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Types of e-Government Websites

The diversity of e-Government applications and functions can be presented to users through various types of websites and portals, including:

National Entry Points: Gateways or Portals
Citizen- or Business-Centric Portals
Ministry-level Websites
Parliamentary Websites
Judicial Branch Websites
Portals for Provincial, Local and Municipal Governments
Personal Websites for Elected Officials

National Entry Points: Gateways or Portals

National entry points or landing pages, sometimes called ‘gateways’ or portals, aggregate and organize content and services, often with links to websites of individual ministries or programs. The goal of a portal is to efficiently guide users to the information and services they seek. Factors to consider in designing a portal include: organization and “navigation,” design, administration, technology, and content management, as well as hosting and other operational factors.

National web portals can represent the face of a country to the world and the face of government to the citizenry. National portals are the most visible expression of a nation’s approach to transparency and its commitment (or lack thereof) to citizen-centered government. Ultimately, national portals can have an impact on government credibility, citizen trust and public response to e-Government. They can influential the commercial sector content quality, technical sophistication, and privacy and security standards.

Web portals are technically and administratively complex although they should appear straightforward and be easy for the average citizen to use. Getting multiple government agencies to harmonize the many aspects of user friendliness (presentation standards, authentication, data quality, access rights, among others.) is a major challenge. While technology considerations should not drive portal design, they must be given proper attention and resources to avoid operational failures.

Singapore’s e-Government services and information are effectively combined into one portal South Africa also has moved all government departments, government information, and services into a single e-Government portal. Its simple, streamlined design, with few data-heavy graphics to download, is well-suited for users with low-bandwidth connections. The US government information and services portal is called FirstGov to indicate that it is the first place one should look for federal government information and services online.

Sweden's Online Public Service Gateway and the Canadian Portal for eGov services online (English and French) are other examples of comprehensive entry points that use a variety of indexing and organizational paths to government information and services.

Citizen- or Business-Centric Portals

Portals designed around the needs of citizens or businesses are on the rise in many developed and developing countries. These portals aim to package and deliver content and services in ways that directly fit citizens’ or businesses’ needs. The goal of these portals is to provide “one-stop shopping” so that citizens and businesses no longer need to go to a range of separate ministries, bureaus, or departments to find information on a particular subject or complete a transaction.

User-focused portals include those of South Africa, Singapore, the Philippines, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt.

Governments are also organizing services and content by information type. For example, the US government has created sites that aggregate content from various government departments and agencies into a single interface, one for federal regulations, one compiling forms from many agencies for download, and one permitting online payments to a range of agencies.

Ministry-level Websites

Many Ministries or departments create their own websites. However, as ministry-level websites proliferate and become more complex, they may interfere with the goal of providing user-centric access to information and services. Some dedicated Ministry websites include the Philippines’ Department of Finance website, the website of Cyprus’ Ministry of Health, and the website of Australia’s Department of Education, Science and Training.

e-Parliaments

A distinction may be drawn between those parliamentary websites intended to inform and engage the public and those intended to facilitate the internal decision-making processes of the parliaments. The former include Publish projects that disseminate information on proposed legislation and the legislative process, committees and members, parliamentary calendars, and transcripts and other materials from hearings or debates. Systems aimed at parliamentarians themselves may include online notices and voting. An example of a website that contains both features is the site of India’s Council of States. The website for South Africa’s Parliament also includes a range of information for both the public and Members of Parliament.

Judicial Branch Websites

Countries’ judiciaries are also going online, posting opinions and other information about cases. The Supreme Court of India publishes court opinions and orders, as does the Supreme Court of Appeals in South Africa.

Provincial, Local and Municipal Websites and Portals

Provincial, local and municipal governments are also offering localized and specialized government services. Examples include the city of Bangalore, India, India’s Andrah Pradesh province and the Varna district in Bulgaria. Peru’s ‘Public Window’ system gives citizens in three cities the ability to learn how their local governments are structured, to access information on municipal officials, to see how public funds are spent, and to obtain information on procedures for obtaining a birth certificate, restaurant permit, and other official documents.

The UK national government has provided resources to help local governments create their own e-Government sites.

Personal Sites for Elected Officials

Increasingly, elected officials are developing their own websites and are communicating with their constituencies via email and other electronic media. Members of Parliament in India have their own home pages, while members of Parliament in South Africa post their contact information, committee assignments and email addresses.

Some prime ministers and presidents have their own websites. Canada’s Prime Minister is one. The website of the Australian Prime Minister includes information on the PM’s office, a biography, and contact email. Chile’s president went one step further and created a web log (blog).