The New Ancestry.com Homepage
For me, personally, for example, the new homepage design pushes the search box down the page to the point where I now have to scroll down to fully access it on my laptop which requires an extra click for me now - more, not less. Since search is the primary reason I maintain a subscription to Ancestry.com, the search box is what I want at the top of my homepage. That may not be the case for others, however.
There are things I do like about the new Ancestry homepage. The layout and design is pleasing and I especially like the Quick Links (including the prominently displayed Ancestry Card Catalog) which makes it easy to find a particular database. What I would like to see, however (and something I honestly expect from any of today's "2.0" Web sites) is a homepage that I can customize to meet my needs. Users should be able to select from a list of "widgets" those items that they use most, and place them in the locations which make the most sense for their work habits.
I did try the "Tell Us What You Think" feature, and found the survey to be more of a general Ancestry.com user survey than specifically geared to feedback on the new homepage. There was a general comments box at the end, however, where I shared my thoughts.
Comments
I too complained about the dropped search box, but then noticed I can easily click the search tab at the top (next tab to the right) an from then on, I’m back at the old search screen. So only one extra click at the very start and I can live with that.
Kimberly,
If you use a bookmark/favorite to bring up the Ancestry home page, you can consider bookmarking the search page instead of the home page. Drag the link above onto your bookmarks/favorites.
Or, if you wish to link to the home page, but automatically scroll down to the search form, there is a link that works today, but probably won’t work forever. It is:
http://www.ancestry.com/#_links
Yours,
The Ancestry Insider
http://ancestryinsider.blogspot.com
The links for the Interactive Census Forms redirect to this page. Is there another way that I can get to downloadable versions of the forms?
New page takes too long to load ~ much too long. I now click on “search” at the top of the page to prevent this “new and improved” home page from loading. Most people know how/where to find their personal family trees.
While talking about Ancestry.com, I am reminded about something else that could use fixing. When you click on “Search,” you essentially get the simple search. If you fill in a few blanks, then later decide you want to add more details, and you click on “Advanced Search to add the new details,” all your previously entered data disappears, and you have to start adding from scratch in the advanced search boxes.
I’d like to see one of 2 things happen:
(1) They let you keep the previously entered data when clicking on Advanced Search from the simple search , or (2) they just do away with the simple search and keep the Advanced Search as the regular search … the reasoning here is that the only way you can filter out things you don’t want is at the bottom of the Advanced Search page, not the simple search page. One could then put in as little or as much data as desired, and subsequently add or delete data depending on one’s hits.
I am totally dissatisfied with ancestry any more and thinking about dropping the subscription and using it free at the library. I love having it at home however when you search for a surname in a particular area, it gives you everywhere and most of the time the databases only give me the first letter of the name and not the surname I am looking for. Ancestry says there are different reasons for this but I do think that is any thing to do with me. I pay enough money for them to make it work right. If not, they need to drastically reduce their prices.
Things to fix. When you click on “Search,” you essentially get the simple search. The simple search is a waste of time and space. If you fill in a few blanks, then later decide you want to add more details, and you click on “Advanced Search to add the new details,” all your previously entered data disappears, and you have to start adding from scratch in the advanced search boxes. If you just have the advance search a person could put in as much information as they choose or have.
On the new home page you need to move the search box back up to the top.
I have been trying to get Ancestry to find my Grandfather’s WWI draft registeration. The top of the page gives my Grandfather’s name but the card itself has the name of Lonnie Riggsbee. There are also several other ROberts cards that have the Riggsbee name too. Not the same one as Grandpa has. I have checked the Lonnie Riggsbee but his card is with his name.
I have been trying for 3 years to get them to fix it. Both in writing and by telephone.
hat else can I do?
Wow, talk about petty nit-picking…
I don’t like the flashplayer rendered stuff being the first thing on the page – that’s what makes the page load so slowly if you don’t have the “biggest and bestest” computer and operating system. It’s also what has pushed down the search box. Unlike others I don’t mind the simple search box being the first offering – the advanced search feature doesn’t REALLY DO enough “filtering” to make it worth messing with in the first place most of the time. I wish Ancestry would have spent their time fixing their search algorithms rather than adding the latest gadget (flash) and rearranging the homepage.
Please, please provide a help contact that will actually let me ask MY question and get an email or phone reply from a real person – promptly. FAQs is fine for some uses but my question is usually very detailed and we, the customers, deserve personal attention.
Dear Joe,
Ouch!
1. The new homepage is awful.
2. Why aren’t they spending resources fixing all the errors in their databases that have been reported over many years?
I find Ancestry really useful but am appalled at the number of transcription errors, especially in the UK Censuses. I find the search options clunky. I would also like to be able to change the screen colours to suit my eyesight problems. The current screen colours really are a strain on my eyesight.
I agree with Marilou. Can a LIVE PERSON please call me? I am NOT happy with the new site. I had information on 30 to 50 ancestors that I have intermittently reseached since 2001. The info was NOT in a family tree and NOT in ShoeBox but saved under MyAncestry. I have… or I should say… they have lost all of my information.
I took the over six days to respond to my question… and they didn’t even answer it. They simply confirmed my subscription and original membership date and set up a new password. I didn’t NEED a new password! I need an answer to my question and for someone to CALL ME… ON A PHONE… I left three numbers for them to reach me.
Dolores, you can aply a name correction, won’t get rid of the wrong name, but it will be found by people looing ofr the correct name
Bob
I do not like the home page. It displayed a family tree that I was invited to view. I had to establish a family tree to not have a wrong tree on my home page. I was not ready to display my tree yet.
I have several ancestry.com subscriptions and had always been very pleased with them until recently. I was no longer able to access images and I could not understand why. I was about to cancel, when I instead telephoned their customer service number (1-800-507-4095) and was provided EXCELLENT service in resolving my problem. I in fact upgraded my service to World Deluxe but SAVED money because the very helpful rep cancelled my existing subscriptions on a pro-rated basis, resulting in refunds to me. Note that they only issue pro-rated refunds when a subscriber is upgrading – you normally do not get a refund when you cancel, since you are still provided access to the service until the original expiration date.
I do not like the new search page. How can I go back to the old one.
Taylor
i cannot find my family tree that i have had for several years on ancestry.com
I hate the new home page. Please bring back the old page that loaded much faster and was easy to use.
I am already a member what is this crap?
I too hate the new system and wish for the
old way at least I found a lot of information
but it seems now if you ask for a line all you get is a way to get you to inlist.
Billie Lary
I cannot even find ancestry.com. Instead I get a family tree that I was invited to view, but does not really include my family. Do I just cancel my subscription?