The NYC Digital Standard

This list, the NYC Digital Standard, gives you the minimum requirements to make user-focused, secure, and accessible digital products for the City of New York.

If you have questions about how best to follow these steps, reach out to the Digital Blueprint team.

• Design around New Yorkers’ needs

  • Identify your specific audience(s) and their needs and base your product around them
  • Test new products with at least five New Yorkers
  • Continue to evaluate and test products after they launch

• Connect with New Yorkers responsibly

  • Follow security procedures set by the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT)
  • Know and adhere to the City’s social media policies

• Meet New Yorkers where they are

  • Design your websites to be mobile responsive
  • Know how online initiatives connect to offline services

• Make your products accessible to all New Yorkers

  • Follow the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA, the City’s standard requirements for web accessibility
  • Use plain language
  • Enable translation for all public websites and apps

• Get New Yorkers what they need as efficiently as possible

  • Research existing services or tools and avoid duplication
  • When possible, use open source tools and share your own code on the City’s official GitHub account

• Measure success based on New Yorkers’ feedback

  • Identify and measure key performance indicators
  • Review and revise your content regularly to make sure it’s up-to-date and functional

Extra Credit

• Help foster a culture of New Yorker-centered digital service

  • Advocate for accessible content and design on all of your projects
  • Give us feedback on this project so we can make it better