[Webmakers] New RI.gov Statewide Search

[Viall, Thomas]

Dear RI Webmakers:

As you may know, RI.gov<http://RI.gov> uses a search product called Search USA made available by the Federal GSA (Search.usa.gov<http://Search.usa.gov>).  The tool uses Bing, a Microsoft Product, as the core search engine to produce the results.

The GSA has alerted all users of Search USA that due to licensing changes with Microsoft, the tool will now only be available as a hosted solution. Currently, RI.gov<http://RI.gov> hosts the search result pages which gives us full control of the look and feel of result pages.

We have worked with the GSA to provide them with a style guide to match our current result pages as closely as possible.  You can view and see an example result page here:

http://search.usa.gov/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&affiliate=ri.gov&query=governor

…and compare it to the current result page:

http://www.ri.gov/search/?q=Governor&Submit=Go

On or about December 1st, we will be switching to these new, hosted, result pages.
FAQ

Q. Why are you making this change?
A. After December 1st the GSA will no longer offer the current solution.

Q. Could we just use the Bing Search without hosting by the GSA?
A. The non-GSA Bing result pages contain advertising which cannot be disable and therefore not suitable for Government sites.

Q. I use the RI.gov<http://RI.gov> search to produce results specific to my site.  Will that still work? Will I need to change the code?
A. Your site-specific results will still work and there is no need to change any code.

Q. Are there other search options available?
A. RI.gov<http://RI.gov> has researched several other alternatives and the only non-advertising searches that meet 508 accessibility standards are prohibitively expensive.

Q. Are there any advantages to the new search?
A. Yes. The result pages now include specific result categories for photos and videos. The tool also has a robust admin area to view key metrics of the search pages.

Q. Do I need to do anything as part of this change?
A. No, the change will be seamless but as the result pages will look different, we felt it important to alert you regarding this change.

Q. What if I have additional questions?
A. Please send any further questions or concerns to RIDesign at egov.com<mailto:RIDesign at egov.com>

Thomas Viall
General Manager, RI.gov<http://RI.gov>
tomv at egov.com<mailto:tomv at egov.com>

(401) 831-8099 ext. 220
(401) 831-8095 (Fax)

One State Street
Suite #401
Providence, RI 02908

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Thank you.

RI.gov

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