Press conference to announce the launch of an overhauled Presidential Office website
The Office of the President is scheduled to formally launch an overhauled version of its website on June 7 (Wednesday) at 8:00 a.m. Presidential Office Spokesperson Chang Wen-lan (張文蘭) held a press conference on the afternoon of June 6 to announce the upcoming launch. In addition to outlining five key features and design concepts of the new website, Chang also showed images of some of the new site's webpages.
Spokesperson Chang stated that the existing Presidential Office website was developed in 2009, and used technologies that have become outdated, so in order to stay more closely in sync with the trend toward mobile, the new website will feature a more intuitive and user-friendly interface to provide user-driven services, with the hope that this will bring visitors a more convenient, speedy, and comfortable website browsing experience.
Commenting on the main points of the overhaul, Chang pointed out that the new website has been adjusted to reflect user habits, and has the following five key features: (a) the government's priority concerns are immediately apparent; (b) mobile access is easily available; (c) applications can be submitted online; (d) information can be shared on social media with a single click; and (e) data is more open.
The government's priority concerns are immediately apparent: The homepage of the new website uses simple images and text to highlight key issues of particular social concern. Concise and to-the-point information communicates the government's thinking and what it is calling for, while collections of links to related news releases, videos, special sections, and spotlight issues are provided so that website visitors can quickly develop an understanding of the government's thinking and the key points of current policy undertakings.
Mobile access is easily available: In order to stay in sync with the trend toward mobile network access, the new website employs responsive web design technology to enable people to view websites in display formats that are optimized for the particular mobile devices that they use. In addition, there is a general emphasis on swiping rather than clicking, intuitive opening and closing of menus, clean button design, and other user-friendly interface details. These features make for easy and pleasant browsing no matter whether the website visitor is using a computer, a tablet, or a smart phone.
Applications can be submitted online: To take advantage of services provided by the Office of the President (e.g. calligraphy inscriptions by the president or vice president for use in connection with wedding anniversaries, wedding ceremonies, and funerals; presidential calligraphy inscriptions for display at temples, government agencies, or other organizations; and viewing of Presidential Office archival records), members of the public have until now been required to download an application form from the Presidential Office website, print it out, and return the filled out form via mail or fax. With the new website, a visitor can directly submit an application online, and can also go online to track the progress of the application's handling. This approach eliminates the need for mailing or faxing of application forms, and greatly improves efficiency.
Information can be shared on social media with a single click: In order to spur closer interaction between the Presidential Office website and social media, every webpage on the new website will have several "share" buttons that website visitors can click on to share the content of that page to various social media platforms.
Data is more open: With the exception of content that includes personal information, all content on the new website will be available for public viewing so that visitors can quickly and conveniently obtain more information. This opens up government data for the public to use in ways that add value, and is the general direction for "e-government".
Members of the public are invited to provide opinions and suggestions regarding the new website from the time of its launch tomorrow (June 7) until June 30 by sending an email to newweb@oop.gov.tw. To anyone whose suggestion is accepted, the Office of the President will send a small memento as a token of thanks, and will take the suggestion into consideration when further changes are made to the website.
The spokesperson noted that when the switch to the new website is made, it will be necessary for technical reasons to shut down website service from 2:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. (Taipei time) on June 7. We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your understanding.