Commissioned by the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations

The Web Guidelines were first developed in 2004. They were commissioned by the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, with the aim to enhance the quality and accessibility of government websites. In due course, the Web Guidelines were developed further to become an adequate tool for ensuring website quality. This applies to both government and non-government organisations.

History of the Web Guidelines

Transfiguring government: accessible to everyone

In 2003, Dutch government launched the policy plan ‘Transfiguring Government’. A plan aimed at literally creating a different government: ‘more transparent, more accessible, more effective and more efficient’ and moreover ‘for everyone’. The government intended to make its output more demand-oriented and focus on citizens and businesses. That was the reason why the government websites must become accessible to all Dutch citizens. In those days, this was not yet the case. In 2004, the Accessibility Monitor showed that 95 percent of all Dutch government websites were not (fully) accessible: applications failed to work in certain browsers, texts became illegible on a smaller screen, menus could not be clicked on when certain browser settings were lacking, and people who did not use a mouse or who had text converted into braille could not use some government websites at all.

Start Web Guidelines

That is why the government decided to develop the Web Guidelines, a quality model that combines international standards and the practically proven solutions of web builders. The Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations commissioned project organisation ICTU. In collaboration with the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) and creative agency Cinnamon Interactive, ICTU completed the first version of the Web Guidelines in October 2004.

Ministerial decision and administrative agreement

The Web Guidelines became really important when the Ministerial decision on the quality of government websites was taken in 2006. This decision aims for all central government websites to comply with the Web Guidelines at the end of 2010. In 2008, the Web Guidelines were included in the administrative agreement National Implementation Programme Better Services and e-Government (NUP). As a result, complying with the Web Guidelines has become obligatory for municipalities, provinces and water boards. Read more about regulatory regarding Web Guidelines.