The White House

— Published March 20th, 2004  |  by David Moore

In these troubled times, people are turning to the Internet for up to date information on the war in Iraq. So should we be prepared for shock and awe from the White House site [www.whitehouse.gov]?

Hardly. It's a competent presence, with timely updates and a depth of information, but there are some notable problems from a content perspective.

The credibility and quality of much of the writing is suspect. The Vice President's biography states: 'Throughout his service, Mr. Cheney served with duty, honor, and unwavering leadership, gaining him the respect of the American people during trying military times.'

Rather than impress, this subjective tub-thumping makes one question the veracity of the rest of the material on the site.

The tone of too much of the writing is technical rather than inclusive. On the day this reviewer visited, the headline story was 'President Bush, Prime Minister Blair Hold Press Availability'. It turns out a 'press availability' is a news conference, but unless you were versed in politico-speak you wouldn't know that.

The introductory text on the story of the President announcing his wartime budget is also a lesson in long-winded obfuscation: 'President Bush submitted a wartime budget Tuesday directly tied to Operation Iraqi Freedom, the war on terror and addressing the terrorism threat to our homeland and the preparedness needs of our first responders'.

Further down the homepage, there's some more mauling of the language. We're told, 'The White House Photo Office released two photo essays today exclusive on the White House web site'. Shouldn't that be 'exclusively'?

Elsewhere, a wealth of information is let down by a lack of explanatory text - who outside the Beltway can tell a proclamation from an executive order, for example? While the navigation is generally straightforward, it's not clear what the difference is between 'national security', and 'homeland security'.

Functionality is also a little wayward at times. One can apply for jobs online, but invitations to the President have to sent by snail mail. There is a search box on every page, but search results include a photo essay on presidential dog Barney, regardless of your query.

The site's purpose is to represent the US government to a global audience, but there's no commitment to the clarity of expression that would allow this to happen. Beneath the expensive and impressive infrastructure is a shrill tone, a lack of understanding of what's right for other people, and an absence of joined-up thinking. Or maybe the site represents the administration perfectly.

The Scores

Criteria	(Full marks)	Score
Visitor Value	(140)	79
Functionality	(30)	23
Site Design	(60)	39
Total	(230)	141