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Page last updated at 08:31 GMT, Wednesday, 25 February 2009
Frequently asked questions

A screen shot of the redesigned Weather site
2009 BBC Weather redesign

BBC Weather has a new look. Find out more about the changes and let us know what you think.


Why is the BBC Weather website being re-designed?

Our priority when designing the new site was to focus on presenting the forecast as clearly as possible and to increase the speed and frequency with which we could update it. The new site is designed to give you all the information you need for your local area, from a detailed forecast for the next 24 hours and 5 day outlook to maps, videos of regional weather broadcasts if you have missed them on TV, and any other relevant information we have.

We took your feedback as a starting point and looked at which parts of the site you visit most. Where possible, we have reflected these trends and your feedback in the changes. Technology has also developed since the Weather site was first created and we have been able to take advantage of this to improve your experience of our site.

What are the main changes?

From what you have told us over the past couple of years and by monitoring how you use the site we have prioritised the following:

Increased frequency of updates and an indication of confidence - We have increased the frequency with which we receive forecasts from the Met Office. As everyone realises, all forecasts have a margin for error. As talking about the weather is one of our national obsessions, we are developing a new feature that will allow our forecasters to publish an ongoing discussion of confidence in the forecast. This will be available in the next few months.

Detailed forecasts - Today's forecast for UK locations on the main Weather site is no longer be illustrated by one summary symbol. Instead it is covered by a three-hourly breakdown to show more clearly how the weather will change over the 24 hours to come.

Local forecasts - The design of the new site is based on giving you all you need for your local area - we are creating a 'one-stop shop' for each location.

Forecast videos - We have embedded our forecast videos on each location page, to make it easier to watch our latest forecast. For UK locations, you can watch your latest regional TV weather forecast, as broadcast on TV, during the week in addition to our UK and World Summaries.

Easy access to all forecast data even if it's not used often - We have designed the page modules so that you can 'close' content you don't use so often. These settings will be stored so that each time you come back, the page will be as you left it. The content won't disappear from the page so you know you can always get it if you need it.

Better design with a focus on forecast information - The site has been designed around the forecasts rather than as an online magazine.

Better navigation - The site is now much 'flatter' which means that it is easier to navigate. As we are bringing together all forecast information for a location on one page this means that once you've searched for your location you won't need to go looking for other content that relates to it. The search is also being improved to accommodate spelling mistakes and identify the nearest forecast for a location you are looking for even if the Met Office don't provide an exact forecast.

Personalisation - You can save up to 6 favourite locations in the 'My Weather' module so you can access these forecasts quickly. You can also set your favourite location to be the location you come to first on bbc.co.uk/weather

More interactive elements - Each module is interactive - you can open and close them depending on whether you are interested in the forecast info or not. The map presenter is also more interactive and you can view maps for surrounding areas without leaving the page.

Why does my page tell me the forecast for my town is in fact for another location?

The Met Office produces a certain number of forecasts for the UK. We then work with them to fill in the gaps to provide forecasts for more towns and all UK postcodes.

On the old site we did not show how the forecasts were matched, but the 'crumb trail' on the new site has now made this possible.

On the old site I just searched for my location. Now I have to say whether I'm looking for somewhere in the UK or not before I search. Why is this?

Much of your feedback mentioned difficulties quickly finding forecasts for UK locations. We wanted to make this easier for you so added a "UK" button to limit searches to the UK only. However, if you select "World" before searching, the results will include UK locations too.

We will continue to refine Search over the coming months to make it even better.

Why does the colour of the page change all the time?

As with the graphics used on television, the look of the site changes slightly depending on the weather.

On the website this is led by the current forecast which drives the banner and background colour of the page.

Why can I not access all the information on the new version?

Any elements of BBC Weather not available in the new site are still available in the old version. Over the next few months we will continue to work on moving other elements of the old site into the new look and feel.

Why can I not see the new Map Presenter?

Like many aspects of websites today, to give the best user experience javascript and Flash are required to view all of the maps on the Weather site. Without javascript turned on or Flash installed it will only be possible to see one map in the Map Presenter.

It looks as though there is less information on the Beta site - why?

As all forecast information is now organised by location rather than by type of forecast it might look like there is less information on the site.

However, the same amount of information is available for each location it's just all on one page so easier to find everything you need.

Why have the Sea Temperature and Wind Maps been removed?

The Sea Temperature maps have been removed from the new site as the maps showed the temperature out at sea.

We are currently sourcing forecast temperatures for coastal waters and will add these to the site when they are ready.

We are redeveloping the wind product on maps so the arrows give a better indication of wind speed and direction, so these maps will return once they have been improved.

In the meantime wind information is available in the Next 24 hours, Next four days and Five-day outlook forecast modules for each location.

Where can I find…..

Atlantic pressure charts?

Either by selecting the 'Atlantic' area on the Map module or by selecting 'World' and searching for 'Atlantic' in our search module. Your feedback indicated these were of greater interest than UK pressure charts, which aren't available on the new site.

Sunrise and sunset times?

These are available in the Next 24 hour, Next 4 day and Next 5 day modules.

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