How to make the user experience consistent

This page has guidance for project teams designing and building digital services so they can meet Digital Service Standard #13. 

When we talk about providing users with a consistent user journey we mean people should:

• recognize a government digital service by how it looks; and 
• understand how the digital service functions. 

Recognizing a government digital service

The elements we use to ensure consistency include: branding, domain names and design patterns and components. These elements work together to ensure users recognize a Government of Yukon digital service and they understand they can trust using it. 

Understanding how digital services function

The elements we use to ensure digital services function similarly include: content standards and online design patterns. 

Elements to use to create a consistent user journey

The user journey starts on Yukon.ca

The user journey must always start on Yukon.ca. This is where citizens go when they want to access the government's digital services. To ensure the service appears in search, teams will create a Yukon.ca bridge page. This provides users with a consistent, trusted launch point to access these services. 

The bridge page is where we point users to in advertisements.

Domain names

Most of the government's digital services fall under the yukon.ca domain, but there may be exceptions. For all digital services under the yukon.ca domain we've developed patterns they must use for consistency. These patterns depend on where the service resides or is hosted. 

Implementing the Yukon.ca Design System

The Yukon.ca Design System is how we apply the government's brand to digital services. Unless they have a brand exception, teams must work with eServices to ensure they’ve applied the design system correctly. We do this to ensure constency in how all digital services look. 

Online design patterns and components

eServices has a library of online design patterns and components that should be applied to all digital services. Teams should work with eServices to identify which ones to implement for their specific service.

Content standards

Teams should have a plan to make sure they follow the applicable content standards. Depending on the project, this will include the following.

• Identifying a team member responsible to lead content compliance work.
• Applying the government’s standard to the name of the digital service.
• Following the Style Guide, writing for the web and reading grade level standards.
• Following the writing specific for online design patterns.
• Applying the government’s forms standards for content.