JS online's new look.

[berniebrewer4life]

Anybody else notice the changes they made to the website today? According to their website, it's faster loading, and a better search engine. I like it, i think having the catagories up top is easier to navigate in.

[brewcrewman17]

I was very nervous about the re-do at first because I liked the site the way it was before (they've been running those terrible ads that come up over the top of the page about the new design for a couple days now), and I was worried the JS was going to take a good thing and ruin it. But the new layout is at least just as good, if not an improvement. It certainly looks "fresher."

[trwi7]

I like it. The only thing I would change is making the headlines a different color than light blue. Not easy to read with the white background.

[bullox]

I'm a fan. It's a breath of fresh air.

[BrewCrewForever]

I like it a lot. Big fan.

[dadofandrew]

Apparently, that's why it hasn't loaded for me since about 10PM last night.

[brewjihad]

Looks like the Brewers Blog URL changed, which matters if you have it bookmarked like I do and they haven't redirected it.

 

The old one: http://blogs.jsonline.com/brewers/

The new one: http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/brewers.html

[RayKingsForemanGrill]

Count me as one who doesn't like it. Maybe it will take some getting used to... I thought the old design was easier to navigate... this seems too busy for me.

 

I'm sure I'll get used to it...

[JoeHova]

The old design was the best, in my opinion, of any major newspaper, and I frequent most of the big ones' websites. The new one is just as bad as the sites most papers have. The old one was convenient and clear and well-lain out. The new one is none of those things. It's a shame, but whatever.

[dadofandrew]

If I go to the new blog and then click sports, I get it fine. Yet my old bookmark, which is the same URL, still takes me to the old site, which never really fully loads. Seems a bit clumsy, like a story or entry might be easy to overlook.

[hawing]

...this seems too busy for me.

It appears that "busy" is becoming the norm for websites now - for better or for worse.

 

On the JSOnline home page, I think I would bold the story headlines just a bit. That was the first thing I noticed.

[greeg35]

I wish there were dates by the story headling/links. Otherwise I like it.

[davego]

I knew someone would have started this thread. You guys are always ahead of the curve. Right now I really hate it, but I'm sure I'll adapt. I'm with Joe that the previous page had a better lay-out, and I find this one hard to read. Usually I oppose all change, so take that for what it's worth.

[mtrebs]

I don't mind the new layout, but it seems like everything kind of runs together. I think that the headlines should be a bit bolder and I think there should be some type of separator (either a line or have shaded backgrounds) for each of the different sections. For example, on the main page it's hard to tell where the Sports section ends and the Business section begins.

[twobrewers]

The old design was the best, in my opinion, of any major newspaper, and I frequent most of the big ones' websites.

Wow. I thought that JSOnline.com was an absolute embarrassment to an otherwise respectable newspaper. It looked (and navigated) like something from 1998.

 

I think the new design is a significant improvement. Not great yet - but much better.

 

It is amazing how poorly newspapers translate to the Internet.

[thevaccinator27]

I thought the old site was better organized. The new one looks better. It's still better than the Strib.

[tristarscoop]

Yeah, I'm not sure I like it, either, but it could just take some getting used to. I thought the old one was easier to navigate, but it could just be a familiarity issue.

[1992casey]

Even though my "negative" list is the longest, I feel that the improvements far outweigh the negatives.

 

On the plus side:

• Underlying code is modern. The old nested table layout was a relic of the 1990s. Layouts like that are hard to load and difficult for end users to modify to meet their needs. For those who know CSS, this layout should be reasonably easy to tweak with Stylish. Those who don't know CSS can ask someone to whip up some code that can be pasted into Stylish.
  
• Except for some buttons, font sizing is tied to one's browser default. That's a huge usability advantage in accommodating those with different screen sizes and vision levels.

In the middle:

• Color choices are always a subject of debate. Some insist that lower contrast is easier to read; others prefer higher contrast. I'm one to prefer higher contrast, but I'm also finding most of the new JSOnline colors comfortable to read. This particular gray is tough in this spot, though:

  http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a244/casey1992/boardpics/bfnet/jsonline_gray.png

On the minus side:

• I hate, hate, hate menus that activate via hovering. These are better than many, though, as they don't cover up other content simply because one waves his/her mouse around a bit. If the webmasters could provide the same menus, but have them activate with a click instead (and have those clicks "stick"), I'd be a happy camper.
  
• The page width doesn't flex. It's wider than the window size I prefer to browse in.
• There are spots on the main page with four columns. That's too many.
• Using the main page as an example, the number of validation errors and warnings is disconcerting. Many have to do with ampersands in URLs, which is no biggie for browsers to deal with. Other errors blatantly ignore coding rules.
• Older articles aren't adequately accessible. The lists that we're provided don't go back far enough.
• Pages need to redirect. People who rely on bookmarks aren't getting current news.
  

[Diskono]

Looks like the Brewers Blog URL changed, which matters if you have it bookmarked like I do and they haven't redirected it.

 

The old one: http://blogs.jsonline.com/brewers/

The new one: http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/brewers.html

And now they don't have a separate RSS feed. That's really annoying.

[hawing]

Pages need to redirect. People who rely on bookmarks aren't getting current news.

Yeah, wouldn't redirecting after this much of a change be a pretty basic courtesy?