SBA To Get Complete Makeover

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Small Business Administration have announced  
that a complete redesign of its website, SBA.gov, will launch this fall.

The new SBA.gov will make it easier for small businesses, lending institutions,
small business counselors and other members of the small business community
to more quickly find the information they need through a simplified navigation
structure. In addition, new features will allow users to tailor their experience
to provide information that is specific to their needs and location.

The new website also will offer a dedicated lender area that helps banks and
other financial institutions that partner with the SBA.

“Our goal as an agency is to get information, tools and services into the
hands of small business owners more quickly so they can spend more time
doing what they do best – creating the jobs that will drive our economic
recovery,” said SBA Administrator Karen Mills. “Through a new, personalized
and dynamic SBA.gov we will be better able to support job growth across the
country.”

The website redesign is part of the SBA’s goal to create a dynamic online
presence that delivers information to customers wherever they are online. To
achieve this goal, the agency recently began using social media to reach
constituents through a variety of online channels such as Facebook and
Twitter. The agency also recently launched an improved search function on
the current SBA.gov website which vastly improves the speed at which users
can find the information they are looking for in advance of the launch of the
new site this fall.

The website redesign is also the Flagship Initiative of the SBA’s Open
Government Plan and addresses all three of the agency’s Open Government
goals – transparency, participation and collaboration – by providing direct
access to agency programs and operations, allowing users to customize their
online experience, and, beginning next year, incorporating community features
such as discussion forums and public feedback tools.

For more information on the SBA’s online expansion, please visit
www.sba.gov/next.