1. 22/7/2010 Website users give BBC News redesig…
Website users give BBC News redesign
grief (and anger, and bargaining...)
The BBC News website aims to engage with its users – who are
leaving thousands of complaints – as its new look beds in
The BBC News w ebsite's still-controv ersial redesign
When news organisations redesign their websites, the responses sometimes look like the
five stages of mourning. There's feedback in response to an editorial explanation of the
much-vaunted redesign, and there's feedback in response to a design-led explanation. A
spectrum of reaction soon appears.
"Most of the comments in response to my posts here on the redesign have been critical,"
concedes Steve Herrmann, editor of the BBC News website, who has been
(commendably) blogging about the redesign since it was announced. A small point, but
one worth making. He continues: "But, as I've said, we have to assess over time the
response of the several million users who come to the site each day by monitoring it in as
many ways as we can - this blog is just one of them."
A hefty 4,242 comments have been published in response to Herrmann's well-
intentioned posts in the past 16 days, most spitting feathers but some leaving questions
yet to be answered. Whatwereyouthinking posits:
"1. When was the 'prototype' site available for viewing? A number of people
have commented on your earlier posting saying they only got to see it 2-3
weeks before the launch.
"2. What was done to ensure feedback from the 'prototype' site was then
fedback into the design before launch?
"4. What rollback plan did you have in place before launch of the new site? It
would be somewhat surprising to find out that senior BBC managers signed
off on a 'sh*t or bust' implementation.
"5. There have been numerous specific and detailed points raised in the
comments section by people wanting to have certain things addressed.
Rather then a general 'we are looking at things' fob off answer could you
please tell us, the licence payers, when specific raised issues are going to be
addressed, an organisation the size of the BBC must surely be able to publish
a list of items, what is intended to do to correct them and timescale for doing
guardian.co.uk/…/website-bbc-news-r… 1/7

2. 22/7/2010list of items, what is intended to do to correct users and timescale for redesig…
a Website them give BBC News doing
it.
"6. Give the Alexa numbers are suggesting site traffic is down between 15%
and 20% on the BBC news site when you take into account that news
represents about 50% of bbc.co.uk total traffic would you consider the
redesign a success?"
While many like Whatwereyouthinking wait for a response through more diplomatic
means, the strength of feeling in some parts is such that Freedom of Information Act
requests are being launched.
Of course, we have to remember that, on the whole, people don't react well to change: 'If
it ain't broke, don't fix it' etc.
The seven-day report from web metrics company Alexa mentioned above says page
views for bbc.co.uk are down 10.6%, while reach, time on site and traffic rank are all
down for the week – not entirely indicative of direct reaction to the BBC News Online
refresh, but a nugget nonetheless. Experian Hitwise is analysing early traffic data. It also
has to be said that web traffic tends to fall in July.
Holding its ground, the BBC yesterday ruled out the possibility of reverting back to the
previous site, saying that building on changes made is the only way forward. Meanwhile,
Herrmann and co. will be battening down the hatches in preparation for the monthly
summary of all complaints. And complying with requests to disclose internal discussions
around the website redesign.
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Comments in chronological order (Total 24
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nursenurse
22 Jul 2010, 1:13PM
That Whatwereyouthinking can't even count. Pfff, BBC eh?
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MTFlanders
22 Jul 2010, 1:21PM
It's such a shame as the BBC has always done a great job of improving the news website
in the past. I've always lived on that website more than any other, but I'm amazed how
little time I've spent on it since the redesign.
I like to think I'm not a 'fear change' type but the new version looks like the idiot cousin
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3. 22/7/2010 Website users give BBC News redesig…
of CNN.com.
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BigDaveB
22 Jul 2010, 1:43PM
The refreshed site was clearly designed for touchscreen devices, that's the only way of
explaining so much white space and the huge fonts on many links - the "most popular"
links being a good example. I'm sure it look fabulous on an iPad, but on proper high
resolution monitors it's an awful mess with far more scrolling necessary.
I also can't understand the fascination with tiny paragraphs, many just a single sentence.
It's as if the BBC think we're all stupid and can't concentrate on blocks of text.
Overall it's a pretty shoddy job, which they're finally admitting. The first few versions of
the Editors' Blog could almost have been written by Steve Jobs, such was its "we know
what's best for you" tone.
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MistressG
22 Jul 2010, 1:46PM
The previous site wasn't pretty, but it was easy to navigate. The new one is the former
and not the latter.
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Wizardweb
22 Jul 2010, 2:19PM
I like the new website if I'm viewing on a PC, but as I do most of my browsing on my
iPhone (via WiFi, it's easier than booting up a pc, just to answer one query) I find the
new site a right pain. It doesn't reformat the text-box shape when you double tap. So
you have to zoom in all the time, then slide across.
In that respect the old mobile site is more usable and in fact I'm unfortunately reluctant
to use the site now. Maybe there's a Murdoch sabateur working for the Beeb... or maybe
it's a way of making it poo, so the trust allows the App. I hope so...
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AndyStiff
22 Jul 2010, 2:22PM
I'm using it a lot less, probably about 50% less since the redesign. It's too in-your-face
for my liking and for some reason the sport section remains the same.
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4. 22/7/2010 Website users give BBC News redesig…
davidabsalom
22 Jul 2010, 2:29PM
It's hideous.
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Briantist
22 Jul 2010, 2:50PM
It much, much better IMHO. Works just fine and the horizontal navigation is, like that
on the Gruniad, much more logical layout.
Strange how the former "frontier" of the internet has become filled with such boring
"small c" conservatives who moan about every little thing.
Some "haters" seem to be under the untrue idea that the text is dumbed down (is isn't)
and dislike red (even though it has been the BBC News colour since the start of colour
TV).
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Briantist
22 Jul 2010, 2:54PM
I guess many people have not found the scroll button on their mouse yet.
BigDaveB: I also can't understand the fascination with tiny paragraphs, many just a
single sentence. It's as if the BBC think we're all stupid and can't concentrate on blocks of
text.
I just picked a random story from 2008, BBC NEWS - UK - Suicide claim over UK
hostage and look, same paragraph layout.
People just make shit up and then complain about it.
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Briantist
22 Jul 2010, 2:56PM
Wizardweb: Ah, didums. You should have got an Android phone.
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Briantist
22 Jul 2010, 3:04PM
Whilst I think of it, there is a really good reason why that start of any BBC News story is
cut into short paragraphs.
This is because this is what you see when you access the same story on BBC Digital Text
(Freeview, Sky, Freesat, Virgin Media) and on the legacy Ceefax system.
So, no change there.
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5. 22/7/2010 Website users give BBC News redesig…
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twobenches
22 Jul 2010, 3:21PM
The design-led explanation for the revamp is here.
The Guardian article links to a post about the global visual BBC language employed in
the re-design .
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ScottyN1
22 Jul 2010, 3:55PM
I'm not altogether convinced by the redesign but am prepared to wait and see whether I
get used to it.
The problem I do have with it is when I navigate to a story - any story - I get six
warnings in very quick succession (on a secure corporate network) that the current web
page is trying to open www.facebook.com on my intranet. Why should my browser be
trying to take me to a commercial social networking site when all I want to do is read the
news?
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GotaLife
22 Jul 2010, 4:27PM
The horizontal navigation and making the page "wider" is a big improvement. Also I
know how to use the scroll wheel on my mouse.
So in this case, change is good.
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damagedgavster
22 Jul 2010, 4:52PM
Sorry but they seem to have copied CNN's website. I don't doubt they had the best
intentions and didn't do it deliberately but come on - check them out. Even worse, CNN
have done it better.
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Red246
22 Jul 2010, 4:53PM
I'm almost afraid to post this comment but......... I like the new BBC News website
design.
I think it's much more dynamic than the old one, everything is easier to find and easier
to read - much more accessible. I've notice that my 11 year old daughter spends a lot of
time reading the Local news pages and has pointed out to me the local regions which are
guardian.co.uk/…/website-bbc-news-r… 5/7

6. 22/7/2010 Website users give BBC News redesig…
now visible on the map.
Maybe the BBC has unintentionally (or intentionally) targeted a younger audience but
for me and my daughter, I cannot see this as bad in any way at all.
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Briantist
22 Jul 2010, 5:05PM
ScottyN1: If you want to block the "Facebook Like" that appears on a billion websites
from the BBC News one - click here my friend: Facebook remove cookie set
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Briantist
22 Jul 2010, 5:09PM
ScottyN1:
Why should my browser be trying to take me to a commercial social networking site
when all I want to do is read the news?
It's called OpenGraph - see Open Graph protocol - Facebook developers and The Open
Graph Protocol.
I would have thought that 500,000,000 users of Facebook is something Auntie want to
leverage, along with the 190,000,000 Twitterers.
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PriscillaPrestwich
22 Jul 2010, 5:21PM
Maybe they all have gigantic monitors at the BBC? The title and navigation takes up a
quarter of my browser window and I'm on 1440x900 resolution.
Most of us are on widescreen monitors now and text works best in fairly narrow
columns. Putting the navigation at the top is the modern style but really the left side is a
more obvious place for it.
I agree there is way too much white space between various things at the moment. This
tends to be a problem with content management systems, compared to pages that are
lovingly coded by hand.
But all of this can be tightened up in due course and I'm sure it will look great. The
thinking behind it is solid.
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narrowboat
22 Jul 2010, 5:22PM
I also can't understand the fascination with tiny paragraphs, many just a single sentence.
It's as if the BBC think we're all stupid and can't concentrate on blocks of text.
It's always been like that. It's because the first four paragraphs are also used for Ceefax.
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7. 22/7/2010 Website users give BBC News redesig…
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Briantist
22 Jul 2010, 5:30PM
narrowboat: Yes, indeed.
Compare: web - BBC News - Bankers' deals could be 'torn up'
Ceefax - CEEFAX1 mobile page 104
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Briantist
22 Jul 2010, 5:54PM
BBC News is red, 1981 - TV ARK - BBC 9 O'Clock News 1981...
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kingmaker
22 Jul 2010, 5:56PM
The whitespace in the articles and the general layout of the section pages is for one thing,
and one thing only. It is to facilitate the placement of ads for the non-UK version.
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Xoco
22 Jul 2010, 6:28PM
It's the blood red, orange tan and purplish grey colour scheme that I can't tolerate. The
header graphic looks like an accident in an operating theatre.
However it's possible to get rid of these! Thanks to the lovely Firefox, you can remove
the header graphic, carousel, geographical news box (and anything else you don't want)
from the page using Adblock Plus and its Element Hiding Helper extension.
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