Postal site redesigned for service

Customers can log on to have their mail held while on vacation or schedule the redelivery of a package

United States Postal Service

The U.S. Postal Service has redesigned its Web site, adding new features and making its products and services more accessible.

Customers can now log on to have their mail held while they go on vacation or schedule the redelivery of a package that may have needed a signature or been too large for the mailbox.

"This is an ongoing effort to be accessible to our customers and maintain an online presence," USPS spokeswoman Sue Brennan said.

The latest features have been tested in the past few months and have been officially announced along with the site redesign.

Services have been grouped together on the site "into something that made sense to the customer," Brennan said, which meant highlighting the "buy," "send" and "receive" applications.

A new blue navigation bar across the top, supplementing the red navigation bar, outlines several options for sending and receiving mail. The center of the home page emphasizes tips for businesses and consumers — from direct mail campaigns to buying stamps.

The USPS Web site averages 12 million visitors each month. The most-used services include the ZIP code look-up, the track and confirm delivery features, the domestic and international rate calculators, and the postal store.

Transactions made via the Web site continue to increase. During the past five months of 2002, more than 278,000 transactions were made online, resulting in about $20 million in sales, postal officials said.