ANNAPOLIS, MD—Governor Larry Hogan on Wednesday announced that the Maryland Department of Information Technology, in coordination with its partner NIC USA, has launched a new version of the official State of Maryland website, Maryland.gov. The upgrade supports Maryland’s ongoing push toward a unified and mobile-friendly citizen experience across all channels.

Maryland.gov analytics and metrics are reviewed annually to understand current usage patterns and adjust the layout and content. The next generation Maryland.gov is designed to deliver what customers need quickly and intuitively. The new design is based on industry best practices, the latest web and mobile technologies, and detailed user analytics to incorporate Marylanders’ preferences and expectations for their state government website.

“We are always looking at ways to innovate and deliver on our commitment to transparency,” said Governor Hogan. “This website upgrade will make it easier, faster and more convenient for Marylanders to engage with government services and resources, and for visitors to learn more about the state.”

By evaluating access trends over time and reducing content users interact with less often, the innovative design focuses on ease of use and the content we know users are looking for. Maryland has redesigned the home page to prioritize the most accessed components including search, popular shortcuts, chatbot, primary navigation, and promotional slider content with all other content transferred to interior pages. These enhancements dramatically simplify the user experience, reduce the page load times, and scroll length thus supporting the upward trend in mobile internet adoption.

Governor Hogan was recently honored as a State Executive of the Year by StateScoop for Maryland’s data and cybersecurity initiatives, including the appointment of the state’s first-ever chief data and chief privacy officers.

The new Maryland website can be viewed at https://www.maryland.gov.