Navigating the Site
A complete walkthrough of the Regional Clusters site structure, where to find key pages, and how to use the interactive components throughout the platform.
The Regional Clusters platform is organized into two main areas: the About section, which contains informational and reference pages, and the Dashboards section, which hosts the interactive cluster data tools. This guide walks you through each area and explains how to use the interactive components built into the site.
1. Homepage Overview
The homepage opens with a hero section that introduces the platform and its scope: 400+ regions, 800+ occupations, and three cluster types. A "Learn More" button below the introductory text scrolls the page down to the cluster showcase section. The showcase displays information about each of the three cluster types in rotating panels that cycle automatically every few seconds. Click any of the three tabs labeled Industry, Skills, or Knowledge at the top of the showcase to jump directly to that panel. Each panel includes a description of the cluster type along with a button that navigates you straight to that cluster's dashboard.
2. Primary Navigation
The header navigation bar appears on every page of the site. It contains three items: Home, About, and Dashboards. Clicking Home or the Regional Clusters logo in the top left returns you to the landing page. About and Dashboards are dropdown menus that expand when clicked, revealing links to their respective subpages. The header stays pinned at the top of the screen as you scroll, so navigation is always within reach no matter how far down a page you are.
3. The About Section
The About dropdown provides access to six pages. FAQ lists commonly asked questions about the data and platform, organized by category. Data Sources documents the federal datasets that power the dashboards. Help & Guides provides step-by-step walkthroughs for using each part of the platform. News & Resources links to related reports and publications. Team & Partners introduces the researchers, analysts, and developers behind the project, as well as partner organizations. Contact provides a way to reach the project team with questions or feedback. Every one of these pages is reachable from the About dropdown in the header regardless of where you are on the site.
4. Finding Dashboard Pages
Three interactive cluster dashboards are available on the site: Industry Clusters, Skills Clusters, and Knowledge Clusters. The most direct way to reach any of them is through the Dashboards dropdown in the header navigation, which lists all three. You can also reach each dashboard from the homepage showcase by clicking the panel button for the cluster type you want.
5. Cluster Type and View Controls
Every cluster page shares the same layout and controls. Near the top of the page, a pair of left and right arrow buttons flanks the cluster heading. Clicking the left arrow moves to the previous cluster type and clicking the right arrow moves to the next, cycling through Industry, Skills, and Knowledge in order. Below the heading, a three-button tab bar lets you switch between the three available views for that cluster type: Dashboard, Map, and Definitions. The currently active view is highlighted in the tab bar. Switching views keeps you within the same cluster type, so if you are on Industry Clusters and you click Map, you will see the Industry Clusters map rather than a different cluster type.
6. Dashboard Toolbar
Each embedded cluster view has a toolbar at the top of the content frame, styled as a minimal menu bar. This toolbar contains four menus. The File menu lets you download a PDF version of the current view or send it to a printer. The Options menu includes a Reload button to refresh the embedded tool if it stalls, and on Map pages a Fullscreen button to expand the map to fill the browser window. The Data menu links to the Data Sources page so you can review the underlying methodology without leaving the dashboard. The Help menu links directly to Help & Guides and the FAQ. Click any menu label in the toolbar to open its dropdown, then click an action to use it.
7. Help and Guides Pages
The Help & Guides page is accessible from the About dropdown and displays four cards, one for each available walkthrough: Using the Dashboard, Exploring the Map, Reading Definitions, and Navigating the Site. Click the "View Guide" button on any card to open that guide. Each guide page has a sticky table of contents panel on the left side of the page. Clicking any entry in the table of contents smoothly scrolls to that section and highlights its entry as you read down the page. A second sidebar panel links to the other three guides and to the cluster pages most relevant to that guide's topic.
8. FAQ and Expandable Items
The FAQ page groups questions into categories such as data, methodology, and platform use. Each question is displayed as a collapsed item with a plus icon on the right side. Click a question to expand it and read the full answer. Click it again to collapse it. At the top right of each category group, a "Collapse All" button closes every expanded item in that category at once. The same expandable pattern appears in the Troubleshooting sections of some guide pages, so the same interaction applies there.
9. Data Sources and Resources
The Data Sources page, found under the About menu, lists each dataset used to build the dashboards. Providers include the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), County Business Patterns (CBP), Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), O*NET, U.S. Census Bureau, Lightcast, and IO Snap. Each entry describes what specific data were drawn from that source and how they are applied. The News & Resources page, also under the About menu, links to related research publications and external reports that provide broader context for the cluster methodology and regional economic findings.
10. Downloading and Printing
PDF versions of the dashboard guides can be downloaded from each guide's hero section. On any guide page that has a published PDF, a "Download PDF Version" button appears beneath the guide title in the page header. Clicking it opens the PDF in a new browser tab. For the embedded cluster views, use the File menu in the dashboard toolbar to access download and print options. The Download action exports the current dashboard content as a PDF, and the Print action opens your browser's print dialog so you can print directly from the page.
11. Mobile Navigation
On smaller screens, the header navigation collapses into a compact layout and a hamburger button (three horizontal bars) appears in the top right corner of the header. Tap that button to open the mobile menu panel. Inside the menu, About and Dashboards are listed as expandable items. Tap either one to reveal the links beneath it, then tap any link to navigate to that page. Tap the hamburger button again or tap outside the menu panel to close the navigation. The embedded cluster dashboards are optimized for screens at least 1325 pixels wide. A notice will appear below the dashboard toolbar if your screen is narrower, and you can scroll horizontally within the embed frame to see all content.
12. Common Questions
01
The embedded dashboard is slow to load or appears blank.
The Tableau and ArcGIS embeds load remotely from external servers. Wait a few seconds for the content to appear. If it remains blank, open the Options menu in the dashboard toolbar and click "Reload Dashboard" to force a fresh load.
02
A dropdown menu in the header does not open when I click it.
Scroll to the top of the page and try again. The header is sticky and on some pages an overlapping element near the scroll position can interfere. If the issue continues, try refreshing the page.
03
The dashboard content looks too narrow or is cut off on my screen.
The embedded dashboards are designed for screens at least 1325 pixels wide. If your browser window is narrower, scroll horizontally inside the embed frame to see all content, or try rotating your device to landscape orientation. A notice at the top of the embed frame will indicate when your screen width is below the recommended size.
13. Get More Help
If you cannot find what you are looking for in these guides, the project team is available to help. Visit the Contact page to send a message directly, or browse the FAQ for answers to common questions about the data and platform.