even offer opinions on the agency’s recently redesigned website.

We like it. It’s clean, it works, and the CSPC’s blog even features infographics. We admit we’d like to see a positive spin, but when your job is to highlight dangers inherent in commonly used products, that may be bit much to expect.

Obviously, CPSC isn’t a business; its goal is public information – not sales. However, the site clearly illustrates some website design best practices in action:

• Keep it simple (ease of navigation is the goal of “pretty” design)
• Know your audience and write to them, and
• Make your message available in different ways

If you were redesigning your website, what would you do differently? Would you add landing pages to address customers and prospects at specific stages of the buying cycle?

Sales Renewal works with businesses as well as non-profit and government organizations. About half of our clients come to us for a new website or are in the midst of redesigning a website when they contact us. Others are simply looking for additional features to enhance a site (such as ecommerce solutions) or they recognize it’s time for a mobile site. If you’d like to see your site with fresh eyes, contact us.

~ image credit http://www.cpsc.gov ~