LocalGov.co.uk’s new design

As you can see, LocalGov.co.uk is looking a little different today.

So why have we changed? Well, the new look is the result of a number of factors.

First, and most important, we have listened to what you liked most about the previous incarnation of the site, and have adjusted the new version accordingly. Our web analytics software has also informed these changes, as they show how our users navigate through the site and which sections they find more useful.

This process has also allowed us to reduce the clutter on the site and improve the signposting to content from our new look home page. There’s a great deal of information on the site, and we wanted to make it easier for you to find what you are looking for.

In addition, we wanted to make LocalGov.co.uk more compliant – that is, we wanted the site to work more efficiently in a wider range of Internet browsers. This alone should improve your user experience.

One thing to bear in mind, though… the implementation of the new design will take place in phases (you’ll note this blog post is in the old design, for example).

Therefore, we have concentrated our initial efforts on the top landing pages of the site: home page, our content pages (including news, business and analysis) and the jobs section.

We are making a number of more fundamental changes to the directory section, based on user feedback, and these will come on stream later. Watch this space for updates.

Please take some time to familiarise yourself with the new look. If you have any feedback or comments, please email me. Although we have tested the news pages on a range of browsers and machines, there will inevtiably be glitches so please let me know if you encounter problems.

I will also be posting regularly about new features of the design so keep visiting the blog.

Regards,

Matt Hobley.