Parliament Gets New Online Gloss

Matthew Tempest - Guardian Unlimited
July 30, 2002.

"Westminster had a secret makeover today - with the discreet launch of a revamped parliamentary website.

The glossy new site - launched without fanfare - contains a refined search engine, live webcasting of the Commons, Lords, Westminster Hall and select committees, as well as better navigation and the chance to participate in the scrutiny of bills under debate. It replaces the old text-on-white website launched by parliament in 1996, although the relaunch has been postponed from May.

Parliament - with the exception of the House of Lords - has already broken up for the summer, giving the web designers three months to fine-tune any teething problems before MPs return in October.

The revamp was farmed out to Brighton-based Epic, a firm specialising in tailored work for government contracts, who have already set up Platinum, a secure intranet for top civil servants. The Commons authorities decided to go for a "soft launch" with little or no publicity to enable faults to be put right.

Steve Rayson, project leader for the redesign, said: "We felt the old site was good at directions, and comprehensive, but not very visually engaging. "There are two types of web user behaviour, the 'hunter' and the 'grazer', and the site as it stood - all text, links and search engines - suited the 'hunter' who wanted one specific piece of information quite well, but did not encourage users to explore the site, or research."

"The new site has pictures - including a shot of Big Ben on the front - but we have been careful not just to present the stereotypical image of peers in wigs. We want to show it as a working parliament."

A spokeswoman for the House of Commons broadcasting committee said: "We also intend to make the site more interactive, by allowing users to sign up for email news and press releases from select committees and the like."

The address of the site remains the same, but visitors are now greeted with a picture of the famous Big Ben showing the time at 3.35pm - just after the start of prime minister's questions. It also contains information for people wanting to visit parliament in person and a guide and glossary to how Westminster works - something noticeably lacking from the previous incarnation. There is also a feedback email for reporting problems with the new site."