Acclaim for Epic redesign of Parliament website

Web experts, journalists and end-users alike have praised the redesign of the website of The United Kingdom Parliament, carried out by Epic. The new site replaces the old 'text-on-white' website launched in 1996, and is being soft-launched over the summer recess.

The main aim of the redesign was to improve navigation on the site and present a more attractive and up-to-date image of Parliament to the public.

Matthew Tempest, political correspondent of Guardian Unlimited, described the 'glossy new site' as containing, 'a refined search engine…as well as better navigation'.

Applauding the quality of Epic's work, Patrick J White, of the British Web Design & Marketing Association, said, 'We compared this site with government sites from other countries, and we think it represents the best example of 'open government' adoption of internet technologies that we have seen. Clarifying data, planning the architecture and devising a better navigation system must have been a serious challenge. We like pretty much everything about this site. The design, layout and colour is simple, elegant and businesslike'.

On behalf of Epic, Steve Rayson said: 'It has been a huge project: there are over a million documents on the site. We felt the old site was good at directions, and comprehensive, but not very visually engaging. The new-look site should appeal to a much broader audience, and make the workings of parliament more transparent.'