New News Page Layout

This is just an experiment - I'm not sold on it. The idea is that bigger news items dropped out of sight pretty quickly with the old format, while this one allows more to be seen at a glance. On the downside, it also makes it look a lot like every other news site on the web. The difference isn't as big as it appears at first - it's just that individual items are collapsed rather than expanded by default, in an attempt to make more room. Other than that, it's the same.
Anyhow, with the caveat that nobody likes change, let me know how you get on with it. It may stay, or it may go back to the old way. Switching it back is only a single click away!

 

[Agglomérante]

I agree about the rolling banner: It's useless, distracting and annoying. Just get rid of it, because apart from that I like the new layout.

The rolling banner is known as a "carousel" in user interface design, and it's the mullet of the web for the reasons given in this fantastic parody:

http://shouldiuseacarousel.com/

It takes me 14 seconds to read this paragraph, which is displayed for 7 seconds. It would take others longer if English isn't their first language, or they have some disability like dyslexia or low vision:

View attachment 65561

You could address that by using a carousel with a pause button.

But just get rid of it -- unless your web stats show people are actually clicking on it (which is unlikely).

Consider also that you're just cycling through the top 4 stories, which are just below the fold anyway.

Instead, you might want to put that new two-column layout to good use, and show the top four stories above the fold. To pull that off, you have to remove the ad banner as well (but from just the home page); increase the font-size of the page title by half (from 20px to 30px), and presto, NEWS!


View attachment 65562

Resolution is 1366x768

 

[PeterFitz]

The only aspect of the new layout I dislike is the animated article preview banner header, which to my mind adds little functionality, slows page loading, reduces the 'above-the-fold' content area, and creates a visual distraction.