19 May 2008

The Government is losing control over its websites and not providing the service the public really needs, Detica Group plc (DCA.L), the business and technology consultancy, warns today. In response to a report by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) which criticised the quality and accessibility of Government websites, Detica believes the Government is failing to plan its web presence properly and listen to the public, leading to a chronic waste of tax-payers' money.

The PAC's 16th report 'Government on the Internet: progress in delivering information and services', revealed the Government still does not know how many websites it has, what their running costs are or what savings have been made by moving services to the web. It also showed that 16% of Government departments do not know how their sites are being used.

Andrew Rolf, Head of Creative Services in Detica's Government business unit, who was involved in the Webby award-winning redesign of the Transport for London (TfL) website, said: "Government departments have rushed into gaining a presence on the web without first considering the purpose of their sites. The situation is not helped by the fact that twelve-month funding cycles do nothing to support strategic development programmes or promote consistency between different sites.

"Traditionally, Government departments have been too biased towards telling their website audiences what to do, rather than listening to them, understanding what they want and designing websites that meet those needs. It's hardly surprising that the resulting websites neither meet the needs of the public nor improve the operational efficiency of the departments in question. Departments lack crucial feedback from the public and many fail to see the importance of a programme of continuous review and improvement. Some really basic customer service tricks are being missed — for example, website owners could ask the IT helpdesk what the most frequent requests are and place answers to those questions on the home page."

In a five-point plan, Detica recommends that Government departments:

1. Assign clear ownership of a website to promote accountability and ensure the entire breadth of the department is represented

2. Be clear about the purpose of the site and how it fits into the department's broader objectives and strategy

3. Research who the target audience is, what they want from the site and through which channel — and then respond to this

4. Measure and evaluate the benefits of the website from both the end-user and departmental perspective

5. Ensure that somebody is responsible for maintaining the site once it is live, keeping the content fresh and regularly updated

The TfL website, which was redesigned by Detica and won the People's Choice award in the 2008 Webby Awards, was picked out by the PAC report as a rare example of a Government website that is performing well. Rolf concludes: "The reason the TfL site works so well is because it has a cross-departmental steering group with collective ownership for the enhancement and future direction of the site. Lack of governance is the biggest single risk to Government websites. Without this, any website project — whether a new build or a redesign — will quickly find all the same problems being made six months after launch."

Sally Clift or Rachel Ringstead Porter NovelliTel: +44 (0)207 853 2222email: or