Hey, look at that—a new design
Posted by Phil Cauthon
December 16, 2009 at 12:37 p.m.
Maybe you noticed — things look a bit different on the front of lawrence.com.
We tweaked a few aspects of the layout in our ongoing effort to better serve you, our reader.
Basically this design tweak does three things...
1
The most obvious is that, at the top, we now have multiple lead stories, photo galleries, podcasts, videos and the like. This should give you a wider selection from what's new on the site. It should also give new visitors to lawrence.com a better sense — at a glance — of the variety of stuff we have on this site.
2
We've incorporated the "Latest," "Most discussed" and "Your bets" (events that are coming up at your favorite places) in the main body of the front page. This used to be a bit hidden off to the side of the site.
3
We've reduced the amount of space that calendar events take up on the site. They will now be below the ad in a sidebar, instead of taking up so much space top and center of the front page.
We hope you like these changes — they were all born out of consistent feedback we were getting from all kinds of readers. As always, we appreciate you taking the time to send us what you think — we've provided a space for doing so at the bottom of every page on lawrence.com.
In the coming months we'll be working on a much more significant update to the site, both in terms of design and functionality. As we do so, we'll be drawing heavily on reader feedback — so let us know what you like, what you don't like, and what your ideal lawrence.com would have that it currently does not.
Comments
bd_eek 13 years, 5 months ago
I have came, I have looked and now I leave feeling very underwhelmed.
artstew 13 years, 5 months ago
Wow! Even more un-original than before!
This site has been my first stop every morning for more than two years. At first it was original and had consistent design and stories that were different then LJ-World. Now I find myself spending less than a minute on the site. The only real reason I still come to the site if for events and the occasional unique article.
If you fixed your calendar system so events did not repeat into infinity even if they have ended. Where you could download them into iCal (or Google Calendar, etc.) with all of information attached (like the name and address of the event location ... hint, hint). Then I think your site would still have some redeeming qualities.
Also, try spending more money on good writers instead of paying bloggers next to nothing. Oh well, maybe I will just wait for the free Pulse newspaper since it has the exact same stories. Thanks LJ-World for ruining a good thing.
knayte 13 years, 5 months ago
Sheesh, get a grip guys. I think the re-touches are great. It used to be that I would check the lone featured story at the top and if it didn't seem interesting I might not spend that much more time on the site (I'm lazy). Since there are several of them now and they are all quickly accessible I think it will lead me to more stories I might have missed.
I also like having a list of today's events rather than a slideshow to scroll through. Good stuff.
Keith 13 years, 5 months ago
Just think of it as 'Go' for the thirtysomethings.
kubodhi 13 years, 5 months ago
I dig it. It seems more functional and about as clean as is possible given that reasonable people understand the ads have to be there. Well done, lcom crew! Looking forward to the updates in the coming months. =)
alm77 13 years, 5 months ago
I don't mean to frustrate you, I know change is hard, but I've been around for a while and I don't like the feeling of "widening the net" (basically) to catch more readers. There is just too much going on on the page. I understand the why you're doing it (you know I get that), but I still don't like it.
Since this IS the internet and all, I'm guessing that instead of having two separate stories (on on ljw and one on here) the reason you don't just link the story from ljw to lawrence.com is because that would mean the notoriously snarky and unsophisticated posters over there would be bringing their bad vibes over here. But bringing the cycling and the budget stuff and what-have-you over here makes it feel really redundant. Not only that, but I think it dilutes the style that I've complimented you on a million times. Yeah, we're all over 30 now, but I don't think that means this site has to grow up, too.
If you want more readers, Phil, I think a site that is easier to use and regeared (according to my spellcheck, I just made up a word) toward the college crowd, is your best bet. Maybe not getting back to your roots, but getting back to those intentions.
Pete_Schweti 13 years, 5 months ago
Hooray, Flashturbation!
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