Integrity Survey of UK Government Web Sites finds Tale of Two Cities

Keynote Systems®, The Internet Authority, today published research into the content and technical integrity of UK government Web sites, including image load times, single page sizes, broken links and browser compatibility issues.

Keynote Systems®, The Internet Authority, today published research into the content and technical integrity of UK government Web sites, including image load times, single page sizes, broken links and browser compatibility issues.

-   57% of government Web sites had images such as pictures or graphics that could be optimised to deliver faster access, particularly helpful for members of the public using modems and older computers.
-   22% of the government Web sites surveyed had single pages in excess of 1.5MB which means they were effectively too slow for visitors using modems to download comfortably, regardless of image optimisation.
-   12% of government Web sites required optimisation across over half the images on the site, usually for height-width problems, which means content can be delivered only once the rest of the page has downloaded.
-   Over 70% of government Web sites had browser compatibility issues, particularly for older browsers, potentially causing digital exclusion among members of the public.
-   43% had 10-25 broken links, including www.ukonline.gov.uk, the gateway to government information and services.
-   10% of government Web sites had 75 or more broken links, with the British Army heading the list with 148 broken links out of 1769 (8%).

The research found that government Web sites presented a 'tale of two cities'; there were examples of 'best practice', particularly among new sites or portals established specifically to deliver e-government services to the general public, alongside government Web sites which had a number of integrity issues such as poor image optimisation, large pages and broken links.

Surprisingly, the research found little correlation between Web site integrity and the appointment of an e-Minister to oversee the government's UK Online Strategy. Even government or public Web sites with no appointed e-Champion had on average smaller, more digestible page sizes, and fewer broken links than Web sites with an e-Minister. For example, around 85% of Web sites without an e-Champion had less than 25 broken links, which compares to 35% for government Web sites with an e-Minister.

Page size analysis shows a similar pattern. 49% of government Web sites with an
e-Minister had pages below 1.5MB, in comparison with 62% of government sites with an e-Champion, and 71% of sites without an appointed e-Champion. Clearly government Web sites with an e-Champion have tended to provide higher levels of integrity than those with both an e-Minister and an e-Champion (an e-Minister usually has an e-Champion appointed alongside them).

Image optimisation, the process of programming pictures or graphics to download efficiently, was best implemented in government Web sites with an e-Champion. Of the government Web sites surveyed with appointed e-Champions, nearly two-thirds required no image optimisation at all, including the Inland Revenue, Customs & Excise and Office of the e-Envoy. In contrast 72% of government Web sites with e-Ministers, and 78% of sites with no appointed e-Champion, needed image optimisation.

The Government Information and Communication Service achieved close to full marks with no broken links, no image optimisation issues, or browser compatibility problems. www.gics.gov.uk is let down only by a few pages in excess of 100,000KB. The Office of the e-Envoy Web site provides another good example of e-Champion 'best practice' with easily digestible pages and just 14 broken links.

Further, it is clear that several government Web sites have embraced their remit to transform how companies and people interact with government as set out in the UK Online Annual Report 2002. In the study these e-government portals, such as Work Train and NHS Direct have pages below 1.5MB, have less than 25 broken links and images, such as pictures and graphics, have been fully optimised.

NHS Direct for example, has just 21 broken links out of 1103 (2%) with bite-sized graphics and illustrations that can be downloaded easily. However, it has browser compatibility issues that may impact the ability for visitors with older browsers to access the information they require.

Other government Web sites providing high levels of technical integrity include the Inland Revenue, Employment Service, DVLA, Office for National Statistics and Ordnance Survey.

The British Army Web site, in contrast, had a page on its careers section dealing with transfers for serving soldiers which is an incredible 3.8MB, taking over 100 seconds to download on a standard modem dial-up link. The Army Web site also has 148 broken links and browser incompatibility issues with tags and attribute issues that affect both Netscape and Explorer browsers from version 3 to version 6.

Andy Didcott, UK country manager, Keynote Europe Ltd, said: "Overall, it is clear that there is still work to be done in improving the technical integrity of government Web sites. Bizarrely, while the strategy to appoint e-Champions appears to result in markedly better Web sites, the combination of an e-Minister and an e-Champion appears to lead to poorer technical integrity than selecting no champion at all.

"Clearly, these technical integrity issues need to be managed, particularly in the light of the slow take up of online government services by the public. The e-commerce world has learned the hard way that a faster, optimised Web site delivers a better experience and encourages regular, habitual use; all prerequisites if UK is to achieve its ambition to lead the world in e-government."

Keynote Systems integrity tested 35 Web sites of departments with e-Ministers and/ or e- Champions who oversee the government's UK Online Strategy, and 14 public sites without e-Champions, during December 2002 and early January 2003. The departments with e-Ministers and/ or e-Champions were selected via the Web site of the Office of the e-Envoy. The testing was undertaken using WebIntegrity, a spider-based tool which tests the content and integrity of Web sites from the point of view of an external visitor.

WebIntegrity provides large organisations and enterprises with a scaleable tool to test the integrity and content of Web sites at all stages from development to deployment, applying common performance standards to all site content. Armed with the information gained through WebIntegrity, organisations can fix broken links, diagnose and repair HTML code problems, test for compliance with the latest HTML standards, ensure compatibility with popular browsers and optimise images for faster load time. In summary, WebIntegrity delivers quality assurance for sites with a large number of pages with content and links that change on a daily basis.

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About Keynote Systems
Keynote Systems (Nasdaq "KEYN"), The Internet Performance Authority®, is the Global leader in Web performance management and testing services that improve the quality of e-business. Keynote's services enable corporate enterprises to benchmark, diagnose, test and manage their e-business systems both inside and outside the firewall. More than 2,300 corporate IT departments and 16,000 individual subscribers rely on the company's easy-to-use and cost-effective services to optimise revenues and reduce downtime costs without requiring additional complex and costly software implementations.

Keynote Systems, Inc. was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in San
Mateo, California. The company can be reached at www.keynote.com or by phone in the UK on 0207 887 4531

© 2002 Keynote Systems, Inc. Keynote, The Internet Performance Authority and Perspective are registered trademarks of Keynote Systems, Inc. Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

For further information:
Ben Evetts/Richard Hewitt, The WhiteOaks Consultancy Ltd. 020 7734 4945
E-mail: benevetts@london.whiteoaks.co.uk
richardh@london.whiteoaks.co.uk

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