“New LDS.org Now Live,” Ensign, Jan. 2011, 76–77
New LDS.org Now Live
The Internet has changed since the 2006 overhaul of LDS.org, and now LDS.org has been changed to take advantage of the new possibilities.
Launched officially on November 30, 2010, the new LDS.org, also referred to as LDS.org 3.0, emphasizes the teachings of living prophets, facilitates online gospel study, provides ways to share the gospel, makes materials easier to find, and provides content in several languages.
The creation of the new site was also a good time for Church leaders to refocus the site’s strategy.
“LDS.org’s … content has been driven more by what Church departments need than by the audience’s needs,” said Elder Craig C. Christensen of the Seventy. “In redesigning this site, we asked, ‘What do Church members need, and how can the Church help them?’”
Teachings of Living Prophets
With so many voices on the Internet competing for attention, the new LDS.org focuses on bringing one voice to the forefront—the prophetic voice.
Lee Gibbons, director of LDS.org, said the site’s intent is to give the teachings of modern prophets and apostles prominence by focusing on their ministry and what they are teaching today.
The Prophets and Apostles Speak Today section of the site features recent messages and provides personal insights into the lives and ministries of the members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Tools for Online Gospel Study
The previous version of LDS.org provided access to the scriptures and other Church materials, but the new site provides tools for online study. Users can highlight and underline passages, take notes, keep a study journal, and organize materials into files for later use. These features are available in the Study area of the site, which includes the scriptures, general conference, lesson manuals, Church magazines, and more.
Sharing the Gospel
Content on the new site is media rich, using video, audio, photography, gospel art, and other graphics to communicate the gospel message. But the content isn’t there to benefit only members of the Church. It, like the gospel, is to be shared. Most of the site’s content is integrated with popular social networking sites and e-mail so users can easily share content and direct their friends to learn more about the gospel.
New Search Capability
Another important function that has been improved is the site’s search capabilities. The search bar, available at the top of nearly every page on the site, provides a list of suggested search terms to help form more precise searches. The search leads to a results page that includes recommended results, hand-selected for many frequently searched topics.
Languages
The new LDS.org is a Web site for the worldwide Church, and thus will be rolled out in stages in 11 different languages as the translations are finalized and approved. Approximately 90 percent of Church members speak one of these 11 languages: Cantonese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.