Politics aside, a visit to WhiteHouse.gov is a pleasurable visual experience: tasteful colors and layout, American flags and encouragement to learn more. President Obama鈥檚 personal website (barackobama.com) succeeds as well.
鈥淸President Obama and his web designers] knew exactly what to do to get results,鈥� Shaoolian recalls. 鈥淲hat kind of personal touch to give the site.鈥�
Type 鈥淯S Government鈥� into any search engine however, and USA.gov pops up on top. The self-proclaimed 鈥淕overnment Made Easy鈥� web portal is anything but that. It鈥檚 impersonal and hard to follow 鈥� not what citizens usually want from their representatives, virtual or in-person.
鈥淚t鈥檚 so uninviting that it鈥檚 not functional,鈥� says Shaoolian.
Other government websites, such as the US Census Bureau 鈥� census.gov 鈥� appear no better.
What is more important on a website, looks or functionality?
鈥淭hey go hand in hand,鈥� the expert explains. 鈥淎gain, take Apple. Everything Apple does is groundbreaking, not necessarily because of their technology, but because of the interface, the ease of use, finding what you want in as few clicks as possible.鈥�
As for the government鈥檚 web portal, a few images of smiling Americans could go a long way in reducing its stark, corporate current look.
usa.gov
