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Hertfordshire County Council

Feedback from our website testing panel helps us improve things on the website for everyone.

Here's a taster of some of things we've made better thanks to the panel...

  • Voice controlled tech - We asked you if you use voice controlled tech and what council services you'd like to access using voice. Take up of the tech is limited at the moment however, we're exploring how to optimise our content for voice searches across platforms.
  • Booking system - We asked you how you’d like to search for events, what information you’d need and what additional functionality you’d like. We've incorporated this into our designs.
  • Families First Portal - we asked where you would expect to find this in our list of services. Opinions were mixed, so we're planning to make it easier to find in other ways instead (e.g. in our site search and on Google).
  • Adult learning - we asked where you would expect to find this in our list of services. You confirmed that it should stay where it is, under 'schools and education'.
  • Herts Care Search – your feedback helped us improve the structure and what we call things when helping people find a care home.
  • Libraries catalogue and adult learning course bookings – we improved a number of features thanks to face-to-face research in libraries.
  • Hertfordshire Directory – we checked how people got on with the new design. We also gathered evidence to inform future changes.
  • Adult learning – we observed people attempting to complete tasks so we could better understand usability issues customers were having. As a result, we split this area of the website into it's own separate website to improve structure and navigation.
  • Customer feedback positioning – the smiley faces on our webpages? They're for customers to leave webpage feedback. We tried out various pages with the smiley faces in different locations – that helped us decide where's best for them to live.
  • Search – you helped us make sure there were no problems with our new website search.
  • Recycling centres – we spent some time with people to understand how they use their local tip and what technology could improve their experience.
  • We structured jobs.hertfordshire.gov.uk according to your feedback. We tested out a number of tasks whilst developing the website to ensure people could do what they needed, quickly and simply.
  • New forms – we're currently working a number of new forms, including highways fault reporting. We've already carried out multiple rounds of research including usability testing with basic mock-ups, observing how forms make people feel and how their expectations are managed about next steps.

 

Herts Careline

We built this website and did a lot of research to understand what customers need, how we should structure things and what we should call things.

Check out Herts Careline

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Cookies

Like many other websites, we place small information files called 'cookies' on your computer.

Why do we use cookies?

To remember your settings, for example your language and location. This means you don’t have to keep entering these details when you visit a new page.

To find out how you use the site to help us update and improve it.

How do I change my cookie settings?

You can change the settings of your web browser so that it won’t accept cookies. For more information visit AboutCookies.org.

But, doing this may stop you from using some of the online features and services on this website. 

Cookies we use

Cookies do a lot of different jobs, and we use 2 types of cookies:

Required functionality cookies – these cookies are essential for the website to work.

Performance and feature cookies – these cookies help to improve the performance and feel of this website, for example providing you with personalised services.


Take a look at a list of cookies we use on our website:

NameTypeHow we use itHow long we use the information for

ASP.Net_Sessions

 

Required functionality

An automatic cookie set by our software. 

Just for the time you are on our website.

ServerID

 

Required functionality

An automatic cookie set by our software. 

Just for the time you are on our website.

_ga

Required functionality

To track the effectiveness of our website using Google Analytics. 

2 years

saved-pages

Performance and feature

To save the pages that you visit by clicking the heart at the top of the page. 

1 month

geoPostcode

Performance and feature

This stores your postcode (or partial postcode) when we ask you for your location.

Just for the time you are on our website or 30 days (you choose this).

geoCoordinates

Performance and feature

This stores your location as a pair of latitude / longitude coordinates.

Just for the time you are on our website or 30 days (you choose this).

reckonerName-history

Performance and feature

This keeps a history of all answers submitted to the ready reckoner.

This is set in the control for each ready reckoner. If you haven't interacted with the ready reckoner for the set amount of days, the cookies are deleted.

reckonerName-content

Performance and feature

This keeps a history of what content cards are clicked on when using the ready reckoner.

This is set in the control for each ready reckoner. If you haven't interacted with the ready reckoner for the set amount of days, the cookies are deleted.

SQ_SYSTEM_SESSION

Required functionality

This used to track user sessions on forms hosted on eservices.hertfordshire.gov.uk

Just for the time you are on our website.

Third party cookies

There are links and content from other sites and services on our website. These sites and services set their own cookies.

Below are a list of cookies that the other sites and services use:

Service namePurposeMore information

Google analytics (_utma/b/c/z)

These are used to compile reports for us on how people use this site.

Cookies of the same names are also used for the same purpose by other websites such as Building Futures, Countryside Management Service and Hertfordshire LIS.

Visit the Google Analytics website for more information about the cookies they use.

You can prevent data from being collected and used by Google Analytics by installing Google's Opt-out Browser Add-on.

Google Translation - googtrans

This cookie is used to remember which language to translate each page into if you have chosen to do so.

It expires at the end of your browser session.

Bing

We use a Bing cookie to track the success of our marketing campaigns and make them more efficient.

Visit Bing to find out more about their cookies.

Google

We use a Google cookie to track the success of our marketing campaigns and make them more efficient.

Visit Google to find out more about their cookies.

Facebook

We have a number of presences on Facebook, which we may link to. Facebook may set some of its own cookies if you follow these links.

Visit Facebook to find out more about their cookies.

Twitter

We have a number of presences and feeds on Twitter, which you may wish to follow or read from this website. Twitter may set some of its own cookies.

Visit Twitter to find out more about their cookies.

YouTube

We have a YouTube channel, which we may link to. YouTube may set some of its own cookies if you follow those links.

Visit YouTube to find out more about their cookies.

Netloan

This ASP.NET_Sessionid cookie is essential for the Netloan secure online payments website to work, and is set when you arrive to the site. This cookie is deleted when you close your browser.

 

HotJar

This session cookie is set to let Hotjar know whether that visitor is included in the sample which is used to generate funnels.

Visit HotJar to find out more about their cookies.

Siteimprove

These cookies are set to help us report on how people are using the site so we can improve it.

Visit Siteimprove to learn more about their cookies.