Posted on Wed, Aug 1, 2012 : 5:55 a.m.
Changes made to AnnArbor.com
By Paula Gardner
AnnArbor.com initiated a number of changes to the news website late Tuesday.
Hassan Hodges, director of technology for AnnArbor.com, said many of the changes may not be immediately noticeable to readers, but each should improve the readability of articles.
Among the changes:
- Weather information takes a more prominent position on the homepage and on article pages.
- Headlines on stories will appear closer to the top of the screen.
- New advertising formats - including using more industry-standard ad sizes - will reduce download times for article pages.
- The font for headlines and stories each have been adjusted to make them easier to read.
- Sign-in moves to just below the weather info.
Let us know what you think, either by commenting on this story or emailing Paula Gardner, community news director.
Comments
shutthefrtdoor
Thu, Aug 2, 2012 : 8:02 p.m.
I love the fact that the HOME button is available at all times now. It sure beats having to scroll all the way back to the top. Thanks!
Modern_Atheist
Tue, Aug 7, 2012 : 10:57 p.m.
because it's real tough to hit the "home" button on your keyboard!
Peter
Thu, Aug 2, 2012 : 5:23 p.m.
The ads have grown to a browser killing level, the discourse in the comments has gone from bad to revolting, and the new layout is clunky and very 2001. I think that'll be the end of it for me. Good luck!
shutthefrtdoor
Thu, Aug 2, 2012 : 8:04 p.m.
Bye Bye...see ya later alligator! =D
gladys
Thu, Aug 2, 2012 : 12:14 a.m.
Thank you for enlarging the font size in the articles - much easier to read now.
Ross
Wed, Aug 1, 2012 : 6:16 p.m.
Wow, first reaction is that this is awful. Truly awful. First I have to zoom out because the normal article text is too big and I can barely get 12 lines on my browser at one time. Then I change pages and have to zoom back in to see normal article sub-headlines. Then a giant pop-up ad covers the home page, retreats to the corner and flash bounces at me. I will not tolerate that kind of advertising, you're gonna lose me real quick if it keeps up.
E Claire
Wed, Aug 1, 2012 : 5:18 p.m.
What's with the pop-up ads! I get a pop up covering my screen with every article and also when I click out of the article. The overwhelming negativity in the comments already makes it difficult to read more than a few articles a day. The pop ups will drive many people away for good. Please rethink
David Cahill
Wed, Aug 1, 2012 : 3:48 p.m.
Paula, I think an editorial board is useful if it actually does something. I know that in the past some editorials were written/approved by this board. I think having a community (i.e. non-staff) member on the board is also a Good Thing.
almightydanish
Wed, Aug 1, 2012 : 2:42 p.m.
From Day One, I've wondered why the site isn't mobile-friendly. Looking at stats and figures more and more folks are using their phones as their sole access point to the Web and to have your site not have a mobile-friendly theme is insane. So much so, that I unsubscribed from your e-mail news updates because I check my mail on my phone 90% of the time. I know you want to get the ad revenue and all, but you should take your readers into account as well when developing your long-overdue mobile strategy. If I'm not mistaken, the site is based on Wordpress, which has plenty of mobile templates available.
loyallocal
Wed, Aug 1, 2012 : 2:12 p.m.
why can't i read the comments?
JRW
Wed, Aug 1, 2012 : 1:54 p.m.
Looks like low resolution photos are being used, along with bitmapped text. Why the poor quality and slow load times?
JRW
Wed, Aug 1, 2012 : 1:47 p.m.
Text for headlines is rough, not smooth. Site takes a long time to load. Photos are poor quality, rough and not as finely detailed or clear as in the past. Pages are slow to load.
ChrisW
Wed, Aug 1, 2012 : 2:07 p.m.
For photos, especially galleries, I suggest copying the general look of http://boston.com/bigpicture . Who wants lousy low-res images in this day and age, especially on a desktop theme?
JRW
Wed, Aug 1, 2012 : 1:55 p.m.
Voting down my comment makes no sense. These are my observations on my computer of the new AA dot com site. It is not opinion, it is a fact.
A2anon
Wed, Aug 1, 2012 : 1:36 p.m.
The ads seem too big and really distracting.
David Cahill
Wed, Aug 1, 2012 : 1:28 p.m.
Speaking of changes to AnnArbor.com, I have heard that the Editorial Board no longer exists. Is this true? Also, AnnArbor.com used to make endorsements in the primary elections. Will you be doing this for the August 7 primaries?
Paula Gardner
Wed, Aug 1, 2012 : 2:02 p.m.
We're not doing endorsements for the primary. We're still making the decision about whether we will for the general election. Many local races obviously will be decided in the primary, so that's a factor. We haven't made an official change to the editorial board. Let me know your thoughts on it, though. I'm curious.
Sarah Rigg
Wed, Aug 1, 2012 : 1:20 p.m.
I'm not seeing any homepage link to the business pages (except the box toward the bottom). And when you click on "news" there are subsection buttons at the top, but "business" isn't one of them. Is that intentional?
cgerben
Wed, Aug 1, 2012 : 1:09 p.m.
Great job; this looks really nice, especially the font changes!
justme9
Wed, Aug 1, 2012 : 2:52 p.m.
"The font for headlines and stories each have been adjusted to make them easier to read." Not for me. The headline font is much harder to read. Looks like it's a compressed font, which gives it a very crowded look-and-feel, and using the browser controls doesn't help with that. Gives me a headache now to look at the main page with those headlines. :-(
Sarah Rigg
Wed, Aug 1, 2012 : 12:53 p.m.
The drop down menu with the links to specific sections (lifestyles, health, etc.) has gone away for me- is that permanent? Also, I don't see a link to the Community Wall anywhere on the homepage anymore?
sesomai
Wed, Aug 1, 2012 : 4:27 p.m.
I also am not seeing it. Now it will take two clicks to get to a specific area's news. I really liked the drop down menu since it was easy and fast. It was one of the better design aspects of this site.
RunsWithScissors
Wed, Aug 1, 2012 : 1:42 p.m.
I don't see it either. It looks like I'll have to click on "News" and then find a specific section. A2.com takes long enough to load already - the changes have NOT made load time quicker - and now I have to click through a series of menus. Call me old-fashioned, but I didn't think the changes were necessary.
David Martel
Wed, Aug 1, 2012 : 12:40 p.m.
We appreciate our community's desire for a better mobile experience and have been listening. We are currently exploring a variety of mobile options to better serve our readers and advertisers as mobile technologies quickly evolve.
Bonsai
Wed, Aug 1, 2012 : 5:40 p.m.
just dismal that you don't have a mobile presence 2-plus years after starting up
ChrisW
Wed, Aug 1, 2012 : 2:03 p.m.
I can't believe you updated your site and made mobile browsing worse! Don't you folks have any Smartphones? There are two ways to do mobile - a mobile web theme and a mobile app. A mobile web theme is a no-brainer. It would work on all decent mobile browsers. A mobile app is a bigger financial commitment but a better user experience, supporting a more interactive user interface and features like push notifications. There are many mobile development companies in Ann Arbor that can easily handle this kind of project. For starters, a relatively simple mobile web theme that's less annoying on an iphone would be nice.
Ron Granger
Wed, Aug 1, 2012 : 12:40 p.m.
The site has been very slow ever since the 'pluck' comment system was added. And if there are over a hundred comments? Forget it. There are plenty of other comment systems that work much better. Also, whenever I sign in on a story, it dumps me back at the front page and I must find the story again.
DonBee
Wed, Aug 1, 2012 : 12:38 p.m.
The smaller font size for the main part of the article means having to change glasses to read AA.com now.
Bonsai
Wed, Aug 1, 2012 : 12:10 p.m.
Agree with Chris Blackstone -- please tell us why you don't have a mobile app!
gladys
Wed, Aug 1, 2012 : 12:08 p.m.
The font size in the articles is way too small - please make it larger!
Ron Granger
Wed, Aug 1, 2012 : 12:39 p.m.
All browsers support enlarging the font on the fly to suit the user. Try adjusting your browser. I think the font size is just fine - because I've set it where I want it.
Bill
Wed, Aug 1, 2012 : 11:24 a.m.
The sign in as part of the weather is just a poor design. Move the login to a separate area. I hope that the unrelated ads that had appeared in the middle of article have been eliminated.
Paula Gardner
Wed, Aug 1, 2012 : 10:59 a.m.
I just added a little more detail to one bullet point - that the ad sizes are turning to more industry-standard formats. The blue box at the top will accommodate advertising now, so there shouldn't often be that "sea of blue." Also, Hassan - who is director of digital innovation for the MLive Media Group, in addition to his role at AnnArbor.com - sent me this note this morning in explanation of the ad size change: The standard ad sizes will improve our offerings for local businesses by creating more opportunities to reach a larger audience by running their advertising on AnnArbor.com, Mlive.com and other sites. The overall number of ad positions on pages has been reduced as we're now calling fewer larger ads.
dconkey
Wed, Aug 1, 2012 : 10:40 a.m.
Not sure why the sign in was moved, seemed to be in a good place before.
1bit
Wed, Aug 1, 2012 : 10:36 a.m.
Just noticed one bug: when posting a comment the nav pin becomes unglued if you scroll the page.
Chris Blackstone
Wed, Aug 1, 2012 : 10:19 a.m.
While the site looks a little better, there still are some problematic areas * The Masthead is 90 pixels tall, but is mostly blue. Moving the sitewide nav into that area would bring more content "up" on the page * Having the site login be in the same widget as the weather is, frankly, ridiculous. No one is going to look at the weather and deduce "That's where I'm supposed to log in" * I count at least three different fonts on the home page (Georgia, PT Sans Narrow, generic sans serif) * Not having a mobile site that is triggered by the use of a mobile web browser is mindblowing in 2012, particularly for a "newspaper" that is primarily online. The sitewide nav pinning to the top of the screen is a nice addition but there is still a ways to go.
1bit
Wed, Aug 1, 2012 : 10:26 a.m.
Nice comments! The masthead really is too big and now very empty with the weather info gone. The site does look better on a tablet, but I've never tried it on a phone. My preference in general is for the full website on tablets and only using mobile versions for phones.