Change default homepageUrl in header

[36degrees]

What

The homepageUrl currently defaults to / – which on a service would typically be the first page of the service, or may redirect to the start page.

Given that this is where we expect the service name (serviceUrl) to link to, should GOV.UK link to the GOV.UK homepage by default?

Why

So that the links in the header have a clear and consistent behaviour.

Related issues

• https://github.com/alphagov/govuk-design-system/issues/1292.

[vanitabarrett]

Notes from v4 scoping session:

• Is there a case where users won't have a service name and are therefore relying on the GOV.UK homepage URL linking to the start of their service instead of GOV.UK? What does it mean for product pages?
• Is this work going to cause confusion to users who have learnt that the logo goes to the start of the service? Are we going to cause more problems for users by directing them back to GOV.UK?
• Are we ok to make this decision - do we need to talk to other people in GDS and GOV.UK first to see if this behaviour is ok?

[frankieroberto]

+1 for changing the default to https://www.gov.uk – I've seen different services either link to the govuk homepage or their own service homepage, which can be confusing.