People who know me know that I'm not really one to criticize much that comes out of the Vatican. This is the exception. Vatican.va is poorly designed and I rather wish somebody over there would catch wind of this and start it over.

I just recently learned that vatican.va was featured in a book, "Web Pages That Suck." It makes me interested in picking it up sometime. Until then, I might speculate about why this is:

1. Nobody uses patterned backgrounds anymore, least of all organizations' Websites. Vatican.va makes me feel like I'm reading documents off of a paper bag. Besides, it gives the impression of a youthful personal page rather than the face of the oldest living institution on the planet.
2. The organization is inefficient and unintuitive. Why are there two links to the same page ("Bible - Catechism - Code") which are labelled differently? (One link calls it the "Archives"). Why do I have to click through every level of the Curia beaurocracy just to find the latest document from the CDF?
3. The search engine is very poor--it has no options, does not organize results according to relevance, and is simply too mysterious. "You never know what you're going to get."
4. There is no reason or rhyme to the flashy "circular" front page menu. Worse, The most important links are not labelled. You have to mouse-over them. That's just bad. The absolute fundamental focus of any professional site--especially a reference tool like vatican.va--is clarity, transparency, and simplicity. The front page is simply opaque. And why do the site designers insist on bragging about having a secret anything, prominently in the center of the page?

I just think that, as a Website, it's schizophrenic. It doesn't know what it's trying to be. It sacrifices way too much utility for a shallow and rather pointless style--uh, are we evangelizing anyone with our circular menus and paper-bag backgrounds?

IMO, the solution is to treat the Website more like they treat the Mass. It should be clear, ordered, and simple. Nothing in the site should try to do anything it wasn't meant to do. The role of each section should be unambiguously defined. There should be no distractions. Right now, www.vatican.va is the antithesis of the Mass (except perhaps for the part about "mystery.")

-- Skoo (anonymous@God.bless), January 21, 2004

Answers

"IMO, the solution is to treat the Website more like they treat the Mass."

Oh, let us hope not!

-- Nick (nixplace39@hotmail.com), January 21, 2004.

It's one of the worst websites there is.

It needs a counterpart that's text only, or near it. I'm on a T1 line and it takes forever to load anything. God help the poor guy using a 14.4k modem. You'd be there all night waiting for one page.

It should also have a clear menu somewhere not that artsy but impossible to navigate circle thing. You are going to the website to FIND something, it's hard to find anything there. It's just bad. They should hire some college kid for $250.oo to make them a good one, or get the guys that put the Catholic Encyclopedia online. You can find what you want there. Heck, they could put out an appeal, I'd chip in a couple of bucks.

Just another gripe.

Frank

-- Someone (ChimingIn@twocents.cam), January 21, 2004.

vatican.va needs to be poor , it's better to say tradional !! __ It has anything to do with the modern world , it suppose not be commercialized !! __ Sites with too much (over)creativity , like commercials , publicity (like pop-ups) & colors are disturbing to me , just as the commercials showen on Radio & TV !!

I don't like oranged (as background) sites with yellow letters , my eyes can't stand these combination , the same counts for all red , pink & yellow , blue or limegreen as background , I've got a problem with reading them , it really hurts my eyes !!!!

Salut & Cheers from a NON BELIEVER:

-- Laurent LUG (.@...), January 21, 2004.

Heck, I'd do it for nuthin. :) In a way, it could sort of make sense: the Vatican is an independent city-state with a huge presence of tourism. The Website's style is therefore much like a "Visit the Vatican!" brochure. The problem is that its form does not match its function--it's a document library more than anything else.

Actually, it is a little surprising that the Church embraced the Internet as quickly as it did (albeit in a qualified way). In my mind, it would have been preferable for the Church to respond to the Internet the same way she responded to the new natural science of Galileo, the new Biblical criticism, the new politics, etc: extreme caution and tacit rejection at first, until such a time as each had evolved to a point of manageability and possible compatibility with Tradition.

The Internet is still too new. We haven't firmly established what the Internet is vs. what it isn't. That is something that needs to happen to every new social phenomenon that comes the Church's way. Vatican.va is symptomatic of the fact that the Internet hasn't found its proper place in the world yet.

-- Skoo (anonymous@God.bless), January 22, 2004.

I thibk the problem is that the Vatican IS Old...they really haven't caight up to the Digital age, and most of the people their are clergu... NOT computer people. Lets face it, the Internat had, at one tme, the potential to be the worlds biggest library, a haven for intellect, spirit, and power, and yet the bulk of it is Porn and depravity...

Most people that I kow who are clergy, Catholic or otherwise, seldom if ever use the net.

They probabely don't know HOW to build a good site.

-- ZAROVE (ZAROFF3@JUNO.COM), January 24, 2004.

to me, a daily Masser and Jesuit educated, the fact that the vatican has a web site is, in itself, something of a miracle. be patient! The Church thinks like an eternal institutional and is in no particular hurry. Meanwhile I am enjoying my virtual tour of this remarkable place.

-- robert earl bundy (bobandmimi@sbcglobal.net), January 24, 2004.

I think that the site has a very interesting and intriguing design. One thing it does need is more color. I also think that it needs some more information in it. I think it would be cool if it had a complete list of saints and monastic orders. I also think the site needs to be in Russian, Greek, Chinese, Arabic, and Hebrew.

-- Scott (papasquat10@hotmail.com), January 26, 2004.

For those who do not like the vatican website, have some respect for the fact that the Truth does not have to be coloured, that digitalisation will not assure us a place in Heaven and that Almighty God is not looking for success in these matters, only faithfulness from all those who love Him.

-- Paula Hagan (paula.hagan1@btinternet.com), January 26, 2004.