ictQATAR has launched its new website, which is packed with user-friendly features. The new website, www.ictQATAR.qa, was developed on the open source content management system (CMS)- Drupal. Its design and content architecture were developed after numerous interviews and site-tests with end-users and content creators. The website makes content easily searchable and offers multiple paths for users to intuitively find the information they are looking for. “The user was truly the focus of our efforts in the revamping of our website. We serve a diverse group of constituents in Qatar and know that they need to be able to easily access important information through our site, whether it is a regulatory authority legal document, event details or the latest news from ictQATAR. We have also prioritised telecommunications consumer rights, making it easier for general consumers to find valuable tips and resources, as well as the ability to easily file a complaint when necessary,” said Howaida Nadim, ictQATAR’s executive director (Communications). The ictQATAR website is among the first government sites in the region developed on an open source CMS. “As the government agency responsible for advancing the ICT sector in Qatar, we felt it was important to use an open source solution for our website. Strong open source solutions, like Drupal, have a huge community of developers supporting them, allowing for continuous enhancements, innovative new features and regular upgrades to security features. Also, using an open source solution helps avoid vendor lock-in, which is common when using proprietary CMS offerings and it often allows for more web development to be done in-house because of the access to the community around it. We hope other organisations will explore open source solutions when looking to development a website and address other IT projects,” said Nadim. ictQATAR’s new website’s top level navigation categorises information in five primary areas- ‘About Us’, ‘Regulatory Authority’, ‘National Programs’, ‘Digital Society’ and ‘News & Events’. ‘About Us’ includes general information about ictQATAR, including its leadership; ‘Regulatory Authority’ includes all the information about ictQATAR’s telecoms regulatory role, including legal documents and resources for consumers; ‘National Programs’ details ictQATAR’s efforts in ICT infrastructure, government ICT projects, cyber security and e-business; ‘Digital Society’ highlights ictQATAR’s social programs, including cyber safety, e-education and ICT skills development; while ‘News & Events’ is the latest happenings from ictQATAR. The new website is directly connected with important social media sites, such as Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube, making it easy to share information and engage with audiences on different platforms. “We have found that a lot of our users access our website through social media, rather than coming directly to the homepage. It was important to us that the new website reflected this reality and allow for easy integration with the major social media sites,” said Nadim. ictQATAR’s website is published under a Creative Commons license. Creative Commons is a non-profit organisation that has developed flexible content rights licenses that maximise digital creativity, sharing and innovation. The primary address for ictQATAR’s new website is www.ictQATAR.qa, and it is also accessible through www.ict.gov.qa and the newly launch Arabic domain names.

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