Improved navigation and an intuitive search facility will make it quicker and easier for users to find the information they need. Firms should also find it simpler to use the site to provide information to the FSA, reducing paperwork and meaning less time spent on regulatory reporting.
Completion of this project meets the first milestone in the FSA's Business Plan for 2005/6; under the aim of improving business our capability and effectiveness.
David Kenmir, FSA's Managing Director of Regulatory Services, said: "The whole web site has been redesigned with the user in mind. We want to make it easier for firms and consumers to help themselves and to reduce the time and effort which firms, especially small firms, need to spend dealing with us.
"On average the web site gets 26,000 visits a day. It is a crucial tool for firms and we have put significant resource behind listening and responding to feedback to make this material more accessible."
Both firms and trade associations contributed to the development of the new site, providing valuable guidance on what they needed and constructive comment on the work as it progressed.
Key statistics on the FSA web site:
26,000 visits per day
Key tools include the Handbook Online (which under the new site will be going through a series of improvements), Firms Online and the Register
215,000 pages viewed each day
37% of visits are from outside the UK
1 regular visitor from Albania
3 visits this year from Antarctica
Information on the consumer pages:
2,000 pages of independent information and advice
40 consumer publications available
270,000 visitors in the last 6 months
Material includes:
Warnings and Alerts about risky investments, scams and swindles
Mortgage payment calculator (to check your rate of interest)
Firm Check service (to check that a firm is authorised)
Decision tree to help you through the complaint process
Comparative Tables – which have had nearly 250,000 visitors in the last 6 months
