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8 changes: 4 additions & 4 deletions _data/footer.json
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -4,6 +4,10 @@
"title": "About",
"url": "/about"
},
{
"title": "ScanGotBot",
"url": "/bot"
},
{
"title": "People",
"url": "/people"
Expand All @@ -16,10 +20,6 @@
"title": "Press",
"url": "/press"
},
{
"title": "Primer",
"url": "/government-digital-experience"
},
{
"title": "Contact",
"url": "/contact"
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7 changes: 3 additions & 4 deletions _includes/cta.html
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
<div id="cta-section" class="container cta">
<div class="alert alert-info small text-center" role="alert">
<h2 class="display-6">Ready to get started?</h2>
<p class="lead">Schedule a ScanGov demo or sign up today.</p>
<div id="cta-section" class="container">
<div class="alert alert-info text-center mt-5 pb-5" role="alert">
<h2 class="h1 mb-3">Start scanning ...</h2>
<a href="/plans" class="btn btn-primary btn-lg">
<i class="fa-solid fa-rocket me-2" aria-hidden="true"></i>Get started</a>
&nbsp;
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15 changes: 14 additions & 1 deletion _includes/header.html
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Expand Up @@ -108,7 +108,20 @@
<link rel="preload" href="/assets/fonts/public-sans/ttf/PublicSans-Regular.ttf" as="font" type="font/ttf" crossorigin>
{% include "style.html" %}
<script>
document.documentElement.setAttribute('data-bs-theme', window.matchMedia('(prefers-color-scheme: dark)').matches ? 'dark' : 'light');
(function () {
var syncTheme = function () {
var desired = window.matchMedia('(prefers-color-scheme: dark)').matches ? 'dark' : 'light';
if (document.documentElement.getAttribute('data-bs-theme') !== desired) {
document.documentElement.setAttribute('data-bs-theme', desired);
}
};
syncTheme();
window.matchMedia('(prefers-color-scheme: dark)').addEventListener('change', syncTheme);
new MutationObserver(syncTheme).observe(document.documentElement, {
attributes: true,
attributeFilter: ['data-bs-theme']
});
})();
</script>
</head>

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3 changes: 0 additions & 3 deletions _includes/js.html
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -2,9 +2,6 @@
<script src="/js/tablesort-vendor.js"></script>
<script src="/js/tablesort-init.js"></script>
<script>
window.matchMedia('(prefers-color-scheme: dark)').addEventListener('change', e => {
document.documentElement.setAttribute('data-bs-theme', e.matches ? 'dark' : 'light');
});
const toggler = document.querySelector('button.navbar-toggler');
if (toggler) {
toggler.addEventListener('click', function() {
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150 changes: 3 additions & 147 deletions content/about.md
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Expand Up @@ -7,152 +7,8 @@ title: "About"
description: "About ScanGov."
---

## ScanGov
[ScanGov](/) is a digital experience platform that helps organizations monitor, improve, and maintain their websites. We use automated scanning based on [accessibility](/accessibility), [botability](/botability), [security](/security), and [usability](/usability) standards to help teams deliver better online services to their users.

[ScanGov](https://scangov.com/) is a government digital experience platform that helps public agencies monitor, improve, and maintain their websites. The service combines automated scanning with clear guidance to help government teams deliver better online services to the public through standards-based improvements.
We maintain [Project ScanGov](https://scangov.org), [ScanGov Standards](https://standards.scangov.org/), and [ScanGovBot](/bot).

## Context

[Government digital experience](/government-digital-experience) faces unique challenges that private sector tools don't address. Unlike commercial websites, government sites must serve everyone equally, follow strict [accessibility requirements](https://standards.scangov.org/accessibility/), and maintain high [security standards](https://standards.scangov.org/security) while operating under budget constraints.

Digital experience teams and government leaders want to deliver great digital services to the public. However, there's a lot to understand and stay on top of when it comes to technical implementation. ScanGov was built by people who experienced this pain point firsthand. Even teams with years of experience building websites and applications may have blind spots. A seamless way to monitor progress across multiple sites and standards helps keep the team on top of all aspects of digital service delivery.

## The problem

- Citizens struggle with poor experiences
- Government sites fail basic standards
- Digital/IT teams lack holistic monitoring tools
- Agencies focus on low-impact improvements
- Manual audits are time-consuming

## The solution

- Automated scanning across eight key areas
- Real-time monitoring with letter grades
- Impact-based task prioritization
- Pre-built bug reports and GitHub integration
- Public dashboards for transparency

## Why it matters

- Better services mean easier citizen access
- Standardized metrics enable data-driven decisions
- Accessibility compliance ensures equal access
- Security standards protect agencies and public
- Performance improvements reduce costs

## How it's going

The average government digital service receives a [C grade with a 73% score](https://scangov.org/) across more than 1,100 monitored sites. This reveals significant room for improvement in serving the public effectively online.

## Guidance

The [ScanGov guidance](https://standards.scangov.org/guidance/) draws from established public policy, web protocols, and industry best practices to create actionable standards for government websites. This evidence-based approach ensures that recommendations align with government requirements and proven methods rather than generic web advice.

Examples:
- [Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)](https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/quickref/) - Rules for making websites accessible
- [U.S. Web Design System](https://designsystem.digital.gov/) - Improves accessibility, consistency and user experience
- [Google Search Console](https://developers.google.com/search) - Resources to improve site search rankings
- [Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)](https://www.cisa.gov/website-security) - Voluntary, high-impact security practices
- [Core Web Vitals](https://web.dev/vitals/) - Google's speed, interaction, and stability metrics

## Standards

The [ScanGov standards](https://standards.scangov.org/) translate established guidance into specific, measurable requirements for government websites. These standards provide clear benchmarks that help agencies understand exactly what needs to be implemented to improve their digital services.

Examples:
- [Site allows indexing by AI agents](https://standards.scangov.org/text-content/) - Makes content available for search engines and AI systems
- [Page content loads within 2.5 seconds](https://standards.scangov.org/lcp/) - Ensures fast loading times for better user experience
- [Text has sufficient color contrast](https://standards.scangov.org/a11y-color-contrast/) - Improves readability for users with visual impairments
- [Site uses HTTPS encryption](https://standards.scangov.org/https/) - Protects user data with secure connections
- [Links have descriptive text](https://standards.scangov.org/link-text/) - Helps users understand where links lead before clicking

## Holistic digital experience

[ScanGov indicators](https://scangov.com/indicators/) provide comprehensive measurement across eight essential areas that define effective government digital experiences:

- [AI-friendly](https://scangov.com/ai-friendly/): Content structured for AI systems
- [Accessibility](https://scangov.com/accessibility/): Standards for disability compliance
- [Content](https://scangov.com/content/): Information organization and presentation
- [Domain](https://scangov.com/domain/): Proper domain configuration and security
- [Performance](https://scangov.com/performance/): Page loading and response speed
- [SEO](https://scangov.com/seo/): Search engine findability and indexing
- [Security](https://scangov.com/security/): Protection against cyber threats
- [Social](https://scangov.com/social/): Metadata for social media sharing

## Key features

- Multi-site management from single dashboard
- Top-level overview dashboards
- Status monitoring by indicator
- Page-level analysis with detailed scanning
- Prioritized task lists for high-impact fixes
- Pre-populated bug reports for development
- Alert system for critical issues
- Change tracking across digital properties

## Who it's for

Everyone responsible for serving the public.

### Government leaders
- Make data-driven decisions about digital services
- Get clear metrics to prioritize investments
- Track progress on citizen experience improvements

### Digital service teams
- Build better user experiences with insights
- Identify accessibility barriers and performance issues
- Find optimization opportunities across digital properties

### Website managers
- Streamline site management with automated monitoring
- Track compliance and manage content quality
- Coordinate improvements across multiple websites

### IT staff
- Monitor technical performance and security standards
- Get alerts about issues before users affected
- Maintain consistent infrastructure standards

### Third-party vendors
- Deliver services that meet government standards
- Access clear requirements and benchmarks
- Ensure solutions align with public sector needs

### Hosting providers
- Support government clients with specialized expertise
- Understand compliance requirements and performance standards

## Industry recognition

ScanGov supports the [Center for Digital Government's GovX Awards](https://scangov.com/government-experience-awards/), providing the data foundation for identifying leading digital government experiences. As one industry professional noted, the platform's unbiased metrics provide clear direction when prioritizing security and accessibility issues.

## Multi-tiered approach

The platform operates on two levels:
- [ScanGov commercial platform](https://scangov.com/): Paid service with comprehensive tools
- [Project ScanGov](https://scangov.org/): Free public monitor for transparency

## Pricing accessibility

[Plans](https://scangov.com/plans) range from free starter accounts to enterprise solutions, making the platform available to organizations of all sizes. The tiered structure allows agencies to scale their digital experience management as needs grow.

## In the news

- [ScanGov to support judging for 2025 Government Experience Awards](https://scangov.com/news/scangov-to-support-judging-for-2025-government-experience-awards/) - ScanGov News (April 2025)
- [New ScanGov government website security report cards](https://scangov.com/news/new-scangov-government-website-security-report-cards/) - ScanGov News (October 2024)
- ['ScanGov' debuts with digital experience ratings for 50 states](https://statescoop.com/scangov-government-website-tracker-2024/) - StateScoop (May 2024)
- [Government websites are failing at the basics: How to fix them](https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/government-websites-are-failing-at-the-basics-how-to/id1547149248?i=1000656553713) - The Future in Context
- [New Open Source Initiative Highlights Flaws in State Government Websites](https://www.govtech.com/podcasts/new-open-source-initiative-highlights-flaws-in-state-government-websites) - Government Technology

## Get started

- [Try the free starter plan](https://scangov.com/): Basic homepage scanning
- [Review your current grade](https://scangov.org/): Check public monitor performance
- [Read the standards](https://standards.scangov.org/): Understand measurements and importance
- [Learn about grading](https://docs.scangov.org/grades): Score to letter grade conversion
- [Explore indicators](https://scangov.com/indicators/): Review eight measurement areas
- [Understand impact ratings](https://docs.scangov.org/impact): Learn fix prioritization
- [View all press coverage](https://scangov.com/press/): Complete media mentions
- [Get in touch](/contact): Contact the ScanGov team
We provide essential data to support judging for the Center for Digital Government's [Government Digital Experience Awards](/government-experience-awards).
46 changes: 19 additions & 27 deletions content/bot.md
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Expand Up @@ -7,55 +7,47 @@ title: ScanGovBot
description: "Information about ScanGov's web crawler for site owners and administrators."
---

## About ScanGovBot
## About

ScanGovBot is the web crawler operated by [ScanGov](https://scangov.org), a government website auditing service. It visits government websites to evaluate accessibility, security, usability, and SEO compliance.
ScanGovBot is the web crawler operated by [ScanGov](https://scangov.org), a website auditing service. It visits websites to evaluate accessibility, botability, security, and usability compliance. ScanGovBot helps organizations understand how their websites perform against established web standards.

ScanGovBot helps government agencies understand how their websites perform against established web standards.
## User-agent

## User-Agent
When ScanGovBot visits your site, you'll see the following user-agent string in your server logs:

When ScanGovBot visits your site, you'll see the following User-Agent string in your server logs:

```
Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; ScanGovBot/1.0; +https://scangov.com/bot)
```
`Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; ScanGovBot/1.0; +https://scangov.com/bot)`

Lighthouse audits identify as:

```
Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; ScanGovBot/1.0; +https://scangov.com/bot) Lighthouse
```
`Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; ScanGovBot/1.0; +https://scangov.com/bot) Lighthouse`

## Behavior

- **HTTP method:** GET requests only
- **robots.txt:** ScanGovBot respects robots.txt directives for both `User-agent: ScanGovBot` and `User-agent: *`
- **Rate limiting:** One page at a time per domain, with domain-level checks limited to once per 24 hours
- **Non-destructive:** ScanGovBot only reads pages. It does not submit forms, create accounts, or modify content.
- **No authentication:** ScanGovBot does not attempt to access pages behind login walls
- HTTP method: GET requests only
- robots.txt: ScanGovBot respects robots.txt directives for both `User-agent: ScanGovBot` and `User-agent: *`
- Rate limiting: One page at a time per domain, with domain-level checks limited to once per 24 hours
- Non-destructive: ScanGovBot only reads pages. It does not submit forms, create accounts, or modify content.
- No authentication: ScanGovBot does not attempt to access pages behind login walls

## Scanning frequency

- **Per-page audits:** Pages are audited on a scheduled basis depending on their priority tier
- **Domain-level checks:** Once per domain per 24 hours (robots.txt, sitemap, security.txt, schema markup)
- Per-page audits: Pages are audited on a scheduled basis depending on their priority tier
- Domain-level checks: Once per domain per 24 hours (robots.txt, sitemap, security.txt, schema markup)

## IP addresses

ScanGovBot requests originate from:

- `44.236.34.143`
If you need to allowlist our crawler, use the IP address below along with our user-agent string. ScanGovBot requests originate from:

If you need to allowlist our crawler, use the IP address above along with our User-Agent string.
`44.236.34.143`

## What we check

ScanGovBot evaluates:

- **Accessibility:** WCAG compliance via Lighthouse accessibility audits
- **Security:** HTTPS, HSTS, CSP, security.txt, X-Content-Type-Options
- **Usability:** Page readability, performance metrics, mobile-friendliness, social metadata
- **Botability:** robots.txt validity, sitemap presence, crawlability
- Accessibility: WCAG compliance via Lighthouse accessibility audits
- Botability: robots.txt validity, sitemap presence, crawlability
- Security: HTTPS, HSTS, CSP, security.txt, X-Content-Type-Options
- Usability: Page readability, performance metrics, mobile-friendliness, social metadata

## Blocking ScanGovBot

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