Statistical Website Principles
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The document outlines principles and best practices for creating effective statistical websites, emphasizing the importance of usability, content structure, and the transition from static to dynamic web pages. It highlights the need for standardized navigation, user support, and streamlined data publishing processes, as well as the roles of different user groups. Additionally, it includes practical guidelines and examples from various countries to enhance user experience and accessibility.
Statistical Website Principles
- 1. A Contemporary Statistical Website Katja Šnuderl ENP-East Training Programme: User-Friendly Web Dissemination Minsk, 25. – 28. 3. 2014
- 3. User behaviour • Learning by doing websites across internet tend to use similar structure and navigation principles (which is evolving in time) • Web usability testing: Focus on F • Governmental websites: standardized sections – Fields of work, About us, Legislation, Organisation, Documents, … – Statistical "industry" is different
- 4. Statistical "Industry" In focus: • Data releases • Tools to access detailed data • Data search • User support Out of focus: • About us, events, organisational issues …
- 5. Statistical Data Releases • Content structure: Statistical topics / themes – Population, prices, employment … – No international standard – Unambiguity (Agricultural prices?) • Product structure: Types of data releases – Press releases, printed publications, database… – Periodicity, media, content structure
- 6. Navigation • Focus on data • Structure information by content first (and by product/tool second) • No statistical website is simple and small take care of consistency • Keep the homepage "clean" – Make use of the page footer (contact information, shortcuts …)
- 8. Static and Dynamic websites • Static website: – HTML pages, created manually or with a standard tool. Each page includes all contents and can be saved as such. • Dynamic website: – The page is only a “frame”, content is read from databases behind the pages. A page can be saved as a HTML file, which only saves the current “view”, not all the data in databases
- 9. Static vs. Dynamic • Static pages require less programming knowledge, functioning of one page does not depend on functioning of the other tools • With a large quantity of data and information managing static web pages becomes extremely time consuming • When pages change daily (e.g. publishing statistical data), it is more reasonable to use dynamic websites
- 10. Dynamic websites • Included files, CSS, databases, functions • Build once, use many times • Language versions • Standardization
- 11. Slovenian experience: First Releases • Manual preparation of data releases: Conversion from Word files to HTML • Introducing a database-driven publishing process (CMS – Content Management System) disburdened the IT unit (less manual work) • Statisticians had to learn the new tool, but gained more control over the publishing process
- 12. International experiences • Shift from static to dynamic websites • Different content management systems, developed in-house or local adjustments of an existing product on the market • Emphasys on the data publishing process • Some pages can remain static (e.g. organisation description,…)
- 14. Different user groups! • Easy access to data for regular users – Data release notification (RSS / e-mail / twitter) – Online database: Publish all data • "Marketing tools" for first-time users • Additional information for advanced users – Detailed metadata – Microdata for research purposes
- 15. Website as a marketing tool Examples: • Database of names • Interactive statistical atlas • Population clock • Personal inflation calculator • Database of settlements
- 16. Design Guidelines • Prioritize website content (keep the homepage "clean") • Web usability standards – Contrast – Font size – Consistent icons / thumbnail images … http://www.nngroup.com/articles/usability-101-introduction-to-usability/ • Usability testing (e.g. eye-tracking)
- 17. Examples
- 18. • Norway
- 19. • Italy
- 20. • Denmark
- 22. Practical Work (Day 2) About your website: 1. Success (the best feature from both production and user point of view) 2. Challenge (a problem you plan to solve) 3. Failure (a lesson learned and never to be repeated) Oral presentation, 5 minutes per country