by Peter G. Miller
Washington -- While the Federal Housing Administration issued 1.1 million
loans in 1998, information regarding the well-known consumer program is
virtually impossible to find on the newly-designed HUD website.
HUD, according to its "look and feel" design statement, wants to create a site
which is "organization neutral." Under this approach, says HUD, "What's
important is that our audience can find what they want, when they want it, as
easily as possible. So we organize our information by topics that mean
something to our audience - not by HUD's organizational units."
The result is that consumers cannot find the term "FHA" -- and thus FHA loan
programs -- on the HUD home page or the site index. Looking for "FHA" on the
HUD search engine produces a list of 42,652 references.
According to HUD, "Secretary (Andrew) Cuomo has said over and over - 'we are
ONE HUD!' So we want our web sites - whether it's the home page or HUDweb or
the Answer Machine or the kiosks - to look like they're a part of 'one HUD.'"
Under Cuomo's plan, HUD managers must follow "3 simple rules" when posting
online.
First they must use the "HUD look and feel."
"What we're trying to do," says HUD, "is to get people familiar with our colors
and look so that they automatically identify them with us. We call it the
'McDonald's Approach.' When you go to McDonalds - whether you're in Boston on
(sic) Honolulu - you pretty much know what to expect. You're going to find the
same menu, you know how the food counter works, you know where to look for the
bathrooms, you know where to look for the drive-through. One of the reasons
people choose to go to McDonalds is that they know what to expect. They value
that consistency."
Second, HUD managers are to "organize by topics - not by HUD's organization"
table.
"One of the guiding principles of HUD's web sites is that the audience
shouldn't have to figure out our organization in order to get the information
they need," says HUD.
"What's important is that our audience can find what they want, when they want
it, as easily as possible," says HUD. "So we organize our information by topics
that mean something to our audience - not by HUD's organizational units."
The third principle, says HUD, is to keep web pages "lean and clean."
"We're the federal government," says HUD, "and we have to make sure that our
web pages can be used be people with all kinds of computer equipment, from
Pentium 2s down to 386s. So we don't overuse graphics and pictures that make it
hard for folks with low end computers to download information."
Direct links to important FHA web pages.
Published: April 7, 1999
Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.
Editor's Note: This article reflects the opinions of Peter G. Miller only and not necessarily the views of this or any other publication, organization or Website owner.
