Data.gov Launches Redesigned Home Page
Data.gov has launched a redesigned home page focused on the needs of our users. The home page now helps users find the datasets they need and other updates and resources about federal open data more efficiently.
The new home page is the latest step in the overall modernization plan of Data.gov. In 2021, the Data.gov catalog was updated to run current versions of the software powering the catalog and harvester (CKAN). Data.gov also migrated its infrastructure to cloud.gov and obtained a new Authority to Operate at the FISMA-moderate level. As part of the upgrade, the Data.gov home page was converted from WordPress to a static site in early 2022.
As a follow-on to these technical changes, the Data.gov team used the opportunity to redesign the home page, taking into account findings of user testing conducted in the spring of 2022. Users expressed the need for guidance on how to use the site and for additional background information. Therefore, quick links to key policies and technical guidance were added. The new home page provides more information to Data.gov users including a new user guide and links designed to get users to datasets more quickly. In addition, there are links to more information about the data available, including the organizations publishing datasets, most viewed datasets, and when most of the current datasets were added.
The redesign is part of the larger goal of addressing the needs of users who may not be familiar with Data.gov or the overall process of agency publication of metadata on Data.gov under the OPEN Government Data Act. Data.gov will continue to improve the site based on usability testing with the general public to make it easier to discover federal datasets, understand the data, and increase the use and sharing of federal datasets. Data.gov works in the open, and you can follow our work on these efforts in our repo.
