It’s that time again at the Job Accommodation Network (JAN), time for change. As Project Manager for AskJAN.org, I am happy to announce a major redesign of the JAN Website. The process has been in the works for quite some time, and we hope it meets and even exceeds your expectations. My Co-Content Manager, Linda Carter Batiste, and I worked with staff and customers, reviewed reporting data, and made use of a new content management system to bring the Site to life again. Here are some new features we hope make your job easier:
- AskJAN.org makes use of accessible features, including open captions, alternative text, keyboard navigation, and controllable skins for audio and video elements.
- JAN continues to provide direct live access to JAN Consultants with the Live Chat feature on the Website. Find it, our telephone number, and our TTY number in the bottom left hand corner. Use the accessible JAN on Demand tool if you want to submit an accommodation question and get a customized result. You will find it in the bottom right hand corner.
- AskJAN.org's look and feel are modernized, making use of large hero images and a hamburger menu to guide you to where you want to go quickly. Look in the upper right hand corner under this new menu to find some of your old favorites: What's New? and Hot Topics, Events, Newsletter, Consultants’ Corner, and Blog.
- AskJAN.org is now driven by a content management system (CMS), which reduces repetitiveness and streamlines updates to give you the latest information quickly. The CMS also reduces maintenance when it comes to making changes to the Website, and we hope you can find information on one topic all in one central location. You can even access a calendar of where to find us, have more tools to contact us, and use your search engine of choice to take advantage of our new search engine optimization (SEO) features.
- Behind the scenes, hardware updates make use of multimedia features and reduce page wait times by using a flat design and stepping away from complex navigation cues. Find your way to important information more quickly, especially case studies that highlight accommodation situation and solutions.
- Commonly accessed features like JAN’s A to Z, Accommodation Search (SOAR) , and the Website searcher should now provide you with a customized visit. We’ve invested a lot of time in keyword research, top searches, and cross-linking to make your visit more fruitful. With time, these tools will continue to improve. Take advantage of finding accommodation solutions By Disability, By Limitation, By Work-Related Function, and By Topic. Look for a By Accommodation tab to make an appearance in the near future!
- The integration of social media buttons and widgets is more prominent so that you can easily engage with JAN and let us know what interests you. Help us expand our users by sharing JAN with your online audience.
- We updated the JAN newsletter template to make it more appealing so that we can grow our list of mail subscribers and meet the demands of our existing customers. It’s more visual, but also takes advantage of the rest of the Website’s compatible content and remains accessible.
- ReadSpeaker is now available on AskJAN.org. Activate ReadSpeaker to have text read aloud, followed by highlighted text. You can customize your visit by accessing the audio version of the Website on any webpage.
- The Website is now responsive and renders nicely on a variety of devices and screen sizes. Users can more easily access AskJAN.org on their tablets and phones.
Submit your feedback, and let us know how we are doing. You can contact us using our Feedback tool or contact me directly at webmaster@askjan.org! We know that your time is valuable. This facelift is a big step in the process of building a web presence that allows you to personalize your visit. Look for a few more changes in the near future so that you can customize what you need from AskJAN.org. Thank you for trusting us!
