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Macworld is proud to offer a sneak-peak at the redesigned beta version of Macworld.com. We’ve been hard at work on this for a while—and we still have a ways to go—but we decided to throw it open for public scrutiny. [more]
Editors' Notes Weblog: All-new Macworld.com open to the public
#1
Macworld.com 
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Posted 03 December 2007 - 01:40 PM
MultiQuote
#2
flybynight
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Posted 03 December 2007 - 04:47 PM
Gotta say that I think I prefer the "current" look to the beta. Well, maybe not the look - I like the cool colors vs. the current reds...
What I do like better about the current look is the number of headlines that you see at once. I don't always have time to read everything that I want to and I like being able to go back and still see 2 or 3 days worth of headlines that I can just click on without searching.
That's just my first impression. I haven't really had a chance to "dig in" yet.
Also, the beta site seems like the ads are a little more in your face. I know you need revenue, but the most important thing to the readers is the content, not the ads.
Just my $.02. Take it for what it's worth...
What I do like better about the current look is the number of headlines that you see at once. I don't always have time to read everything that I want to and I like being able to go back and still see 2 or 3 days worth of headlines that I can just click on without searching.
That's just my first impression. I haven't really had a chance to "dig in" yet.
Also, the beta site seems like the ads are a little more in your face. I know you need revenue, but the most important thing to the readers is the content, not the ads.
Just my $.02. Take it for what it's worth...
#3
BruisedApple
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Posted 03 December 2007 - 04:48 PM
It's ugly. Looks like what you're really trying to do is make more room for advertising rather than make it easier for readers to get Mac-related news and information. Am I looking at a website, or the side of a NASCAR?
#4
Jason Snell
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Posted 03 December 2007 - 04:51 PM
Quote:
It's ugly. Looks like what you're really trying to do is make more room for advertising rather than make it easier for readers to get Mac-related news and information. Am I looking at a website, or the side of a NASCAR?
It's ugly. Looks like what you're really trying to do is make more room for advertising rather than make it easier for readers to get Mac-related news and information. Am I looking at a website, or the side of a NASCAR?
There's not a whole lot more room for advertising in the new design. A little, but mostly down on the page.
Not that I have to remind most people of this, but Macworld doesn't appear magically out of the blue. If we don't make money from advertising, there is no Macworld web site. Which would make it much harder for readers to get much Mac news from us.
#5
Jason Snell
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Posted 03 December 2007 - 04:54 PM
Quote:
What I do like better about the current look is the number of headlines that you see at once. I don't always have time to read everything that I want to and I like being able to go back and still see 2 or 3 days worth of headlines that I can just click on without searching.
What I do like better about the current look is the number of headlines that you see at once. I don't always have time to read everything that I want to and I like being able to go back and still see 2 or 3 days worth of headlines that I can just click on without searching.
The "All Stories" tab will be able to be set as a default, allowing you to see the latest 15 stories posted to the site. Beyond that we'll have a more stories link.
Quote:
Also, the beta site seems like the ads are a little more in your face.
Also, the beta site seems like the ads are a little more in your face.
Any new design will appear to have ads that are more "in your face," because your brain hasn't adapted to the new design like it has to the previous design. That said, as I pointed out above, Macworld.com is entirely supported by advertising. If we don't run ads, there's no site.
#6
dbater
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Posted 03 December 2007 - 05:00 PM
I figure my comments won't change it.... I can get use to anything... don't get me wrong, it's o.k. nothing to write home about ... but I love what you guys are doing for the mac world so, 1 1/2 thums up.
#7
moo083
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Posted 03 December 2007 - 05:32 PM
I don't really like the layout because if you look at the page, the latest news section can't even be seen until you scroll down. That's not okay. It its to be up at the top. Its the main attraction. Why hide it away?
My advice, cut about 3-4 inches away from your top section, use more vertical ads and get rid of the top one, remove an item or two from that top section or place it elsewhere, but its really annoying to think that in the future I'll have to scroll down an entire page for the thing that most people visit your site for.
At least give us the option to move it up. You could even try charging for an ad-free version. If it doesn't work, how much money did you really lose? If it works, you have new income.
I like the new look in general, but the placement of new stories is THE major killer of the new design.
My advice, cut about 3-4 inches away from your top section, use more vertical ads and get rid of the top one, remove an item or two from that top section or place it elsewhere, but its really annoying to think that in the future I'll have to scroll down an entire page for the thing that most people visit your site for.
At least give us the option to move it up. You could even try charging for an ad-free version. If it doesn't work, how much money did you really lose? If it works, you have new income.
I like the new look in general, but the placement of new stories is THE major killer of the new design.
#9
Morrick
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Posted 03 December 2007 - 05:34 PM
I appreciate the hard work of redesigning a site, but honestly the current look is cleaner and clearer. When I load the current Macworld homepage I have everything at a glance. With the new beta version I found myself hunting for the various sections. I don't think it's only a matter of not being accustomed yet to the new look. I simply think that the new beta look is a little more confusing than the current one. Same goes for the choice of colours I prefer the current one.
Sincerely,
Rick
Sincerely,
Rick
#10
booga
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Posted 03 December 2007 - 05:50 PM
I agree with the others that the current design is far better... I'll try to quantify why I think so to try to make this criticism more useful:
1. My Firefox settings on my 1024-pixel high screen mean when going to the current macworld.com I see all of today's (and usually a couple of yesterday's) stories without having to scroll. With the new design, I have to scroll to see the most of the articles from even a single day. The area at the top is simply too big.
2. The articles appear to be in random (not chronological) order -- not sure if this is just a bug.
3. And the two-column list doesn't lend itself to clarity. Does the chronology go in rows or columns? It also reduces the amount of space available for each headline, making the headlines seem more vague.
4. The right-hand area of the page is huge, and appears to be completely useless to me. I'd say completely eliminate it, and move the huge stuff off the top of the page over to it.
5. The "News" tab, which is arguably the most important and desirable part of your site, is in a greyed-out tab off to the right of the top bar. I would assume, also, that the Mac, iPod, and iPhone buttons at the top just filtered the news for that product. But no, it brings you to another page of questionable utility.
6. Actually, after clicking the "news" tab I get the page I would have assumed would be the "front" page. Except that there's no time of day, the font is harder to read, and no red highlights.
7. The whole page seems very cluttered and haphazard. There doesn't really seem to be a "flow" that directs you to what you want to see. It kind of looks more like a "link exchange" advertising site than a site with significant original content.
1. My Firefox settings on my 1024-pixel high screen mean when going to the current macworld.com I see all of today's (and usually a couple of yesterday's) stories without having to scroll. With the new design, I have to scroll to see the most of the articles from even a single day. The area at the top is simply too big.
2. The articles appear to be in random (not chronological) order -- not sure if this is just a bug.
3. And the two-column list doesn't lend itself to clarity. Does the chronology go in rows or columns? It also reduces the amount of space available for each headline, making the headlines seem more vague.
4. The right-hand area of the page is huge, and appears to be completely useless to me. I'd say completely eliminate it, and move the huge stuff off the top of the page over to it.
5. The "News" tab, which is arguably the most important and desirable part of your site, is in a greyed-out tab off to the right of the top bar. I would assume, also, that the Mac, iPod, and iPhone buttons at the top just filtered the news for that product. But no, it brings you to another page of questionable utility.
6. Actually, after clicking the "news" tab I get the page I would have assumed would be the "front" page. Except that there's no time of day, the font is harder to read, and no red highlights.
7. The whole page seems very cluttered and haphazard. There doesn't really seem to be a "flow" that directs you to what you want to see. It kind of looks more like a "link exchange" advertising site than a site with significant original content.
#11
Terrin
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Posted 03 December 2007 - 06:00 PM
I like the new colors and some of the changes are refreshing. However, I would prefer the news tab being the home page (although I know I can just bookmark that). I suspect most people come to MacWorld to read the news so why not give that to users on the front page? Also, I agree the ads seem to be needlessly more in your face. They are stacked towards the top of the page, when spreading them out seems less aggressive.
#12
kinless
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Posted 03 December 2007 - 06:00 PM
I'm wondering if you can have the best of both worlds. I assume the site is CSS-dependent. Have an option at the top so users can choose either one style (current) or the other (new). That is, of course, unless you're completely changing the underlying structure.
I still like the design you had before the current one. But I don't like change in general so don't ask for my opinion on anything new. /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
I still like the design you had before the current one. But I don't like change in general so don't ask for my opinion on anything new. /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
#13
NaOH
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Posted 03 December 2007 - 06:04 PM
I pretty much agree with those who feel it's got more ads and less immediate access to Mac related news.
The issue I have with it, is that when I first load the new design page, there are 3 ads and 3 articles or headlines.
When I load the old design, there are still 3 ads, but I can see 12 headlines.
And that's before I begin scrolling down the page.
While I appreciate there is a need for advertising revenue, I don't think it is a good idea to do that at the expense of easy access to news items.
I drop in to Macworld.com a few times a day, in order to catch up on Mac related news.
During each visit, I may briefly look at a few of the articles.
If a headline doesn't immediately grab my attention, I don't bother to click on the link to the article.
With the new design, I might see a handful of articles, none of which grab my attention. As I won't usually have time to dig around for news items that interest me, the result is likely to be that I'll only visit when I have time to navigate around the different sections of the site.
In short: Try to have more news on the front page.
The issue I have with it, is that when I first load the new design page, there are 3 ads and 3 articles or headlines.
When I load the old design, there are still 3 ads, but I can see 12 headlines.
And that's before I begin scrolling down the page.
While I appreciate there is a need for advertising revenue, I don't think it is a good idea to do that at the expense of easy access to news items.
I drop in to Macworld.com a few times a day, in order to catch up on Mac related news.
During each visit, I may briefly look at a few of the articles.
If a headline doesn't immediately grab my attention, I don't bother to click on the link to the article.
With the new design, I might see a handful of articles, none of which grab my attention. As I won't usually have time to dig around for news items that interest me, the result is likely to be that I'll only visit when I have time to navigate around the different sections of the site.
In short: Try to have more news on the front page.
#14
DonC
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Posted 03 December 2007 - 06:07 PM
Have to agree with the other posters: while the look of the new page is kind of refreshing, it is so confusing to find just some information one would care about. This new way tells the people to go away and try to find the news at some other place on the web.
The new design looks like "We have so many ideas on how to structure the information. We need to show how great we are, and we make money with our adds." and not like "Information is our product".
The "News" Style should be the main page, take away the top 3 news story summary & picture part, perhaps take away the top ad banner, too, and move the later to the right column or where it is on the old design.
Then don't use the "All product news" and "All topic news" section at all. Let people select what they want to see by using the topics area on top of the page. Nobody wants to scroll down, click, wait for a reload of the page and then read old stories. Try to keep things simple.
The new design looks like "We have so many ideas on how to structure the information. We need to show how great we are, and we make money with our adds." and not like "Information is our product".
The "News" Style should be the main page, take away the top 3 news story summary & picture part, perhaps take away the top ad banner, too, and move the later to the right column or where it is on the old design.
Then don't use the "All product news" and "All topic news" section at all. Let people select what they want to see by using the topics area on top of the page. Nobody wants to scroll down, click, wait for a reload of the page and then read old stories. Try to keep things simple.
