Feedback Helps Improve New Person Page

Trying out a new process for a gradual launch of the new person page has paid off for FamilySearch users and engineers. After first releasing the change in early August of 2022, FamilySearch software engineers have spent 2 months gathering and reading over 4,000 comments. This review process has allowed them to adjust or fix over 150 items based on user feedback.

That number sounds like a lot of changes for one update! But as many FamilySearch users would tell you, the person page on FamilySearch.org is a very functional, useful part of the Family Tree. This page is where users record and learn all about their ancestors, from basic personal details to sources, memories, a time line, and more. The page has a lot of pieces to put, and both little and big tweaks can go a long way.

“We are listening,” says the engineering team for this page. They started this project with a plan to gather feedback carefully, listen to it, and make improvements, and they want to continue to do so. The new page will now become the default on FamilySearch.org, but the toggle to switch back and forth between between the old and new will still be available for a little while yet. We hope users will continue to explore the new features and keep giving feedback.

Key Improvements Made From Hearing User Stories

FamilySearch is very grateful for all the time and effort users have put into their feedback for this update. Many users were happy to share with us what they were most excited about with the new design, what was causing frustration, and what new ideas they had after using the page. Especially helpful were screenshots of what users were seeing, explanations of what happened when they used different parts of the page, and descriptions of why users wanted their experience to be different or the same.

Here is a list of just a few things of the exciting changes we have now implemented on the new page, based on what we’ve heard so far. 

Customize Your Details Tab Layout

Do you prefer having one column instead of two within the sections of the Details tab? Or maybe you wish the sections were in a different order? Now you can change the layout of the Details page by going to the Tools section (at the bottom, on the right) and clicking My Layout Settings. These layout options will stay in place for you on the Details tab of all your ancestors’ pages but will not affect how other users see in the page.

Add An Alert Note

If you want to communicate something to others as soon as they land on an ancestor’s page, you can now add an alert note on the Collaboration tab for this purpose. This message will then show prominently on the Details tab for that ancestor.

Publish A Life Sketch (Now “Brief Life History”) on the About Tab

The life sketch has a new name now – “Brief Life History” – for clarification. After you are finished writing a brief life history for an ancestor, a pop-up will appear that allows you to publish the history on the About tab of the person’s page, replacing the automated one usually there.

Continuing To Use The New Page And Giving Feedback

At FamilySearch, we are dedicated to connecting people to their families, which includes helping people everywhere get to know and record details about their ancestors. Although we many sometimes get conflicting feedback and can’t make every suggested change, we try our hardest to make experiences on our site simple and effective. Please continue to tell us how you think we can improve. 

Related Articles On FamilyTree.com:

FamilySearch Redesigned New Person Page

FamilySearch Family History Library Launched New Webpage

FamilySearch Now Available In 30 Languages

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