There are some things you may need to do or be aware of in preparation for the launch of the new ONS website.
We'll update this information with any frequently asked questions so please contact us if you have any further queries.
Will bookmarks and saved links still work?
Some will continue to work but many won't.
All pages on the new website will start with 'www.ons.gov.uk' but most pages on the current website start with 'www.statistics.gov.uk'.
The structure of content on the new website will also be different, to help improve navigation round the site.
These changes mean that the addresses for many pages will be different.
Saved links and bookmarks that users have created on their own systems, browsers, or in documentation, will generally no longer work.
Links within releases migrated from the existing ONS website will not be updated and so will no longer work.
A standard message will appear at the top of these releases warning that links within them may be broken.
We are currently reviewing to what extent the links will be updated within other non-release content that is migrated to the new website.
When someone clicks on a broken link they will get a message stating that page is no longer available, and will be routed to the homepage of the new ONS website to find that content.
Once they have found the new location of that content, they can then re-save the link or bookmark.
Links to ONS releases from the Publication Hub and data.gov.uk will continue to work.
Will I need to do anything to access the new website?
The homepage for the new website will be the same as the current website www.ons.gov.uk, so from the day of release, users will automatically go to the new website through that address.
The new website has been designed to work on a range of browsers, including various versions of Internet Explorer (back to IE 6.0), Firefox, Chrome, Safari and Opera.
Use of the main elements of the new website will not require any additional software to be downloaded.
Will the old website be turned off when the new one goes live?
The existing ONS website will be switched off from public view when the new website is launched. All required content will have been migrated to the new website.
