New Website loading in progress...
We are committed to make sure our website is easy to use by everyone. Today we will launch a brand new site that is much more ‘useable’ – that means easy to find information about the services and facilities you need. It will also be ‘accessible’ for everyone – regardless of age, experience or disability.
To allows us to switch on our new site there will be a period, between 8am and 12 noon, when access to our current and new site is not available. We apologise for any inconvenience this causes.
You will see a real difference in our new site from this afternoon. It will look different, with new menus, better laid out pages and easier navigation. It will also focus on the services we provide rather than on which part of the council delivers them.
This is all part of a national project. The Government is making sure all public websites are created in this way and is helping us by providing guidelines and standards. This means we can be measured against and compared with other organisations.
At the moment public organisations often use different terms for the same service, so the Government has also created language guidelines for us all to use. This should make it easier for you to understand if you visit any public websites looking for similar advice or information. As well as this, they have also standardised the way they would like sites to be set out and how you find your way around them - again this should make it easier for you when using a public website.
We are working with a variety of different groups – including our Citizens Panel, consulting with them to make sure we are providing the information you and our other customers need. We have also engaged a company – called Serco – who specialises in ‘usability’ of websites and they have suggested many ways we can make our new website easy to navigate.
Our new website - FAQs.
Why do you need a new site?
The Government is making sure all public websites are created in a similar way so anyone visiting them can find their way around it easily and know they will get all the relevant information they need. So, for example, we will all use the same terms, similar menus and hold the same basic information about our services.
Our current site is now out dated and we want to offer more, interactive online services to you and other customers.
Why will it be better for me?
It really depends on what you need from us. Over all, the new site will be easier for everyone to find what they need.
As well as making our site more accessible and easy to use, we will offer additional services like online payment, online booking and online forms. You will be in control and can deal with us electronically when you like.
We will also make our site more accessible for people of all ages and abilities. For example, we are committed to making sure people with disabilities or reading difficulties can use our website and all the services on it. So, we are making it compatible with technology like screen readers that turn text on a web page to speech, using Plain English and keeping our menu structure simple.
What should I do if I have difficulties with the new site or want to make a comment on it?
We will have an online feedback form for your comments, queries or complaints about the site or our services. We will also have all our contact details on the site so you can write, call or visit us.
However, in the meantime, you can contact us now about the new site.
Call:
Martin Reed on 0191 2116445
Email:
Write:
Martin Reed, Workstream Leader, Web Services Team, Newcastle City Council, PO Box 766, Newcastle NE 99 1FR.