Making data access intuitive often comes down to a question of information design, as you can see below. A user of the previous site, having found the data section of the website through trial and error, needed to navigate a set of deeply nested tables that made it difficult to choose customized cuts of the data or assemble complete datasets to be used for further analysis.


The nested navigation structure also meant many extraneous pages being loaded up – adding strain to the already taxed servers. By employing a more flexible design with a clear list of available parameters, the Public Data Portal was able to improve accessibility for a broad array of users while also improving the overall efficiency of the site.