Users of the Fayette County Board of Education Web site will soon see changes that will make finding information easier. The site is being redesigned to make it simpler to navigate with an improved look and feel aimed at making the visitor’s overall experience more enjoyable.

“The new site logically organizes categories of information so that viewers can easily find what they need then quickly get to the page containing the information. On the old site, popular information was buried under several page layers resulting in visitors contacting the public relations office to get directions to the information. This defeated the whole purpose of a website which is to provide information on demand 24/7,” said Public Information Specialist Melinda Berry-Dreisbach.

The new site features links on the homepage to the most frequently requested information, as well as highlights news making headlines in the school system and critical dates such as breaks and holidays, teacher workdays, testing dates, etc. Most information can be accessed with just one or two clicks of the mouse, saving viewers time and making finding wanted information less cumbersome.

The site has a cohesive look that carries from page to page so users are never in doubt as to whether they have left the school system’s site. When a user clicks on an outside link that will take them to a second website, the second website opens in a new window giving the user the option to continue on to that site or get the information they are looking for without having to leave fcboe.org. The left-hand navigation bar, featuring a menu of page links to most information on the site, stays in tact from link to link, eliminating the need to hit the back button to return to the homepage.

Of interest to both the general public and news reporters is the addition of an “Online Newsroom.” The newsroom houses previously released press releases, facts about the school system, explanations of issues facing the system, newsletter archives and other information of general interest.

“In this age of technology, people expect to have easy access to information whenever they want and need it. It is important that we do what we can to meet those expectations,” said Dreisbach.

Look for the new site to launch around the middle of November. The Web site address will remain the same, www.fcboe.org. Users will still have access to the current site up until the launch of the new one.

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