FamilySearch is undergoing a fundamental transformation by pushing toward accomplishing many lofty goals.

FamilySearch is seeing phenomenal growth. Since 2013, FamilySearch.org has seen a 234% increase in LDS patrons and a whopping 1,035% increase from the non-LDS segment. Record collections on the site have nearly doubled since 2012 and the searchable indexed names have grown from 750 million in 2010 to 5.2 billion today.

A senior product manager recently said that future developments for FamilySearch will be focused on the following customer needs:

• Providing more records—faster.
• The ability to preserve and share personal family records online.
• The ability to do more on cell phones and tablets.
• Creating a more accurate and full-featured search.
• Allowing patrons to easily and completely gather online sources right at their fingertips.
• Ensuring the FamilySearch Family Tree is “genealogically sound.”
• Expanding work with partners and industry leaders to tackle the ominous needs of the marketplace.

The FamilySearch engineers are working on an indexing program that will work on tablets. They are hoping to make it available by the end of 2015 or early 2016. It will be a web-based system, so you won’t have to use a downloaded app.

Coming soon are some impressive tools and more functionality for the FamilySearch mobile apps, Memories feature, online catalog, and more partner initiatives. Advancements in search will be applied to all these applications. Microfilm images and indices will be accessible directly from the FamilySearch catalog and will enable users to quickly browse through digital images or search the film’s indexed records.

Learn more about the future plans for FamilySearch in the article “FamilySearch Undergoing Transformation.”