BBCNews Resdesigned.

Placebo

I'm not sure if anyone reads bbc news here, but i'm a regular and i'm not sure i'm quite pleased with the new design.
Theres always a case wherethe user gets accustomed and 'used' to the new interface but with this, i'm not sure my eyes know where to look.
The older website, looked much more constructed

they say, this is whats new:

a fresh, updated design, with more space for the main stories of the day
• better use of video and images
• clearer and more prominent labelling and signposting of key stories, whether you are on the front page or a story page
• a better indication of which are the most recent headlines
• easier ways to share stories with others, for those who wish to, on social media networks

new
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
old
http://web.archive.org/web/20080718132410/news.bbc.co.uk/

any thoughts?

Goodshape

I browse BBC News all the time. I'd seen screenshots of the update before but to actually see it live, it's a more of a change than I was expecting.

I think I like it but it's going to take time to get used to alright. I'm always very hesitant to speak badly of a redesign just because I was used to the old one... at the moment there's a bit of annoyance as I try and find my way around a site I used to know so well - but discounting that, it's lovely fresh and modern looking.

tricky D

Hmmmm. I'm not sure what they think they've fixed with this. Tweaking the old one might have been a better idea. Seems as if they've added more style and little substance and it feels like one of those situations where it's thought that redesign will be some magic wand when it's actually just made it look a bit more dumbed down (e.g. the world map). Changing the font from verdana to helvetica neue,arial seems to back up the style vs substance issue. I do prefer the new font size proportions, despite being a bit oversized overall, as the old ones seemed to be a bit haphazard and used to change inexplicably, though I'm not quite sold on the increase in whitespace (more scrolling). I preferred the more central alignment of the articles' body text, especially on longer pages. The reds in the top are a bit too lurid imo.

It's getting badly slated in The Editors http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/2010/07/bbc_news_website_redesign_2.html however as one poster says,

I have worked in newspapers for nearly 35 years. At EVERY design change, we were flooded with letters and phone calls from people who hated the new look. If we spoke to any at length, we always found, without exception, that what they hated was not the new look but change.

At one such exercise, in 1995, we kept the names and contact details of those who had been upset and, five years later, at the next wholesale change, were tickled to discover that these same people sent much the same letters, complaining that they had been robbed of a design they loved (despite complaining that they hated it five years previously).

Suppose we'll just get used to it....

Cianos

I prefer the new one overall. A few observations;

Pros:
I think it will function much better as a news-oriented platform because of its ability to give greater emphasis to the more prominent issues.

They're making it a lot more accessible for the multi-media functions and seem to want to steer viewers towards these features.

The old site wasted a lot of space in the upper panel which they've cleaned up.

Cons:
Using more (white) space has forced them to horizontal navigation which I think is a lot less intuitive interrupts navigation but the main panel seems more friendly for navigation without needing the actual menu.

The arrows on the Watch/Listen box need to be moved outside the image box, it's not obvious that it doesn't navigate you away from the page.

The map down the page needs improvement, the blue on blue font isn't legible enough and probably very difficult to read for colour blind people.

mkahnisbent

I think the new design looks cheap.

cormee

I like it. Much easier on the eye, much easier to scan than the old site. I'll know within 10 seconds or so if there is anything I am interested in compared to the 20 or 30 seconds it took me on their old site. The hierarchy is a lot more obvious.