User-friendly Interface Design For Governmental Websites

Being strongly impacted by newer media, the traditional paper media is facing numerous massive challenges, such as losing readership and profits decrease. Thus, Propaganda Department of Chengdu City decides to change Chengdu Daily and Chengdu Evening News, which belong to the department, from traditional paper media to modern digital media. They also want to build up an all-digital media operating platform in order to achieve a user-friendly platform for the local government releasing important news and information. According to Chengdu’s case, this dissertation has deeply studied the subject of user-friendly interface design for governmental websites, meanwhile, the author presents his websites and apps design of Chengdu Daily and Chengdu Evening News.In Chapter 2, the author has pointed out the problems of Chinese governmental websites and has analysed the reasons for these problems not only by comparing the recent Chinese governmental websites with the old version, but also by comparing the recent Chinese governmental websites with American governmental websites. In Chapter 3, the author has utilised the theory of visual interface to analyse some basic elements of website interface design, such as formats, colours, characters and figures, and to evaluate their interaction designs, thereby achieving a user-friendly governmental website. Moreover, the author defines the word “user-friendly” as “organising user’s frequent behaviour and combining the user-oriented design with contents, functions and fashion”. In Chapter 4, development directions of governmental websites have been illustrated by using case studies, which talk about American governmental websites after 911 and Chinese governmental websites in SARS time. It has been shown that, not only information barrier free and quick reaction mechanism, but also continuity are extremely significant for governmental websites design in the future. In Chapter 5, the author shows his websites and apps design of Chengdu Daily and Chengdu Evening News, aimed at discovering how to change traditional paper media into modern digital media.