As you will no-doubt have noticed, data.gov.uk has today undergone a significant design update. The project team have been working on this new look-and-feel and refactoring our code for the last couple of months. We hope that you will now find the site easier to navigate and use, especially when on netbooks which we’ve noticed many people using at conferences. Our thanks to those of you who have provided us with valuable feedback and comments on the initial data.gov.uk site, many of which have been incorporated into this new design.
In particular you may notice some changes on the homepage allowing us to highlight new or featured datasets straight to you. This will ensure that newly released datasets of interest (e.g. COINS or public servant high earners) can be promoted on the home page for easy access straight to the raw data you are looking for. It is now easier to find datasets quickly through browsing popular categories. With over 3,700 datasets now available and more being added all the time, these categories should help users access a wider range of data.
The homepage also enables us to highlight the latest blog post on the site, from the main data.gov.uk project team, the Transparency Board and others. Here you can keep up-to-date on progress on the Transparency Agenda, the drive to publish local open data, and more. Users can also quickly see the latest community-generated correspondence via the forum update.
We put a lot of work into improving the search functionality across the site, based on your feedback. As before, the main site search is faceted, but now you can also narrow results down to just datasets, apps, ideas or forum items, as well as filtering by publisher, tag or geographic area. This is still a live area of development, so expect more on this to come.
If you are interested in a particular category of data you can now monitor updates via RSS feeds. A complete list of the feeds available can be found within the updated sitemap, which also helps illustrate the range of content now available.
Our thanks to those of you who have signed-up and joined the data.gov.uk community. Since launch we now have over 3,800 members who are able to contribute to the forum and wiki and comment across the site on blog posts, datasets, applications and ideas. If you’ve yet to register, you can sign up as a community member.
Do stay in touch with the project and continue to let us know your feedback via comments below, the contact form or on Twitter @DirDigEng.
8 comments
Comment by Anonymous posted on
Really great design, just one issue, the Favicon (what people see as the picture for bookmarks) is still at the Drupal default, though not a massive issue cosmetically this tells people you are using Drupal as your CMS and gives hackers a head start if they want to break in.
Comment by phil posted on
Hi,
Glad to hear you like the new look! Thank you for flagging this up, it has since been rectified. Do let us know if you have any comments, suggestions or questions about the redesigned site.
Thanks,
Phil
Comment by BenAcheson posted on
I applaud the use of Drupal. I don't think it's secret.
Comment by Anonymous posted on
Like the new look - clean and modern!
Comment by BenAcheson posted on
I love the new design. It feels really welcoming and friendly, and yet is quite formal, in keeping with a government department. It really creates the impression that transparency is a genuine priority. And where better to pursue transparency than online?
I am really pleased to see the flood appeal on the front page of this and other .gov.uk websites.
My only criticism is the website's search box. When you click into the search field the 'What are you looking for' text remains, which makes for a less than perfect UX (user experience).
The filtered/categorised search results are excellent though. This is a leading-edge website by any standards. Also very well optimised for external search engines.
Ben Acheson
Comment by Anonymous posted on
I applaud the new design, very crisp and clean.
Just one thing though, I noticed the visual blog link (i.e. the hands typing on the laptop) on the home page is /blogs and does not work.
The main menu one works and that’s /blog
Graham Walker
Comment by jenkinsp posted on
Thanks Graham, this link has now been fixed.
Comment by Anonymous posted on
I support the design updated. I think asp .net is used over the design and its in beta stage. The header and footer section is the best part which is matching with still background (also called no moving background). No errors found in design and design is very healthy for SEO. Even I found this blog from Google search engine.
Content is also healthy and I loved the site in one look. Keep up the good work.
Raman