New Government and Presidential Website Needs Work: Some Suggestions
By Rico, 1:01 pm Mon Jul 26 2010 - Editorial, Sites - 4 Opinions
Update: The new site now loads properly (at least on my end).
Update: Maybe it’s the traffic caused by the State of the Nation Address, but the site isn’t loading again. How is it on your end, dear readers?
As President Noynoy gives his first State of the Nation Address, it’s worth noting that a new version of gov.ph and op.gov.ph are now up. But clearly, the site which both domains lead to still need some work.
A recap: days after Noynoy’s inauguration as the 15th president of the Philippines, government websites still featured former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. I suggested Team Noynoy use a placeholder as they worked to change the site, and they actually did.
The problem is that the new site (visit op.gov.ph or gov.ph)—powered by WordPress—takes a while to load. Worse, it’s impossible to read the first post (Historical Background of the State of the Nation Address). The page can’t load due to an “Error establishing a database connection”, a common error for WordPress users who fail to configure their sites properly.
It’s a bit worrying that Team Noynoy can’t get things right on the first go. Millions of sites—including Technograph—run on WordPress with no problems whatsoever. To be fair setting up a WordPress does require some expertise. So Team Noynoy, here’s a suggested list of vendors below:
- Skaizer. This VPS-class webhosting service is run by Kiven Codamon, who maintains websites for UNO Magazine and Tall View Heights to name a few. By day, Kiven is also responsible for the Level Up! Games site, which receives millions of yearly visitors from the Philippines, Brazil and India.
- The Thesis Theme for WordPress. Chris Pearson’s WordPress theme allows for a great deal of customization. Thesis emphasizes readability, a useful trait for a website trying to reach millions of Filipinos. Kiven by the way has extensive experience customizing WordPress themes, which includes adding features that make it easy to share pages with friends on Facebook and Twitter. So these two vendors are a good fit.
In short, Team Noynoy, I know you have a message to share with us. So why not concentrate on that, and let the pros take care of the rest? Skaizer’s blog hosting service costs $75 a month, while Thesis is a one-time $164 purchase. That’s a total cost of at least $1064 (P50,000) for the first year, and $900 (P42,000) for each succeeding year. A small price to pay to eliminate criticisms over government websites.
Joel
1:01 pm Mon Jul 26 2010
Now you can’t see anything but a blank page. :p
Juned Sonido
1:01 pm Mon Jul 26 2010
Its still on Beta. In terms of design its easy to navigate. You can subscribe by email. The web pages – specially the directory and the social contract page needs tabs to enable a person to go back.
What is missing is an RSS Feed icon and that can easily be added.
It probably needs a video channel as well. But one has to remember it is still in Beta – and a lot of things can be added.
Personally I like the design its cultter free. And you see quickly what you need to see.
Juned Sonido
2:02 pm Mon Jul 26 2010
I mean clutter free.
MC
3:03 am Sun Aug 1 2010
Is this the new government portal or just an online newsletter for the OP?
The people will need a proper working portal to other government sites, and not just a PR dump for the President. I hope they put that into mind when they finalize the site.
Also, for consistency’s sake, every (ugly) government website needs to be revamped.