Census Bureau Provides Preview of Redesigned Census.gov

WASHINGTON, Feb. 19, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Census Bureau today released a beta version of its new census.gov website. With a new look and topic-based navigation, the redesigned site provides easier access to statistics on America's people, places and economy.

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The Census Bureau conducted both industry and customer research to create the new site. The beta site invites users to explore what the new home page will look like and how the topic based navigation will work.

"The new census.gov makes it easier than ever for people to get the timely, quality statistics we produce about America," Census Bureau Director John H. Thompson said. "Our goal is to make statistics accessible to the public anytime, anywhere on any device."

What is New?

• Topic-based navigation — The site includes navigation built around 11 topics, such as health, families and education, and centralizes statistical content from numerous surveys. For example, the family and living arrangements topic centralizes content on child care, fertility, grandparents and marriage.
• Contextual navigation — Web pages within the Census Bureau site now provide multiple paths to get to information. For instance, many pages now have helpful related links instead of requiring you to back out of the site and try again.  
• The look — The site uses new colors and offers more white space and narrower columns to allow for easier reading and navigation.
• Home page application carousel — This feature on the home page provides direct access to many of the more popular data tools on census.gov.

Coming Soon

• Improved search — The new search function will provide statistics along with traditional results, using combinations of a keyword and a location. For instance, when a user types in "Population of California," the latest population statistic along with related links will appear.
• Full migration of content — As the new site becomes available, more content from the existing census.gov will be converted to the new look and navigation.

Tell Us What You Think

Visit beta.census.gov now to access the website preview. The redesigned site is scheduled to be available in mid-March. As the transition continues, please send your feedback to [email protected].

Other Digital Initiatives

In addition to the redesign, the Census Bureau is using a variety of digital tools aimed at providing statistics in new and convenient ways.

• Internet response — The Census Bureau offers Internet response for many of its surveys, including the American Community Survey. The Internet option makes responding to surveys more convenient, conducting surveys more cost-effective and America's statistics more accessible on digital and mobile devices.
• dwellr mobile app — The newest app from the Census Bureau allows people to compare their preferences to find 25 "ideal" dwelling places, based on statistics from the American Community Survey. Users can check their current locations and share their places on Facebook and Twitter.
• Census Explorer — The newest mapping tool from the Census Bureau provides a look at eight topics from the American Community Survey and how they have changed since the 1990 and 2000 censuses.
• Open data application programming interface — The Census API lets developers customize Census Bureau statistics in their Web or mobile apps. The API offers data from the American Community Survey and the 2010, 2000 and 1990 censuses.
• America's Economy mobile app — The app provides real-time updates for 20 key economic indicators from the Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics and Bureau of Economic Analysis.

CB14-28
Public Information Office
301-763-3030
email: [email protected]

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau