Flashback to Siskel and Ebert did their Thing
Thumbs Up vs. Thumbs Down: Website Design
Published by: Michael Dorman
Temple University: Technology Education
Professor: Dr. Elwood
March 9, 2026
Introduction
Website design nowadays is the most important aspect that allows users to access and understand information. Well designed websites create efficiencies, limit frustrations, and allow completion of tasks that the user is seeking. On the flip side poorly designed websites obviously do the opposite and leave users frustrated and misusing time to complete tasks they require. In my review I am going to compare two websites that assist newcomers to Canada: Immigrants and/or temporary residents (Ex-pats). The first one is the official website for Immigration Canada. The second one is operated by the Province of Ontario, that represents the largest influx of new Canadians, due to the size of Toronto and other major cities that offer more employment opportunities and offer creature comforts for example newcomers can easily find their ethic food via local restaurants, groceries, and home goods. As well as, cultural groups/religion that are related to their home country that may lack in other provinces for now. This is a good transition to start with in their first step in Canada, as they can decide later when more comfortable to move to other provinces. This is the primary reason that Ontario is typically the first stopping point for newcomers. For example Toronto has large concentration of groups of Chinese, Indians, Pakistanis, Iranians, and Japanese communities.
Thumbs Up Site: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)
This website is an excellent example and offers very user friendly options. As it is the primary digital portal to access Canada’s immigration services, the site provides very clear and accessible information to millions of international users that are researching and applying for visas, permanent residency, citizenship, and/or work permits. Due to the fact that many users may have limited English and French proficiency, the website shows clarity, and accessibility that obviously shows the website was created with that in mind.
The most relevant aspect of the site is how information is presented. The homepage shows clarity and organization in the structure offering direct links to topics and pathways, for example, Immigrate, Visit, Work, and Study. The presentation provides users quick references that are primarily required by users bypassing the need of any prior knowledge of government programs. It focuses on the users goals, not confusing users with bureaucratic jargon at the start.
Another strength of IRCC’s website is that it is very user friendly. Main actions for example, applying online, checking application status, and finding forms are clearly displayed and accessible with only a few clicks. This presentation aligns with the principle of usability and ease of use. (Davis, 1989). The Interface limits unnecessary choices and promotes the mostly used or common tasks that users need to complete.
Finally, IRCC’s website offers downloadable Welcome Kits in additional languages, for example, Arabic, Dari, Haitian Creole, and Spanish. Although the website is only offered in Canada’s two official languages: English and French these downloadable PDF’s are very useful for immigrants from these countries.
Overall IRCC’s website demonstrates effective design that I can attest to from my personal usage in the past. The main reasons it is an excellent website is its: design, clarity, accessibility and usability. The main page provides clear direct paths for users to navigate and find what they are looking for quickly. Two thumbs up from me.
Thumbs Down Site: Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP)
The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) website provides information on various topics, for example, pathways for workers, entrepreneurs, and international graduates that would like to settle in Ontario. The program is very important for Canadian Immigration, the website demonstrates design weaknesses that can make it challenging for users to understand the topics and create confusion.
The primary issue is the website is overloaded. Many links to additional pages and overload of information. The large text describing eligibility requirements, application process, policy explanations provides too much information upfront. Websites that present too much information at once can reduce usability and increase cognitive load for users (Donderi, 2006).
Added to the website's weakness is the navigation process. Unlike IRCC’s website that organizes the information around user tasks, OINP’s website structures it based on the administration process. This creates an environment that users must already fully understand immigration terminology before determining which programs to apply to. An example of this is the IRCC’s website offers a direct path, for example, click “Immigrate” and then select “Immigrate as a skilled worker”, this provides a step by step task based approach. In comparison the OINP’s website shows information according to specific “administrative tasks” such as:
Employer job offer: foreign worker stream
Employer job offer: international student stream
Human capital priorities stream.
For a newcomer to Canada who is unfamiliar with this terminology can be a confusing experience. The user must already know the different programs in order to understand what to apply to and limit mistakes that will cause delays. One more example is determining eligibility: The IRCC website provides a friendly user-interface that determines eligibility by answering simple questions about the situation, for example, if they are a student, worker, or refugee applicant. While the OINP’s website expects users to read a lengthy description on multiple immigration streams in order to determine what is the most relevant route or best fit for their situation. This creates overload for the user and unfortunately can increase frustration and delays.
OINP’s website also presents an overall weak layout design. The most relevant information, for example, eligibility criteria, documentation required, and steps to the application process are embedded within paragraphs instead of clear direct headings or bullet points. This website design creates a challenge for users due to not stating the direct most used features to them, hence, creating a situation that a quick scan of the page is near impossible that adds to efficiency and increased time to complete tasks for newcomers.
As well, the website offers limited multilingual accessibility beyond English and French. While translation tools or AI can assist users, the lack of integrated multilingual navigation creates barriers for international applicants whose first language is neither of the first language of Canada.
Suggestions for Improvement
I can recommend several improvements based on my personal usage of the website offered by OINP:
First, the website needs to be revamped to replicate IRCC’s website and offer task-oriented navigation vs. its current set up of offering options via its administrative immigration streams.This would allow users to process information easier especially for newcomers unfamiliar with program structure.
Second, the website needs to reduce visual clutter and dense text and instead use bullet points or direct paths listed under clear headings. They can also provide information in sections that allow readability and allow users to quickly locate relevant information.
Third, the site needs to improve multilingual options and provide direct translations commonly spoken in immigrant languages as the IRCC’s website does.
With these recommendations, including the overall layout being greatly improved would remove the two thumbs down and allow it to have two thumbs up. These layouts include consistent fonts, spacing and page presentation or overall design would make the website more manageable to navigate. This would allow more success and quicker results, hence, create a more productive and economic environment in Ontario.
References
Davis, F. D. (1989). Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information technology. MIS Quarterly, 13, 319–340.
Donderi, D. C. (2006). Visual complexity: A review. Psychological Bulletin, 132(1), 73–97.
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