Member of Council Kathryn Morgan was one of a select group asked to test the IFoAs new website, launched this month. Here she gives her opinion on the usability of the site and its look and feel
"The first thing that struck me is that the newly designed website really helps to display the information that I am looking for very clearly. This in turn meant that I found it extremely easy to use and navigate, something that I think is very important for websites.
I tested the new website on my tablet so that I could see how the new design worked. I really liked how it automatically adapted to my tablet; it's a really responsive design.
I think the inclusion of the new sliding left and righthand navigation is a great new feature to have included and one that is very intuitive and simple to use. It is this feature in particular that made it very easy for me to find the information that I wanted.
Our refreshed website is a really fantastic step forwards towards meeting the first objective of the IFoA's digital strategy, namely enabling user and search engines to easily find our content.
The refreshed design of the website is the perfect springboard for the following phases of the digital strategy that are to happen by the year's end, such as the launch of our new virtual learning environment (VLE) as well as improvements to the search facility.
As an actuary based in Manchester, the VLE and the content it is to contain will be invaluable to me as a means of staying abreast of actuarial developments. The search project that is to follow is also incredibly exciting as it will seek to make over 10,000 documents easier to find. This will vastly increase the ease of access to all manner of information at the IFoA's disposal to fellows, members and students alike.
The launch of the first phase of the website is a hugely exciting start towards a much improved digital offering."