DCRA launched a new website last night, and like other agencies who have transferred to the fresh DC.gov template, it is a tremendous improvement.

DCRA’s new site is part of the District of Columbia government’s new web template, designed to make agencies’ online presence simpler and easier to navigate. DDOT redesigned its website with this template back in February; DCRA is now the fourteenth agency to apply the upgrade. As someone who uses D.C. government websites everyday, it’s hard to emphasize just how much better this new layout is. The old D.C. government template involved a big, blocky look with a bunch of tiny hyperlinks. The new template is clean, with lots of space between images and sections, and getting to where you need to go is very easy.

“We’re really excited about the new website and it’s designed to take our customers directly to the information they want faster and easier,” said DCRA Director Linda Argo.

DCRA can certainly utilize the enhanced capabilities of the new template. The agency’s featured services — like its permit database, its online organization search and business licensing — are now included in one easy-to-navigate frame at the top of the page. Of course, DCRA’s subsites — This Should Be Illegal and RentMyDCBasement.com — are also prominently featured. There’s also an exciting new application called PIVS, which, according to DCRA spokesman Mike Rupert, “essentially allows customers to see pretty much anything they want about a particular property.” It’s pretty fun — try plugging in your address and seeing if there’s ever been a housing code violation on it, or even what the building was made of and when it was constructed.