Launch of consumer advice and information website: www.eatwell.gov.uk
Friday 22 October 2004
The FSA strategic plan 2005-10 commits the Agency to doing more on eating for health and consumer choice, and developing a new website solely for members of the public has been one of the Communication Division�s key business targets for 2004/5.
The new site, ready for launch to coincide with the White Paper on Public Health, contains a wealth of easy-to-understand practical tips, underpinned by the latest scientific evidence, on diet and health issues, food safety, and labelling.
Background
In late 2003 the FSA commissioned extensive focus group research on its main website www.food.gov.uk. It concluded that both consumers and professional stakeholders valued the range of information it contains, its colourful design, and its chatty and approachable tone.
But because of the site�s sheer size (more than 200 new documents are uploaded each month) many felt it was hard to navigate, and its search results were often unwieldy.
The launch of a dedicated consumer advice and information site, and investing in an improved search engine (which we did in July 2004), were felt to be the most effective ways of addressing the issues highlighted in the research.
The approach
The new site�s design and navigation was devised in tandem with extensive consumer testing facilitated by Flow Interactive, a web usability company whose clients include the BBC, FT.com, Boots and The Daily Telegraph.
Consumers from our target audience (including people from minority ethnic communities and social classes C2DE) were asked to respond to navigational terms and asked to comment on images and tone.
Much of the advice and information has been migrated from consumer-facing sections of www.food.gov.uk and re-purposed to fit around five main headings:
- Healthy Diet
- Ages and Stages
- Health Issues
- Keeping Food Safe
- Food Labels
Launch marketing
The aim is to market eatwell in press and publicity material as the Agency�s dedicated consumer advice and information site with links through to www.food.gov.uk for users seeking the latest news and access to more detailed scientific information/reports etc. Similarly, www.food.gov.uk will promote eatwell wherever possible.
The site will �soft launch� during week beginning 25 October 2004, enabling Agency staff and selected stakeholders to be alerted to its existence so they can provide feedback, ask questions, make comments etc. It will also enable us to test a range of technical and navigational issues.
A more formal launch date has been earmarked around the time of the public health white paper in mid-November.
It�s also planned to showcase the site if, as expected, we host Christmas drinks for stakeholders in late November/December.
Next steps
Eatwell�s launch will provide us with a valuable opportunity to improve the design and navigation of www.food.gov.uk as the Agency�s main corporate site. This will take place in early 2005.
www.food.gov.uk will continue as a news-led site. Its new structure should hopefully provide better access to research and policy documents for specialist stakeholders such as journalists, local authority and food industry professionals etc.