An
Anatomy
of Anchors
Finding out what is where in the government has always been a daunting task and a goldmine for jokes. FirstGov's main purpose is to display the immense amount of government sites, data, and forms so that users can quickly find the pages they need. This task is difficult as the information needs are quite diverse: from accessing an IRS tax form to filling out visas to finding the latest partners and results in a desalination study.
The FirstGov site is essentially a site of anchor clusters--anchors grouped by organization and references on the left hand side, and by audience on the top tabs. Each menu leads to a further menu. Like BBC [4] and Adaptive Path [1], FirstGov uses a mix of selectively underlined and standard anchors. FirstGov does deviate from the standard by indicating visited links as red.
Screenshot used by permission.
Sticking to an expected standard makes a complex job a little more manageable. Imagine this screen with the layout of hidden anchors such as Fuddruckers [19] or eye-catching animations such as War Games--Catch The LandMine!! [40] and you could see the incipient chaos.
Like others such as the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection [50], FirstGov uses common icons for mailing and printing. Like BBC [4], FirstGov uses icons as well as text to appeal to children--a unique way of enticing kids to explore and finish their homework:
Screenshot used by permission.