A review of the top 10 global eGov sites and definition of best practices based on this review.

1. eGovernment
Competitive
Analysis

2. About this document
This document details a competitive analysis of six eGov sites, to inform design ideas
and direction for the redesign of the Egypt eGov portal
• Hong Kong
• UK
• USA
• Australia
• Switzerland
• New Zealand

3. Outside opinions
From FutureGov
The United Kingdom’s Gov.UK, is praised widely for the simplicity of its design, the clarity of
its content, its search engine optimization strategies, the agility of its entrepreneurial team,
and its consolidation of hundreds of government websites.
Australia’s use of comprehensive user research and testing has led it to make significant
improvements to the Australia.gov.au portal that helped the country’s e-government
programs score second highest in the United Nation’s 2014 e-government rankings.
Hong Kong’s Gov.HK is called vibrant, exciting, and “not at all like a staid government
website.” It is notable for its accessibility—in 10 languages: Cantonese, Mandarin, English,
Bahasa Indonesian, Nepalese, Tagalog, Pakistani, Thai and Vietnamese.
New Zealand’s newly redesigned Govt.nz “doesn’t look much like a government website at
all,” according to FutureGov. “It’s very simple with a large font and no official insignia.”
Extensive user testing and feedback guided the designers’ decisions.

4. United Kingdom

6. Prominent search box
No main nav
Responsive design
Services based UI
Clear mission statement
News minimized
Some repeated content (services listed twice,
Popular and Most Active are different sections)

7. • Benefits
• Births, deaths, marriages and care
• Business and self-employed
• Childcare and parenting
• Citizenship and living in the UK
• Crime, justice and the law
• Disabled people
• Driving and transport
• Education and learning
• Employing people
• Environment and countryside
• Housing and local services
• Money and tax
• Passports, travel and living abroad
• Visas and immigration
• Working, jobs and pension

8. Very simple, somewhat
modern design with clear
typography and generous
use of white space

9. Repetition of Services list
at bottom
Clear separation of
Services from
Departments and overall
government documents

10. Each Services page has its
own specific Navigation
Side nav listing Services is
consistent on all Services
“home” pages

12. Only when you get to a
Government page do you
have a “global” navigation

13. Search results are clean
and support filters, but
only by organization

15. Hong Kong

17. Prominent News carousel on load
Multiple language support (10)
Has "Hot Searches" area which reflects most
popular content
Simple nav (4 options) that is also reflected in a
Tabbed UI on Home Page
Responsive Design

18. Residents
• Communications and Technology
• Culture, Leisure and Sports
• Education and Training
• Employment
• Environment
• Government, Law and Order
• Health & Medical Services
• Housing and Social Services
• Immigration Services
• Taxes & Duties
• Transport and Motoring
Non Residents
• Visiting Hong Kong
• Working in Hong Kong
• Studying in Hong Kong
• Immigration Services
• Living in Hong Kong
• Doing Business in Hong Kong
Government Websites
• Business and Trade
• Business Facilitation Initiatives
• Corporate Social Responsibility
• Doing Business in/With the mainland
• Doing Business with the Government
• E-Commerce and Information Security
• Global Trade, Import & Export
• Human Resources
• Market Information and Statistics
• Registration & Licenses
• Support for Local & Foreign Enterprises
• Taxes
• Government Websites

19. News carousel still
appears if users scroll
down
Top level Nav persists as
users scroll
Nav changes to a
“hamburger” menu when
the window is too small
“Bubble” asks users for
feedback

23. Responsive Nav, expanded

24. Have search suggestions,
based on the most
popular search terms –
but this functionality
wasn’t working

25. Extensive filters and
recommended results

26. Extensive language
options (10)

27. Australia

29. Clear and simple nav (6 options)
Clear mission statement
Services-based Home Page
News and Calendar are minimized
(below the fold)
Features a prominent side nav on subpages
Very similar to Gov.UK in style and approach

30. • Benefits and Payments
• Business and Industry
• Culture and Arts
• Education and Training
• Environment
• Family and Community
• Health
• Immigration and Visas
• IT and Communications
• Jobs and Workplace
• Money and Tax
• Passports and Travel
• Public Safety and Law
• Security and Defense
• Transport and Regional
• A-Z of Government Services

31. Prominent mission
statement

33. News is minimized

34. “Popular Links” section on
About Australia Page

35. Each Services Page has its
own subnav

36. Proactive Search
Suggestions

37. Extensive Search Result
Filters

38. Consistent design when
user goes to MyGov
section

39. New Zealand

41. Clear mission statement
Services based UI
No main nav (there is a simple nav in the footer)
Similar to Australia and UK sites in structure and
design

42. • Immigration and Visas
• Passports, citizenship and identity
• Leaving NZ
• Work
• Tax, benefits and finance
• Education
• Family and whanau
• Transport
• Housing and property
• Engaging with Government
• Law, crime and justice
• Recreation and the environment
• History, culture and heritage
• Health
• Consumer rights and complaints

43. Has “More on…” section,
a mix of news and
navigation

44. Has a section on New
Government Services

45. Have an expandable
subnav with links on every
section page

46. Very simple search, with
no filters

47. United States of America

49. Somewhat complex nav (7 sections, with sub nav)
Clear mission statement
Elevates core functions into a "How do I…"
section
No news, but instead a "What's new" section
More focused on the government itself than
services
Uses "Services and Information" grouping not just
Services

50. • About the U.S.
• Benefits, Grants and Loans
• Consumer Issues
• Disasters and Emergencies
• Earth and the Environment
• Education
• Government Agencies and Elected Officials
• Health
• Housing
• Jobs and Unemployment
• Laws and Legal Issues
• Military and Veterans
• Money and Taxes
• Small Business
• Travel and Immigration
• Voting and Elections

51. Very complex set of
subnav items

52. Subnav elements
displayed as sections on
the specific “home page”
for each section

53. Simple search with no
filters

54. Responsive version of
home page

55. Switzerland

57. Very content/link heavy home page
Very in-depth nav
Focused on government itself, not citizen services
Have a top-level control to access the various
government agency sites

58. Prominent focus on social
media and press releases

60. Public services is the least
prominent section

61. Simple search does not
display any citizens
service information

62. Users staggered nav to let
users know where they
are on the site

63. Site Feature UK Hong Kong Australia New
Zealand
USA Switzerland
Clean simple layout Yes No Yes Yes No No
Clear Mission Statement Yes No Yes Yes Yes No
Top-Level Nav No Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Sub-Nav (per section) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Advanced Search No Yes No No No No
Search Filters Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes (simple)
Search Autofill No Yes (not
working)
Yes No Yes No
Recommended Results No Yes No No No No
Social Media Section/icons on
Home
No No No No Yes Yes
Services-based Home Page Yes No Yes Yes No No
Responsive Design Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Most Popular Section on Home No No Yes No No No
News Section Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Online Service Index
(From UN report)
Very High N/A Very High Very High Very High High