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Why change notes are important on GOV.UK
Change notes have two functions on the GOV.UK site:
- let the public know what has been altered on the page
- to reflect the date of publication in the 'last updated' field of a Gov.UK web page
- to let the public know what has been altered on the page
A change note must be added to the page for both of those things to happen.
This screenshot shows how a GOV.
Examples:
UK page displays the fact that the page was first published on 3 January 2019, and Last updated 28 March 2019
Users can then click on the see all updates link which takes them to a list of all the updates made to the page since it was first published, and the reasons why. This is where the text you insert in a change note displays.
How to write a good change note
A good change note should start with an 'action word' that briefly described the kind of edit that has been made:
For example - added, updated, amended
.
'Added' or 'Updated' are likely to be the most common ones, followed by a very brief explanation Then a brief explanation of what's changed.
For example:
...
, for example 'Added latest flu data'.
Government Digital Service guidance
More information about change notes can be found on GOV.UK.
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