An official website is the portal of any organization, establishment, company or government agency to the virtual world. More than 30 million (around 30%) of Pinoys are now connected to the internet. As a 'government for the people', I expected all 19 executive departments to have a clear online presence other than well-maintained Facebook Fan Page.
Before I give you the list of the worst and the ugliest Philippine executive department websites, let me show the most professional-looking of them all --DILGs. The website has consistent font, clear sections & navigation and a beautiful, consistent color palette.
5. Department of Science and Technology
The Department of Science & Technology (DOST) website clearly states that it's the “premiere science and technology body in the country.” Well, if I were to judge the department's usefulness based on its website then clearly it fails. The site isn't really that bad...if IE 4.0 is still the best browser.
It's ugly because of the...
- Site counterGuests online
- Ugly sliders
- No clear navigation
- Outdated header image
- Bad sectioning
- Ugly “Search” form
This is another disappointing website because it fails to deliver what it's suppose to. That is, “to encourage, promote, and develop tourism as a major socio-economic activity....” DoT's website is a promotion failure. The department was able to roll-out a relatively successful campaign with a decent website (www.itsmorefuninthephilippines.com). So why can't they, at least, re-design their site to make a lot less ugly than it is now.
It's ugly because of the...
- Slider is out-of-place
- Banner picture is blurry
- Navigation menu and background pattern are outdated
- There's no clear distinction of the different sections of the site.
- And worst of all, the two dropdown menus at the top: Select a User Profile (seriously?!!) and Other Sites.
I didn't expect the Department of Public Works & Highways website to look cool and I wasn't disappointed! DPWH is the, “engineering and construction arm of the Government...responsible for planning, design, construction and maintenance of infrastructure....”
Anyone who reads that would picture out a website with images of ground breaking ceremonies, dump trucks, under construction roads and bridges, and many more infrastructure projects. Instead we are treated to a badly-designed website with fuzzy intention.
It's ugly because of the...
- Marquee on the header, “Daang Matuwid, Kaunlaran ang Hatid”
- Small texts
- Ugly sidebars with images of different sizes.
- Bad photo of Hon. Rogelio Singson
- The Secretary's page is just page with the same bad photo cited above.
2. Department of National Defense
The Department of National Defense is, “responsible for guarding against external and internal threats to peace and security in the country.” That is one hell of a mission, specially with China threatening our country's sovereignty over the Scarborough Shaol and KIG. If the DND wants to gain public support for AFP's modernization, it must present itself online as an able agency by posting a decent website. Sadly, it's current website is a complete wreck.
It's ugly because...
- No navigation menu
- No About & Contact Pages.
- Really bad background.
- Right click pop-up
- Most links point to a pdf file
- Whatever actual pages it has look a lot like pages ripped from Tripod or Geocities!
1. Department of Justice
It's a f””king Plesk page! If the website is currently under construction, the developers should have at least put a “Coming Soon!” notice.
Recommendations
What can these departments do to better their websites?
- Hire professional web creators. There are thousands of Filipino web developers and designers working in IT companies or freelancing online. I'm sure they'll be thrilled to work with the government agencies..for the paycheck, experience and expansion of their portfolios.
- Spend real money in developing the website. Complete redesign of these websites shouldn't cost more than 100K. If it does, then there's something fishy about the deal.
- The website doesn't need to be outstanding. It just need to represent what the department is for
If the Department of Interior and Local Government was able to create a great website, why can't the other departments?
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