CNN Launches New Beta Website June 1, 2007
This morning, Steve pointed to me to the new beta version of the CNN.com website, which is now available for public testing. You can view it here and take a guided tour of the new site here. Following are a few things that jumped out at me:
Things I Like
(1) The site is pretty Ajaxy, meaning users can access content without reloading pages, thus minimizing page views. This is significant, as it makes CNN one of the first large media properties to embrace new technology and take a baby step away from the page view advertising model.
(2) They’ve launched a new video section that is a huge improvement. On the current site, all videos are presented in slow loading pop up windows. They are now embedding the video in a normal page and using Flash, which creates a much better user experience. I hated the pop ups so much I literally would not click on any video links. In addition, they’ve come up with a clever way to integrate videos with accompanying stories through tabbing.
There are a couple of major problems with the videos though: the way it is set up there is no way to embed a CNN video into your blog and, more importantly, there is no easy way to link directly to an individual video. No good.
(3) Sort of like Amazon and Netflix, the new site has a recommendation engine that refers you to relevant stories based on your browsing history. An example is below.
Things I Don’t LIke
(1) The email and save options on the story pages still work using pop up windows and not Ajax. They should really fix this. Did I mention that I hate pop up windows?
(2) The site doesn’t have any social tools. There is no way to comment on what you are reading or to establish a profile on the site, like USA Today and the Washington Post have done recently.
Overall, I think this is an improvement. I would have liked to see more social features but improving the way the video works on the site is a huge thing for me.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments.
Update: I’ll post links to other reviews as I see them.
- A few thoughts on the new CNN beta site - Daily Background
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Comments
Wow, that’s a great idea, embeddable video I mean. I didn’t think of that when writing my “few thoughts on the new CNN beta site,” but I’ll add it now and link back. Thanks.
Thanks Arlen.
They still use Yahoo Search. I don’t understand why?
I like the way the site has got wider. It now uses most of my screen and it looks more in depth and professional. I always use CNN.com.
This is pretty weak and nowhere close to the existing CNN.com. My criticism of this site is the same as my criticism of the new WaPo: more whitespace equals less substance. Except they’ve taken it to a new extreme. There’s a balance to be struck and the current CNN.com does it quite well. You don’t go quite as busy as most of the sports sites or what my friends at Townhall.com are doing, but you’ve got to show some meat on the bone. A basic three column design like this might work for a lifestyle pub like Portfolio.com, but for “the world’s news leader?”
Are we at a point where we are regressing on Web design? I think so. Most of the sites that weren’t abjectly horrible before (like USA Today) have gotten worse with redesigns.
Patrick - my reaction to the design was to not really to have a reaction. Boring. I do think they’ve made some usability improvements though (particularly with the video).
embeded video is good
i like the new site, thanks for pointing out the pros and cons.
-http://ThunkDifferent.com
Hi,
I stumbled upon your site today and was quite impressed. I really liked the design. Did you make it yourself?
I wanted to let you know about ReadPrint.com — a massive non-profit library similar to Bartleby — except its far better organized and user friendly. We’ve been using it extensively in school nowadays — it’s great for doing research since you can search within the books.