Welcome to the new version of the INGV-Osservatorio Etneo web site!
The project for a web site is a complicated and difficult combination of creativity and technology, of content usability and technical efficiency. A good graphic framework needs to be created respecting the rules of navigability, usability, functionality, web marketing, and whatever necessary for easy accessibility. As for the creation of a web site for a research institute, such as the INGV, it is not advisable to rely on the inventiveness of web designers or purely off-the-shelves informatics solutions, because such solutions might not produce the desired results.
To produce a web site that is functional, navigable, usable, accessible, it is necessary to respect the technical rules for the validation of the site according to W3C standards (such as those regarding accessibility) or, alternatively, those of the most widespread conventions, whose adoption is in the hands of the web architect. Some principles, like those concerning web site usability proposed by the “guru”, Jakob Nielsen, have become de-facto standards that are frequently used for the construction of web sites by the majority of web designers all over the world. However, it should be emphasized that even when adopting the commonly accepted principles, the design of a web site, right for its extremely free nature, must always envisage a certain degree of flexibility and tolerance.
During the realization of an institutional web site such as that of the Osservatorio Etneo (INGV-OE), the aforementioned requisites become integral part in the design of the proposed objects, so that they may guarantee a scientifically valid official communication, which at the same time can be easily interpreted by a non-expert “public”.
The analysis of the visitor flux and the relative statistics as surveyed in time have stimulated a radical re-design of the hosting platform for the INGV-OE web site, aimed at improving the performance and availability of the information to users that are increasingly interested in seismic and volcanic phenomena. It must not be forgotten that one of the foremost tasks of the INGV-OE web site is to provide scientifically efficient information both to experts in the field and the broad public.
The solution implemented with this new web portal is, from a hardware and software point of view, at avant-garde level, guaranteeing maximum redundancy and reliability in terms of fruition of the offered service also to the scientific community.
