FAQs about changing to www.ncdhhs.gov

see also:
DHHS Website Redesign Project Home

Why are we doing this?

The longstanding URL for the department is outmoded and overly long. No one could remember it. As we begin the website redesign, changing to the shorter www.ncdhhs.gov will make it easier to remember, and in keeping with the state portal, which is changing from ncgov.com to nc.gov.

Perhaps more importantly, the shorter URL allows programs across the department to also have short, easy to remember website addresses that can be published on brochures and publications. Short website addresses are a constant request, so I hope you find this to be good news.

We are also taking advantage of the .gov extension, which only became available to state and local governments recently. Using .gov (instead of .com or .org) will assure our site visitors that our site is the legitimate voice of the department.

Won’t we frustrate our public by changing our web address?

We’ll do all we can to minimize the impact. Please be aware, the site can be navigated with both www.dhhs.state.nc.us AND with www.ncdhhs.gov. That means all web addresses that begin with www.dhhs.state.nc.us/, including division sites, can be navigated with www.ncdhhs.gov. Anyone with bookmarks to our pages can still get there.

Why don’t we wait for the new website to make the change?

While the web is a fast environment, URLs change very slowly. Teaching our website visitors and the major search engines the new URLs now will mean fewer surprises for them in the future.

What does this mean for my division?

It depends on your current address. See below:

Divisions whose current website addresses begin with www.dhhs.state.nc.us :

1. These divisions should immediately begin to use new URLs on all publications, letterhead, and business cards.

www.ncdhhs.gov/dss
www.ncdhhs.gov/dma
www.ncdhhs.gov/aging
www.ncdhhs.gov/oeo
www.ncdhhs.gov/mhddsas
www.ncdhhs.gov/budgetandanalysis
www.ncdhhs.gov/ocs
www.ncdhhs.gov/control
www.ncdhhs.gov/humanresources
www.ncdhhs.gov/publicaffairs
www.ncdhhs.gov/dsb

2. Webmaster should place a “Change your Bookmark” notice onto the home page. An image for this purpose can be obtained by webmasters from the DHHS home page, with a link to the new URL. See the DHHS home page for an example.

For the above divisions, the entire website is navigable using the new URL.

Divisions with Website Addresses in other Formats:

1. Update the DHHS web page addresses in your website(s).
2. Add the DHHS home page address to your publications. That is, if you publish your home page address on a publication, also include the home page of the department. For example, DPH publications should refer to both www.ncpublichealth.com and www.ncdhhs.gov.

Websites that are not division home pages:

Webmasters of websites in the DHHS family that are not division home pages will need to update DHHS home page addresses in your website, but currently make no other changes.

What does this mean for my programs?

Your programs and services will be able to get URLs such as www.asthma.ncdhhs.gov or www.medicaid.ncdhhs.gov. See the www.ncdhhs.gov/redesignproject for more on URLs.