Skip to main content

Process and Approvals

To maintain the quality and consistency of the NREL.gov website, all new content must be reviewed and approved by the Communications and Public Affairs Office.

This approval process ensures that all parts of the public-facing NREL.gov website meet standards for:

  • Branding
  • Content
  • Usability
  • Searchability
  • Accessibility.

Step 1. Approval Request

The first step in the process is to work with your communications representative to define the purpose of the new NREL.gov site or section, identify the target audience, and provide a brief summary of the content and scope.

Approval Checkpoint

Request approval from the NREL.gov enterprise manager for the following:

Once your request is approved, you may move to the next step.

Step 2. Project Development

Your communications representative will help scope out the project, clearly defining the goals and expected outcomes. The scope will include a budget and schedule and define the roles of team members. Depending on the project requirements, your team may include a variety of web specialists (usability, analytics, graphic designer, web writer, developer, application specialist, search engine optimization specialist, information architect, etc.) who will bring their expertise to your project. It's strongly recommended that you incorporate background research and a user-centered design approach to ensure that your web project meets the needs of its intended audience.

Step 3. Go-Live Approval

Approval Checkpoint

You must obtain enterprise manager approval prior to sending your site live.

Your communications representative will coordinate the the quality assurance (QA) review and go-live process. Review the NREL.gov QA checklist. The NREL web team will perform a technical QA to ensure that requirements are met. Your site will be reviewed to ensure it meets quality and editorial standards as well.

Step 4. Marketing and Maintenance

Once the site is live, consider developing a marketing plan for your site that includes promotion of your content and measurement using analytics.

It is important that information on NREL.gov is accurate and up-to-date. NREL.gov sites must meet minimum requirements for maintenance. Please incorporate the following requirements into your overall maintenance plan and budget.

Maintenance Requirements

NREL.gov site owners must perform regular maintenance on sites to ensure that information provided to users is current, credible, and reliable.

The NREL.gov website maintenance template outlines the minimum maintenance requirements. Every site on NREL.gov is required to implement a maintenance plan.

An important part of maintaining a credible web presence is archiving sites in a timely manner when the website has completed its purpose or is no longer maintained. Please  plan for the entire life cycle of your web content, including archiving when the time comes.

Share