Website Design in Chicago: Scope, Testing and Handoff

Choose deliverables around customer tasks

Write down what a customer should accomplish: send an inquiry, book an appointment or complete a purchase. Describe what your staff need to receive and how they will respond. Ask bidders to demonstrate that journey, including confirmation messages, failed submissions and delivery to the correct recipient.

For covered state work, Illinois treats websites and electronic documents as information and communication technology. Its standards require public-facing electronic content to meet the specified accessibility requirements. Include downloadable forms and documents in your brief so the designer and commissioning entity can agree on their treatment. [2]

List pages, forms, downloads, integrations and any language versions. Name the person supplying copy, photographs and approvals. For a redesign, give bidders an inventory of existing content and ask which material they will migrate, rewrite or remove. Request a schedule that identifies the approvals and content you must provide.

Compare quotes and continuing responsibilities

Request separate amounts for design, development, content entry, migration, testing and training. Ask each provider to identify hosting, subscriptions, maintenance and future editing charges. Specify how you will approve extra work and which deliverables trigger payment. Compare the complete scope before choosing a provider.

Illinois DoIT explains that automated accessibility testing is a starting point with limitations; no listed tool can test everything required. When a quote includes accessibility work, ask whether the fee covers manual evaluation, correction and retesting. Request the names or roles of the people who will perform that work. [3]

During portfolio review, ask the designer to explain their contribution to a relevant project. Have them show how your staff would change opening hours, replace an image and review an inquiry. Put account ownership, subscription billing and transfer arrangements in writing, including the steps required if you change providers.

Set accessibility targets and acceptance tests

Illinois DoIT recommends visual, keyboard and screen reader testing alongside automated checks. Its keyboard guidance says users should be able to perform actions available with a mouse from the keyboard. It also cautions that screen reader testing requires training. Ask the designer to explain their testing method and provide findings for the agreed customer journeys. [3]

Illinois requires WCAG 2.1 Level AA conformance under IITAA 2.1 for covered technology developed, procured or substantially modified by state entities after June 24, 2024. Its State Entity definition includes public universities but excludes units of local government, school districts and community colleges. Confirm the commissioning entity and applicable requirements before requesting bids. [2]

For covered projects, Illinois exempts non-web documents and non-web software from four WCAG success criteria: 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks, 2.4.5 Multiple Ways, 3.2.3 Consistent Navigation and 3.2.4 Consistent Identification. These exceptions concern those deliverable types; the standards do not list them as exceptions for web pages. [2]

Illinois defines a non-web document as a document that is neither a web page, embedded in one nor used to render or operate one. It defines non-web software using the same exclusions for software. The standards also exempt non-web software from WCAG Conformance Requirement 3 Complete Processes. E207.3 requires all software related to a multistep activity to conform as specified in E207.2. Have the provider identify the applicable provisions for each deliverable. [2]

Assign customer data and incident responsibilities

The Illinois Attorney General explains that entities conducting business in Illinois and handling nonpublic personal information must disclose qualifying security breaches concerning Illinois residents in the most expedient time possible and without unreasonable delay. Certain businesses and state agencies also have Attorney General notification duties. Treat resident notification and reporting to the office as separate questions for your business adviser. [1]

Before approving forms, accounts or checkout, record which information you will collect, where it goes and who can access it. Ask the designer to identify outside processors and assign responsibility for updates, backups and restoration. Name the person who will assess an incident, gather records and coordinate notification advice.

The Attorney General provides a Data Breach Notice System and requests details including the information compromised, the breach description, affected Illinois residents and consumer notification steps. Ask your provider how it would supply technical incident details to your business. Have your adviser determine which reporting obligations apply. [1]

Approve launch through a working demonstration

Complete the agreed customer journeys on a phone and desktop before launch. Submit test inquiries and confirm that your staff receive them. Review contact details, hours, error messages and booking or checkout confirmations. For a redesign, ask the provider to demonstrate the agreed migration and handling of old page addresses.

Illinois DoIT's testing guidance distinguishes automated checks from visual, keyboard and screen reader evaluation. Use those distinctions when reviewing the provider's report: ask which methods they used, which journeys they covered and which issues remain. Agree on corrections and retesting before accepting accessibility deliverables. [3]

At handoff, request the account access you agreed to control, an inventory of subscriptions, editing instructions and support contacts. Have your staff perform a routine update with the designer present. Confirm the support period, the process for reporting launch defects and any outstanding work.

IITAA navigation and identification exceptions by deliverable

Match your brief to the work

Your hiring checklist

1. Describe the customer actions and staff response you need.
2. List pages, downloads, forms, integrations and content owners.
3. Compare project fees and recurring charges against the same brief.
4. Confirm any commissioning entity's accessibility requirements.
5. Agree on testing coverage, correction and retesting.
6. Document data destinations, access permissions and incident contacts.
7. Confirm account ownership, training, support and transfer arrangements.

Frequently Asked Questions

How should I set a website budget?

Obtain quotes against the same page list, customer journeys and content responsibilities. Ask providers to separate the build fee from hosting, subscriptions, maintenance and later changes. Include migration, testing and training in the comparison, and ask how providers will price additions to the agreed scope.

Does IITAA apply to my private business website?

The Illinois standards make compliance mandatory for covered state agencies and define the state entities within their scope. They do not establish a universal private-business requirement. Confirm your project's commissioning arrangements and seek advice about obligations specific to your business before choosing an accessibility target. [2]

Can an automated report serve as complete accessibility testing?

Illinois DoIT says no automated tool can test everything required for accessibility. Request manual evaluation alongside automated results, including keyboard checks. Ask about the training of anyone conducting screen reader testing and how the provider will correct and retest findings. [3]

Do downloadable documents have the same IITAA provisions as web pages?

For covered work, Illinois lists four success-criterion exceptions for non-web documents: Bypass Blocks, Multiple Ways, Consistent Navigation and Consistent Identification. A non-web document must be separate from a web page and neither embedded in nor used to render or operate one. Ask the provider to classify each download and apply the relevant requirements. [2]