White House puts new face on its Web site

Responding to widespread criticism that it had a mediocre Web site, the White House relaunched just before the Labor Day weekend.The revamped site, designed by former Texas webmaster Jane Cook, features improved graphics, audio versions of the president’s radio speeches and an extensive children’s section. Visitors can view most pages in either English or Spanish. Overall, the site appears better organized than the old Bush site, with clearer navigation from page to page.The initial Bush Web site lacked some basic interactive features that drew numerous visitors to the Clinton site []. The site retains e-mail addresses for the president, vice president and their wives. Links to speeches, press releases and other material are easier to find than before. There are also extensive links to White House positions on a variety of issues, plus an online form to apply for noncareer work in the administration. But the administration hasn’t restored the White House document server that Clinton maintained. Like the old site, the new site’s pages are fast-loading.