Greater London Authority unveils first-look at work-in-progress website

The London.gov.uk website is the first point of contact for the public with the Mayor and London Assembly. However, research carried out in 2014 revealed Londoner’s know very little about the work that goes on in City Hall and the current site can often be difficult to navigate with information presented in a complex and technical manner.

A modernised site is due to go live by the end of the year but from today Londoners will be able to click on a link at the top of the home page that will direct them to a ‘beta’ website - where users are given the opportunity to experience the new site under development and get a flavour of what is to come. Users will then be able to provide feedback on what areas they find useful and engaging and areas which they feel needs more work before it is fully usable.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “It is absolutely vital that we keep Londoners informed about the big decisions that will affect them. Our modernised website will allow us to communicate in a clearer way what improvements are being made to the city, how public money is being spent and how Londoners can get involved. I would like to urge Londoners to test out the work-in-progress designs so we can produce the best and most engaging website possible.”

Natalie Taylor, senior manager for marketing, digital and design at London City Hall, said: “We really want to encourage Londoners to come and find out more about the work of the Mayor and the London Assembly. This means moving away from the language usually used by policy teams and presenting information in the most engaging way that we can.

“Thanks to 5K, the design agency we have been working with, and the Web Usability Partnership, who have carried out all of our user research, we’ve been able to be very responsive to the feedback users have given us so far. We have come a long way from where we started last summer and I think we are getting much closer to a product which Londoners are going to find really useful.”

Matt Pollitt, director of 5K Digital Design, said: “It has been an exciting few months working with the amazing team over at the GLA to implement the new design language across their desktop, tablet and mobile website. We feel that the new visual style, and more thoughtful organisation of information provides a much more modern and exciting portal for Londoners to find out more about their City. We worked hard together to create more intuitive ways to deliver content, as well as open up opportunities for deeper engagement with constituents.”

The redevelopment of the site follows research commissioned by City Hall in 2014 which revealed that, while Londoners care strongly about their area, broader understanding of London’s governance remains a mystery to most.