Social Security Administration (SSA) Website Information Architecture and Redesign

Role: Product Design Lead, Research Lead, Stakeholder collaboration

Screen shot of SSA.gov homepage

Screen shot of the redesigned homepage.

Challenge:

User research showed the public had difficulty using the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) website to find guidance on programs, benefits they qualified for, or complete basic tasks that are available online. Users expressed frustration in understanding the information or finding clear pathways to resolve issues or answer questions.

Goals:

Our goal was to establish good practices of research with users and a structure for the website that the SSA team could build upon once our engagement concluded.

“We have millions of people visiting the site, some during challenging times in their lives, so there is a deep sense of responsibility to improve their experience.”
— Suran De Silva, Director, Web Strategy at SSA

Process:

As part of the USDS team brought in for this project, I worked closely with SSA’s internal UX designers, contracted Drupal developers, and executive leadership. Alignment on project goals, timelines, and approach driven by user feedback was critical to the project’s success.

Grounded in iterative research to understand user needs and test new ideas, we reimagined SSA.gov to:

  • better enable users to complete tasks

  • meet users where they are and guides them to take action through a streamlined information architecture

  • build SSA.gov’s first ever Content Management System (CMS) and Content Delivery Network (CDN), enabling continuous development of features, site reliability, and content consistency

  • prioritize clear, plain language and consistent design system in alignment with 21st century ideas act (USWDS)

Information Architecture

We designed and tested a new information architecture for the site through card sorting exercises and usability testing. This identified a task-focused organization, rather than framing the site’s organization based on how SSA structures their internal teams.

Screen shot of old ssa.gov site menu with dozens of individual links.

SSA.gov site menu before redesign was a web page of links.

Screen shot of new, streamlined menu with well organized information.

SSA.gov site menu after redesign

Task-focused templates

Screen shot of a sample task page template with generic information like "Title" "Outcome copy"

Screen shot of a sample page template

We worked with users to create templates for common tasks that clearly highlighted when they could be completed online and alternate modes to complete tasks, where applicable.

Iterative process

We worked with the SSA team to design pages with more complex program information in a repeatable way, to be handed off to the SSA team to continue applying these principles beyond the USDS engagement in the work.

Result:

The initial site launch included 78 pages across two languages, which accounted for 30-40% of the traffic to SSA.gov in the first year after launch. Since that launch, SSA has experienced 1 million more account sign-ins to complete common tasks per week and a 46.8% increase in the Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT).

Next Steps

The SSA team has taken ownership of the user-research-driven approach we established in this project. They have expanded and built on the templates and design decisions we established. Since the end of the USDS engagement in 2021, SSA team has added sections for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicare programs.