Senators are responsible for representing the interests of every resident of their state, but when the median state population is around 4 million, keeping residents informed of and engaged in the activities of the Senator and developments in Congress is a huge challenge. Senators Bingaman, Boxer, Hutchison, and Leahy are using their timely, well-targeted, informative, and user-friendly Web sites to overcome the challenge and help them better communicate with and serve their constituents and other target audiences.

Senators Bingaman and Leahy were among the first Members of Congress to have their offices post Web sites. They are from New Mexico and Vermont, respectively - not the most populous or most "wired" of states - but they both saw early on how the Web could help them perform their duties more effectively. As early adopters of the Internet, these offices were proving grounds for the use of the Web in the Senate. Through trial and error, they have learned how to use their Web sites to provide the content and services their constituents need and to communicate their legislative priorities and accomplishments effectively. And, in part due to their long-standing emphasis on their Web sites, these two offices are among the few whose Web sites also were listed among the best Web Sites on Capitol Hill in the 1999 report Building Web Sites Constituents Will Use.

In contrast, Senators Boxer and Hutchison represent two of the largest and most populous states in America - California and Texas - and both states have high percentages of Internet users. Since Internet use is so prevalent among their constituents, it made sense for these Senators to use their Web sites as tools to communicate with them. And because their Web sites can contain vast amounts of information, they can be more responsive to their diverse audiences than ever before possible. By providing their audiences with greater access to resources targeted to their needs and interests, these Senators can communicate with - and hear from - far greater numbers of their constituents online than is possible off line.

All four of these offices understand the benefits of providing outstanding Web sites that meet the specific needs of their seekers and build relationships with their recruits.

Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)

From the first click it is clear that Senator Bingaman's Web site was designed with its audiences solidly in mind. The site not only provides the information and services its audiences need, it also tries to anticipate questions and provide the answers and information visitors need when they need it.

Everything, from the language to the special features, seems geared to be welcoming and helpful to the residents of New Mexico, the Senator's key audience. Additionally, through a variety of innovative means, the site helps its different audiences easily identify the content most relevant to them. For example, a prominent map of New Mexico on the home page provides visitors from throughout New Mexico with one-click access to recent press releases relevant to where they live. There are also different sections targeted to the needs of specific audience groups - first time visitors to the site, frequent visitors, students, educators, small business owners, those seeking legislative information, those seeking assistance, and those interested in learning about New Mexico. This enables visitors to identify for themselves the audience into which they fit, and to quickly get to the information that fits their needs. The home page also highlights the features recent visitors most sought in recent months, which enables visitors to quickly find popular information, based on the patterns of previous visitors.

The Senator's Web site also does a remarkable job of understanding where its audiences are liable to become confused or need assistance, and of providing the guidance confused visitors need. For example, the constituent services section has a step-by-step casework guide to help constituents needing assistance with federal agencies. A glossary is provided for those who are not familiar with legislative terms. Answers to frequently asked questions - in the left margins of many pages - ensure that visitors have the information they need when they need it. Detailed pop-up descriptions of photos answer questions about the photos and make it easier for disabled visitors to "see" them with text-based browsers.

Through a clear e-mail policy and guidance about the correspondence procedures of the office, the site also provides assistance to visitors uncertain of how to communicate with them. Clear policies help put the audiences at ease about communicating with the office and ensures that their communications can be processed by the office efficiently. Additionally, the site enables visitors to register to receive e-mail issue updates from the office, so they can keep informed of Senator Bingaman's activities and the critical issues pending in Congress.

Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA)

One of the most striking things about this site is its extensive content. Every section provides detailed content and ample options for accessing the resources and information audiences are seeking. For example, each of the issue sections contains extensive, but very readable, overviews of the issue. Each section also describes the Senator's accomplishments and legislative action in that area and provides links to relevant legislation and information on other Web sites. The feature pages are devoted to timely topics related to special events, such as Earth Day and Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Each feature page provides a discussion of the event and the issue to which it relates, along with links to relevant resources on and off the Senator's Web site.

This Web site also includes a variety of features that emphasize Senator Boxer's commitment to providing for her audiences. For example, there is a Spanish-language section geared to the needs of Spanish-speaking constituents. The site also provides excellent links to California agencies and other resources that constituents can use to get the California-specific information and services they need. A "Spotlight on California" selects a different California Web site each week to highlight.

The site also has an extensive section devoted to an audience that is clearly important to Senator Boxer: children. The kids' page answers questions kids often have about the Senator, Congress, and important national issues. The kids page also provides links to a range of interesting and relevant resources on the Internet that children can use to learn more about Congress, government, and the world.

Californian kids and adults alike are encouraged to interact with the office on and off line. E-mail is welcome, and office e-mail policies are clearly stated in plain view. Visitors can register their views via regular surveys on timely issues on the site. They can also subscribe to receive any or all of the nine e-mail newsletters that the Senator sends. Additionally, the office encourages interaction off line by providing complete office contact information on the home page, and on a contact page that can be accessed from anywhere on the site.

This site was clearly crafted with usability in mind, and it provides a variety of user-friendly features. For example, the information architecture allows visitors to follow clear and logical paths to the information they are seeking. The content was written for the Web, with clear headings, short sentences, and bullets that make pages easy to read or scan. Additionally, most of the pages provide - in the right margins - highlights of relevant resources, which provides one-click access to the new, commonly requested, or topical information audiences want.

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX)

Senator Hutchison's Web site demonstrates the art of usability. It is an easy-to-navigate, no-nonsense Web site that clearly shows the importance of keeping out of the way of the audience. The home page is set up as a portal, with limited text and many links to key information. This makes the site extremely user-friendly because it provides access to a great deal of information with just a few clicks. Additionally, every other page of the site is formatted so a quick scan enables visitors to figure out whether or not the page contains the information they came for. Clear headings, logical organization of information, and real-world terminology help make this possible, as does the spare text on most pages.

It is readily apparent from the site that the office understands the needs of its audiences. The home page provides easy access to targeted information on a wide range of key national issues, services the office provides, Senate and House legislative information, educational information about Congress, information about the Senator, and more. The casework page provides everything a constituent needs to know about casework, but didn't know to ask. It contains a concise, easy to understand explanation of what casework is, information about how to initiate a casework request, and information about the agencies with which the office regularly provides assistance. There are detailed descriptions of the kinds of cases associated with each agency and links to the most relevant pages of the agency's Web site - usually the home page and a frequently asked questions page or assistance page. The site also provides the same kinds of annotated descriptions and direct links on its "Other WWW Sites" page, which helps give visitors a sense of whether the link will take them to the information they seek. These details go a long way toward helping constituents find general information, answer simple questions, and offer basic services that can be provided without staff or agency intervention.

One of the most striking features of this Web site, however, is the issue sections. There are 16 different issue pages - more than are available on almost any other Member Web site - that are clearly chosen with the audience, not the Senator, in mind. Like the home page, each issue page is organized as a portal, with limited text, but abundant links to speeches, press releases, articles, pertinent Web sites, and links to Congressional Research Service issue briefs on the topic. This information is logically organized from most to least recent, so it is easy to use. Through this wide range of information, constituents can learn how the Senator feels about the issue, what she is doing about it, what Congress is doing about it, how to get assistance and services related to it, and where to get an unbiased assessment of it. Few congressional Web sites provide this depth and range of issue information.

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT)

Senator Leahy's Web site puts a human face on Congress. The site is friendly and very audience-focused, yet it provides high-level, detailed, and extensive content about the Senator, issues and legislation, services, and Congress. The site's content is accessible and helpful, and it never assumes that visitors come with all the information they need to understand a particular topic. It provides easy access to a wealth of background and educational information that visitors can choose to read on an as-needed basis.

One of the outstanding aspects of the site is its success in conveying the Senator's key issues and agenda without being too political or self-promotional. It accomplishes this with user-friendly information architecture and content. For example, the home page is formatted so the first thing visitors notice on the site is information about Vermont. Americans read from left to right, so their eyes are drawn to the upper left corner of a Web site, just as they are when reading a book. In this location, Senator Leahy's Web site highlights Vermont and provides links to constituent services just below. This innovative layout immediately conveys that constituents come first. However, the center of the page - the most visible area of the page, but not the first place visitors look - is about Senator Leahy and his legislative agenda.

The issue pages also convey the Senator's agenda in an approachable way. Each of them begins with a brief statement of the Senator's position and accomplishments, followed by an extensive list of links to sources of more information. The resources include links to the Senator's speeches and press releases about the issues, but they also include links to legislation, statements and documents by other Members of Congress, and Web sites that contain content related to the issue. This gives constituents abundant resources to learn what they want to learn about the issues.

Like the issue pages, the constituent services, "office," and press pages all provide detailed content and links targeted specifically to the needs of the audiences of this Web site. Each of these sections is formatted with a user-friendly design that enables visitors to scan the available information. The constituent services page provides information about, and links for assistance with, 11 different casework issues, from immigrations and visas to international adoptions and railroad retirement benefits. The office page provides detailed information about internships, service academy nominations, the Senate page program, and the law clerk program. It also provides "pretty good privacy" (PGP) public key encryption information, so the audience can encrypt their messages to the Senator, if it makes them more comfortable. Finally, the office page provides detailed office contact information, though this information is also found in the footer of every page of the site. The press page provides links to current press releases, which are formatted so that one's eyes are immediately drawn to the topic of the press release, rather than the date. This makes it easy for visitors to scan for topics that interest them. Additionally, the press page provides a searchable archive of past press releases.

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Updated on March 15, 2004