USCIS Website Overhaul

[YuAndDan 153]

Note: I noticed that the USCIS over hauled their website over night and as such all links to PDF docs and many other pages on the site are now throwing 404 page not found. So the links here on VJ to the PDF pages are down.

Thought you all would like to know.

[diadromous mermaid 36]

Note: I noticed that the USCIS over hauled their website over night and as such all links to PDF docs and many other pages on the site are now throwing 404 page not found. So the links here on VJ to the PDF pages are down.

Thought you all would like to know.

Nice timing on my part. Bloody hell

I see I have some work to do on the FAQs I just finished

[aussiewench 9]

this is like a bad dream lol I was kind of thinking this was going to happen when DHS upgraded their site last week.

DM

good luck lol cause at present you can't even google for the changed links. Hope to gawd they intend to have all the past information available or there isn't going to be any links.

Edited November 1, 2006 by aussiewench

[diadromous mermaid 36]

this is like a bad dream lol I was kind of thinking this was going to happen when DHS upgraded their site last week.

DM

good luck lol cause at present you can't even google for the changed links. Hope to gawd they intend to have all the past information available or there isn't going to be any links.

Crikey, aussie...I know. I've been into USCIS website hell this morning, probing for the fairly obvious...It is not pretty...but I will slug away

[Captain Ewok 1,891]

OK I have updated the downloads section for all the links. I hope that takes care of 95% of the links on this site. I will have to check later for others? DOes anyone see more? @Diad. Can you email me a copy of all your guides that you have written (final versions) to admin at visajourney dot com please. Thanks!

[diadromous mermaid 36]

OK I have updated the downloads section for all the links. I hope that takes care of 95% of the links on this site. I will have to check later for others? DOes anyone see more? @Diad. Can you email me a copy of all your guides that you have written (final versions) to admin at visajourney dot com please. Thanks!

I will, Ewok. Do you want me to fix the broken links in them first?

[aussiewench 9]

OK I have updated the downloads section for all the links. I hope that takes care of 95% of the links on this site. I will have to check later for others? DOes anyone see more? @Diad. Can you email me a copy of all your guides that you have written (final versions) to admin at visajourney dot com please. Thanks!

I will, Ewok. Do you want me to fix the broken links in them first?

[Captain Ewok 1,891]

OK I have updated the downloads section for all the links. I hope that takes care of 95% of the links on this site. I will have to check later for others? DOes anyone see more? @Diad. Can you email me a copy of all your guides that you have written (final versions) to admin at visajourney dot com please. Thanks!

I will, Ewok. Do you want me to fix the broken links in them first?

Please

[Captain Ewok 1,891]

There are dozens of good links around the site to the old USCIS website that are now broken and the new site apparently has lost that info... sigh.

[YuAndDan 153]

There are dozens of good links around the site to the old USCIS website that are now broken and the new site apparently has lost that info... sigh.

I dabble some with website design, and that was the sloppiest change over I have ever seen, you would think they would have left the old pages in place since the site was a typical static lay out site, and over time put redirects in place of the old pages and just leave the old site in place, with the new homepage at the root. But no they have to throw the switch to the new site.

Try using Google to find anything, the search engine will be pointing at the old pages for months, fortunately Google cache has the old site data, but that will fade away in time.

Very poorly handled! Bad form!

[I'm Gone 60]

There are dozens of good links around the site to the old USCIS website that are now broken and the new site apparently has lost that info... sigh.

I dabble some with website design, and that was the sloppiest change over I have ever seen, you would think they would have left the old pages in place since the site was a typical static lay out site, and over time put redirects in place of the old pages and just leave the old site in place, with the new homepage at the root. But no they have to throw the switch to the new site.

Try using Google to find anything, the search engine will be pointing at the old pages for months, fortunately Google cache has the old site data, but that will fade away in time.

Very poorly handled! Bad form!

Did you tell them that? I e-mailed the Webmaster twice today to complain.

[Captain Ewok 1,891]

There are dozens of good links around the site to the old USCIS website that are now broken and the new site apparently has lost that info... sigh.

I dabble some with website design, and that was the sloppiest change over I have ever seen, you would think they would have left the old pages in place since the site was a typical static lay out site, and over time put redirects in place of the old pages and just leave the old site in place, with the new homepage at the root. But no they have to throw the switch to the new site.

Try using Google to find anything, the search engine will be pointing at the old pages for months, fortunately Google cache has the old site data, but that will fade away in time.

Very poorly handled! Bad form!

I agree. Sad. Static is better. Their dynamic urls suck for sure.

[I'm Gone 60]

I agree. Sad. Static is better. Their dynamic urls suck for sure.

No being a Website designer why are dynamic urls bad and static ones good or just the ones they are using are bad? I read that dynamic URLs are changed by changing a database and with static you change the HTML coding. Do I have that right?

[Captain Ewok 1,891]

Static pages are just easier to link to and more friendly. Dynamic pages like they have become complicated and cumbersome. They lack structure (obvious to the end user) and for a major public site like that make linking to pages hard. An excellent point raised is that they should have kept the old structure and forwarded when possible the user to the relavent new page automatically for several months to give people time to adjust to the new layout and find their old pages.