Overview

AdviceAid Selfserv is a Single Page App (SPA) built using latest version of the Angular framework and the GOV UK Design System.

The SPA architecture provides a fluid and responsive journey through the SelfServ content. The app responds to user input without having to reload the page, providing a great user experience on both desktop and mobile devices.

Compatiblity

SelfServ supports all modern browsers including Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari. We also provide support for Internet Explorer 11.

Please note that the app requires JavaScript to be enabled in the browser. This is standard practice for modern web apps, but can cause issues for legacy site auditing tools.

Website Integration: Basic

Step 1 : Find your SelfServ url

Your SelfServ url will be of the form: https://{yourdomain}.adviceaid.uk

For example: https://epicforest.adviceaid.uk

{yourdomain} is part of your team configuration. We will allocate it for you, unless you have a specific name you would like to use.

If your site uses our old URL format e.g. https://selfserv.adviceaid.uk/epicforest
This url will continue to work, but https://{yourdomain}.adviceaid.uk is the preferred format moving forwards.

Step 2: Add a link on your website using your SelfServ url
<a href="https://{yourdomain}.adviceaid.uk/" target="_self">
Self Service Housing Advice
</a>

If you prefer to option SelfServ to open in a new window, use: target="_blank" in the link above.

Website Integration: gov.uk subdomain

If you would like to host SelfServ on your domain then we recommend that you use a subdomain with a CNAME record pointing to the SelfServ service.

Step 1 : Choose your subdomain
You are free to use whatever name is most appropriate for your advice service. For example:
-https://selfserv.epicforest.gov.uk
- https://housing-advice.epicforest.gov.uk
-https://whatever-you-like.epicforest.gov.uk


Step 2 : Setup DNS record
Create a CNAME DNS record for your chosen subdomain pointing to selfserv.adviceaid.uk

Verify the DNS status to ensure that the record is behaving as expected. e.g. Mx Toolbox.

Step 3. Let us know
Send an email to support@adviceaid.uk with your new domain info and we will perform the necessary configuration on our server to get your AdviceAid service up and running.

Step 4. www redirect (optional)
For .govuk domains, it is also recommended that you also set up a local redirect from your main www subdomain.

For example:

www.epicforest.gov.uk/housing-advice/path/to/resource
 
Redirects to:
housing-advice.epicforest.gov.uk/path/to/resource

For information on best practice for .govuk subdomains please see the GOVUK Website Naming Guidelines

Website Integration: Reverse Proxy

An alternative for hosting SelfServ on your site is to use a reverse proxy pointing to to https://{yourdomain}.adviceaid.uk

This approach allows the SelfServ app to be hosted directly from your www site. For example www.epicforest.gov.uk/housing-advice

The load on this proxy will be small, as the majority of the SelfServ assets are hosted on external storage services. Only the index HTML page is served from adviceaid.uk.

Note that all subpages need to be routed to the same endpoint. For example:

https://housing-advice.epicforest.gov.uk/
https://housing-advice.epicforest.gov.uk/questions/
https://housing-advice.epicforest.gov.uk/questions/example/

Should all be proxied to:
https://epicforest.adviceaid.uk/

If you would like to use this approach please email support@adviceaid.uk with the following information:
- Your origin hostname e.g. housing-advice.epicforest.gov.uk
- Your origin server type e.g. Apache, Nginx, IIS