DIR Website Modernization Effort Spurs Agency Follow-Through

The Department of Information Resources (DIR) has reported early agency engagement with its website modernization templates as the state’s effort to improve public-facing websites and digital service portals moves from guidance into implementation.

Chief Experience Officer Endi Silva told the DIR board during its May 21 meeting that 27 agencies had requested more information about the templates the agency has produced for the modernization effort. DIR also hosted a lunch and learn that drew more than 200 attendees from state agencies and institutions of higher education.

The work is tied to House Bill 5195, passed during the 89th legislative session, which requires state agencies and institutions of higher education to assess their websites and digital service portals and identify ways to improve accessibility, navigation, usability and digital service efficiency.

DIR launched a website modernization hub earlier this year to centralize guidance, tools and implementation resources for agencies working through those requirements. The page was designed to support agencies from initial assessment through ongoing website management and connects the modernization work to information collected through the 2026 Information Resources Deployment Review.

Silva said DIR is using information submitted through the 2026 review to produce a report to the Legislature on the status of agencies' digital modernization efforts as required under HB 5195.

The agency has published templates that agencies can download and customize in their own environments while preserving agency branding. Silva said DIR is working on CSS versions of the templates so components can be more easily downloaded by agencies that are ready to begin modernization work.

DIR previously told agencies they are required to review the templates, but do not have to use them if their current websites already meet the law’s requirements. That earlier guidance also positioned the templates as a starting point for agency and vendor conversations rather than a required full rebuild. DIR described the framework as platform-agnostic and discussed implementation approaches involving static HTML, Drupal, WordPress and React.

The board update also pointed to continued demand for DIR’s accessibility resources. Silva said DIR’s statewide digital accessibility program provides resources for state agencies, local entities and the public, including an email list, Microsoft Teams community and regular office hours.

The program’s Microsoft Teams community had 504 members last quarter, up 68 from the previous quarter. Monthly accessibility coffee chats are averaging more than 124 attendees, and 57 agencies are participating in DIR’s web scanning program, which has scanned about 15,000 pages and 7,700 PDFs across 81 agency websites.