The Parliament website has been re-designed and the home page is now more geared to news and activities in both Houses than it is to the institutional framework of Parliament. It is visually more attractive and I would judge easier to navigate for those who are not that familiar with the institution.
The home page also links to the online forum for the Lords’ Information Committee’s inquiry into ‘People and Parliament’.
Fixed width and dark blue text on a dark blue background if you don’t load background images? Whoops! I’ll go email them.
This sort of technical error is usually flagged up by the W3C validator tools (see the “Same colors for color and background-color” warnings on the http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/validator?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.parliament.uk%2F&profile=css21&usermedium=all&warning=1&lang=en report), but the front page doesn’t even conform to xhtml (see http://validator.w3.org/check?uri=http://www.parliament.uk for the error report) so why is no-one using them before launching the site? It’s not really a website because it doesn’t meet any web standard.
MJ Ray: I was thinking just the same so I won’t repeat.
Looking at the content I can see a few glaring standouts. I wonder who proofread:
“(Please note, in all instances ‘XXX’ should be replaced with the Member’s surname.)
Baron (Lord)
Beginning of letter … Dear Lord XXX
End of letter … Yours sincerely
Envelope … The (Rt Hon. the) Lord XXX
Duke
Beginning of letter … Dear Duke of XXX
End of letter … Yours sincerely
Envelope … His Grace the Duke of XXX”
Who gets to tell Lord Chalfont and the Duke of Montrose they’re now Lord Jones and the Duke of Graham 😉
Croft: Or even Lord Gywnne Jones!
Oh! David Beamish has it as:
Chalfont of Llantarnam in the County of Monmouth – Arthur Gwynne Jones
Croft: I merely note that he was known as Alun Gwynne Jones prior to his elevation – I fear I am (just) old enough to remember – and that he is the son of Arthur Gwynne Jones. Having said that, I have never known David Beamish to be wrong.
I hope other readers know what we are going on about!
Dear Lord Norton,
I do not like the new website at all.
It looks ‘fussy’ and does nothing to impart the majesty of the institution or its importance to the life of the nation. Why no banner picture of the Palace at the top of the website, as there is on this blog?
Do you know how much this change has cost? And do you know at whom these changes are aimed?
Howridiculous.