Building eGovernment Websites

Design

How Can I Make Sure That My Design Works?

There are no fixed rules for designing websites, or - perhaps - there is only one: focus on the users.  After all, you are designing for them, i.e. your task is to provide them with a communication tool that is easy to use and which represents an attractive solution to their communication needs, in alternative to other, often more established ways of exchanging information with government.

So when you approach the design phase of your e-government website, it really helps to consult with its potential users, or at least to put yourself in their shoes, both in terms of the structure and of the presentation of your website (see section above about structure and presentation).

This section contains some suggestions on how to work on these two aspects of the design of your site adopting a user-oriented approach:

Page Author: Andrea Bardelli Danieli. Last updated on 19 October, 2008.
Please contact richard.heeks@manchester.ac.uk with comments and suggestions.