India. A Prototype Analysis of the Indian Government Website

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1 India A Prototype Analysis of the Indian Government Website

2 List of Figures Fig 1 Top right links on Home page in English and in Hindi page 5 Fig 2 Bottom links on Home page in English and in Hindi page 5 Fig 3 Bottom links on content pages in English and in Hindi page 6 Fig 4 Bottom links on content pages in English and in Hindi page 6 Fig 5 Buttons on opening page of content pages in English and in Hindi page 7 Fig 6 Use of color on the site page 8 Fig 7 Use of hyperlinks on the site page 9 Fig 8 Use of search box on the site page 10 Fig 9 Prototype checklist page 11 2

3 Web design on a global scale According to Kirk St. Amant in A Prototype Theory Approach to International Web Site Analysis and Design, Web designers must think in terms of a global audience when designing websites (73). Designers must study native websites and adhere to a country s social and cultural mores when creating websites for users in those particular countries. Because of its social and cultural diversity, I chose India as my target country. I analyzed the official website of the government of India ( in its English version and its native Hindi version to provide to following prototype analysis. India at a glance India is fast becoming a center of business in the world. Its diverse culture makes it an exciting country to study. In order to properly identify which elements of web design could accurately represent a traditional Indian website, one must first understand the country and its people: India has 22 national languages. Hindi is its official language, but Indians conduct business transactions in Hindi and English. India is a hospitality-driven culture. Indian people are very accommodating to their guests. They are very open, and they conduct business in a relaxed setting. They shake hands, offer business cards, and interact as people do in the U.S. India has a family-centered culture and a male-dominated society. Arranged marriages are common in India. Women are predominantly homemakers, but they are beginning to take on roles that are more influential. For example, the current president of India is a woman. India has many different religions, but Hindu is its major religion. Most Indians are highly superstitious. Because India is so diverse, when conducting business in India, visitors should first research the customs of the particular region and strictly adhere to them. India has a caste system that clearly defines people s roles in society. This hierarchical system is religion-based. When conducting business in India, visitors must show respect to the most senior person with whom they are doing business and use the proper title when addressing him or her. India offers a wide variety of cultural and business opportunities and establishes itself as an emerging place in the global market as a center of commerce. 3

4 Prototype analysis of Indian websites According to St. Amant, an analysis of a website occurs at two different levels of visual design (83). These levels are the macro level, which looks at overall characteristics of the site, and the micro level, which identifies specific characteristics of those devices found on the macro level. Macro level analysis Macro level analysis of the Indian government site shows striking similarities to U.S.-based websites. This site is available in both English and Hindi. Both the English and the Hindi versions are almost identical in structure and content. Macro level characteristics Macro level characteristics are as follows: Menu bars Buttons Color Hyperlinks Body text Search Engine Images All characteristics at the macro level are present on both the English and the Hindi versions of the Indian government website. Micro level analysis Micro level analysis of the Indian government website also shows similarities to U.S.-based websites. In the following pages, I analyze each macro characteristic on a micro scale to determine the prototype analysis of an Indian website. Menu bars Menu bars are present on the site. On the Home page, menu bars are text-based links in the top right-hand corner of the page and on the bottom of the page. Images are not present in menu bars. 4

5 The menu on the top right of the Home page links to the following (see Fig 1): Site Map Tell a Friend Link to Us Feedback Add to Favourite (sic) Contact Us Fig 1 Top right links on Home page in English and in Hindi The menu on the bottom of the Home page links to the following (see Fig 2): About this Portal Your Opinion! (notice the exclamation Help point in both the English and the Hindi Terms of Use versions) Visitor Summary Press/Media Coverage Newsletter Accessibility Statement Fig 2 Bottom links on Home page in English and in Hindi The bottom menu changes slightly from the Home page on the rest of the site (see Fig 3). Instead of links to Visitor Summary, Newsletter, Your Opinion, and Press/Media Coverage, it includes the following links, which are static throughout the rest of the site: Home Suggest to a Friend About the Portal Help Site Map Terms of Use Link to Us Feedback Add to Favorites (notice the spelling Contact Us change from the Home page) Accessibility Statement 5

Fig 3 Bottom links on content pages in English and in Hindi As shown in the above figures, each site section also has an additional menu bar (located above the bottom menu bar) that pertains to only

6 Fig 3 Bottom links on content pages in English and in Hindi As shown in the above figures, each site section also has an additional menu bar (located above the bottom menu bar) that pertains to only that section of the site. The placement is static in all sections, but the content changes. In the content pages, menu bars are text-based links in a grey box near the top of the right-hand side of the page. Each text link is prefaced by a different-colored bullet. These bullets are not clickable, but the text is. The menu bar repeats on every page in the section (see Fig 4). This occurs on both the English version and the Hindi version of the site. Fig 4 Bottom links on content pages in English and in Hindi Beneath each menu bar is another menu bar, shaded in a slightly darker grey, which links to a How do I? section. The How do I? button is a clickable button. Beneath that is a blue box that contains a link to the Suggestion area of the site. These aspects are also static throughout the content section of the site.

Buttons Buttons are present on the site. On the opening page of each section, users see two rows of buttons pertaining to that specific section in the middle of the page.

7 Buttons Buttons are present on the site. On the opening page of each section, users see two rows of buttons pertaining to that specific section in the middle of the page. These buttons are static on all opening pages, but the content changes for each section (see Fig 5). Buttons on the site have the following characteristics: They are round. They have clipart pictures on them. They are clickable. They have clickable text beneath them. Fig 5 Buttons on opening page of content pages in English and in Hindi The clipart images on the buttons are section-specific and show images that pertain to that section. In addition to these buttons above and the rectangular How do I? button mentioned earlier, other buttons appear on the site (albeit rarely) which are not clickable; however, they contain clickable text and look and act more like tabs than buttons. Color To understand why the Indian government site uses specific colors, one must first understand the meaning of those colors. The site uses colors associated with the country s flag and belief system. The background is white, and the site uses the additional colors as accents and headers (see Fig 6). The following is a list of major colors used on the site and their meanings: 7

Green the color of the bottom stripe on India s flag represents the fertility and growth of India s land Blue the color of the chakra, or spinning wheel, in the middle of the flag, which represents

8 Saffron (orange) the color of the top stripe on India s flag is a sacred color in India and indicates the strength and courage of the country. Red this color symbolizes purity and is often worn at weddings in India. Green the color of the bottom stripe on India s flag represents the fertility and growth of India s land Blue the color of the chakra, or spinning wheel, in the middle of the flag, which represents the Lord Krishna and is a sacred, calming color. Fig 6 Use of color on the site In addition to those colors, many other colors are used sparingly and usually are lighter or darker shades of the above colors. Additionally, each of the sections uses a major color scheme, which repeats on all pages within that section. Hyperlinks The site uses hyperlinks in lieu of buttons on most pages on the site. However, the site also employs hyperlinks within text, albeit rarely (see Fig 7). These in-text hyperlinks have the following characteristics: They are blue. They do not change color when clicked. They use mouse-over underlining. The link opens in a new window. 8

Fig 7 Use of hyperlinks on the site In the above figures, I moused over the hyperlinked text and took a screen shot to show the underlining. The underlining is not static.

The text in Hindi appears to have the same kind of characteristics as the English text. Text sections have headers that are in a bigger font size than the text.

9 Fig 7 Use of hyperlinks on the site In the above figures, I moused over the hyperlinked text and took a screen shot to show the underlining. The underlining is not static. Body Text Figure 7 shows that the body text within the site is sparse. The English text is a readable sans serif font. The text in Hindi appears to have the same kind of characteristics as the English text. Text sections have headers that are in a bigger font size than the text. All text appears to have the same formatting throughout the site. Some pages within the site are text heavy as compared to the rest of the pages on the Indian government website, but they are still not as text heavy as U.S. websites. Both the English and the Hindi sites have the text left justified, because in both languages, the reader reads the text from left to right. The font color is usually black, sometimes blue, and rarely any other color. Search Engine Both the English version and the Hindi version of the site use a search box. However, the search box is only available on the Home page. The search box is in the upper right corner of the page directly below the menu bar (see Fig 8).

Images The site uses images in buttons and in its patriotic logos (flag, chakra, etc). However, photographs are rare on the site.

10 Fig 8 Use of search box on the site The search box is very plain and does not have any logos or search engine affiliation. In that same area, the site also contains a section where users can register or log in. Additionally, the site has a calendar, which appears to be identical on both the English and the Hindi versions. Images The site uses images in buttons and in its patriotic logos (flag, chakra, etc). However, photographs are rare on the site. When photographs are present, they are usually small, and they represent traditional dress, customs, or activities, or they show traditional Indian icons, such as tigers, peacocks, and the chakra. Women are rarely in photographs, but when they are, they are wearing traditional or conservative clothing and interacting in cultural or motherly ways. Men are the prominent subjects of photographs, and they are usually wearing traditional or business casual clothing and interacting during social or business activities. Children are rarely in photographs, but when they are, their clothing styles mirror the styles of the adults in gender and style. The photographs of children show them learning or interacting during cultural activities. The site uses graphics to call attention to cultural events and identify different sections of the website. The images are most representational of the specific purpose of that particular section. For instance, the button for the senior citizen section shows a clipart image of an older person (see Fig 5, above). The images are clear, clean, and wholesome. Indian websites do not contain any provocative images. 10

11 Indian government websites do not contain any external advertising. This website advertises itself and sometimes a cultural or patriotic event. The site contains no flashing lights, no bells or whistles, or anything gaudy or distracting. The site is very clean and organized (see Fig 6, above). Prototype checklist for Indian websites By establishing the above criteria as it pertains to this one site, I was able to compile a checklist of the characteristics of Indian website design (see Fig 9). Menu Bar: Hypertext, Top right, Bottom center Buttons: Rarely used, Identify sections, Some images, Some text Color: Traditional Indian colors and variations thereof, Sacred colors, Flag colors, White backgrounds Hyperlinks: Usually in text, Sometimes in lists with non-clickable bullets, Mouse-over underlining, Usually do not change color when clicked. Body Text: Black, Plain, Sans serif in English, Most sites available in English and Hindi Search Engine: if present, on Home page Images: Women and children in modest or traditional clothing, Men in business or traditional clothing, People doing cultural or familial activities or learning situations, No provocative shots Consistent use of the chakra symbol on most sites Consistent use of the Indian flag if it s a governmental site Moving text, flashy icons rare Fig 9 Prototype checklist 11

12 Once I compiled the checklist, I compared the list to other Indian organizational websites and found that the sites all had similarities in their structures. While not all of the checklist items were present on every site, the majority of the checklist items were present. The following list describes the findings: All sites were simplistic and clean, but informative and well organized. All sites were available in English and Hindi versions. All sites rarely used photographs, but when they did, they were modest and appropriately cultural. All sites had black text with few hyperlinks in text. All sites had what I call hyperlists, lists of hyperlinked text that used non-clickable bullet points to set links apart. All sites had menu bars in similar locations with hypertext instead of buttons. All sites used the same variations on the color scheme mentioned above. Prominent colors were red, green, saffron, and blue. Backgrounds were usually white. All sites contained body text. However, some sites contained a lot (by Indian standards) while some sites contained very little. The amount of text depended on the subject matter. While not all Indian websites employ all of the checklist items above, the similarities between them are significant. Indian websites have a clean, organized appearance. The images are wholesome and religion-, education-, or family-based. The text seems limited, but the information is substantial. Indian websites combine function and design while adhering to India s rich cultural and religious heritage. 12

13 Works Cited St. Amant, Kirk. A Prototype Theory Approach to International Web Site Design. Technical Communication Quarterly 14 (2005): National Informatics Centre Government of India under the aegis of Department of Information Technology Ministry of Communications & Information Technology. Oct

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