Page 68 - GIGW2

CH 05 Quality Of Content

5.4
Consistent Terminology

Common look and feel in Government websites of any country helps in promoting the
brand image of the Government; raises user confidence; provides a user-friendly experience
in navigating Government websites; and organises information more consistently to
facilitate search. An integral part of the common look and feel strategy is the usage
of standard content terminology, positioning and framework. Usability Research has
established that using common terms and placement of content can help visitors locate
the information they want more quickly and conveniently.
5.4.1 Hence it is suggested that ‘Consistent Content Terminology and Positioning’
should be adopted by Government websites in India. This could act as a beginning
for adopting a larger view towards common look and feel of Indian Government
websites in the long run. If a certain ‘term’ has been presented in a particular
manner at one place in the website, it should be referred to in the same manner
at all places in the site.
5.4.2 Components that have the same functionality within a set of Web pages MUST
be identified consistently. If identical functions have different labels on different
Web pages, the site will be considerably more difficult to use. It may also be
confusing and increase the cognitive load for people with cognitive limitations.
(Ref. WCAG 3.2.4)

For example
• If a certain Government entity has been referred to as the ‘Department’
at one place in the site, it should not be mentioned as ‘organisation’ or
some other name at an alternative place in the same site.
• In any application form, if the button to submit information after
filling up the form says ‘SUBMIT’ then it must say so across the
entire website. It should not happen that different terminology is used
in the same context at various places in a single website.

5.5
International Conventions

Web as a medium transcends all geographic and physical boundaries. Obviously therefore,
the target audience of any website could be multicultural with highly varied demographic
backgrounds. It should be ensured that the content of every Indian Government website
takes international and cultural conventions into account.

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