Jacksonville.com Redesign

KenFSU · February 01, 2018, 10:21:27 AM

In my opinion, it follows the Daily Record's lead in sacrificing usability for style.

http://www.jacksonville.com/

Adam White · February 01, 2018, 10:42:29 AM

[sarcasm] Well, at least they managed to put the Jaguars all over the front page. [/sarcasm]

TimmyB · February 01, 2018, 10:44:23 AM

I can't speak for the Daily Record, but I rather like the look. Now, if they start throwing up ads every five seconds and then, a pay wall, yeah not so much.

KenFSU · February 01, 2018, 11:26:56 AM

Quote from: TimmyB on February 01, 2018, 10:44:23 AM
I can't speak for the Daily Record, but I rather like the look. Now, if they start throwing up ads every five seconds and then, a pay wall, yeah not so much.

I think a paywall is coming, based on the FAQ for the redesign.

My main issue, and my main issue with the Daily Record site, is that it's really hard to tell which stories are new.

The new stories are mixed between the left column, and the right column, and the hero story in the middle.

Stories are duplicated multiple times on the page (see the Jacksonville Undersheriff story).

Really hard for a regular user to tell what you've read and what you haven't.

TimmyB · February 01, 2018, 11:58:45 AM

Quote from: KenFSU on February 01, 2018, 11:26:56 AM
Quote from: TimmyB on February 01, 2018, 10:44:23 AM
I can't speak for the Daily Record, but I rather like the look. Now, if they start throwing up ads every five seconds and then, a pay wall, yeah not so much.

I think a paywall is coming, based on the FAQ for the redesign.

My main issue, and my main issue with the Daily Record site, is that it's really hard to tell which stories are new.

The new stories are mixed between the left column, and the right column, and the hero story in the middle.

Stories are duplicated multiple times on the page (see the Jacksonville Undersheriff story).

Really hard for a regular user to tell what you've read and what you haven't.

That causes me to drop a site faster than anything. I won't pay for news. It's really hilarious, though. Through RSS feeds, I keep up on news from all over the place, with heavy emphasis on Jax (home, now) and Michigan (former home). The ONLY news agency that has a paywall? The Battle Creek Enquirer, a paper so ridiculously small, you can read it front to back in about ten minutes a day! The kicker is, they are part of the Gannet family, so I can read the USA Today and just about any other major paper in that chain for free, but BCE wants me to pay. smh

A little trick to get around that, if you didn't already know: they track you through the use of cookies, so you can simply open an incognito tab in your browser and get past the pay wall, since no cookies are used in that environment.

remc86007 · February 01, 2018, 04:18:12 PM

I don't hate it, but I'm not sure it is better either. I'm not as bothered by the TU's new approach as I am with the Daily Record. When I go to the TU website, I generally look at the top story then scan around for something else interesting to read. Since there is little regularity in when or how often I go to their website, it doesn't bother me as much that I can't quickly filter what I've read. The Daily Record however, I used to check religiously at lunch time and read the headlines of every article posted. The new design of that site has caused me to not visit as frequently because I don't want to waste time searching for new headlines.

TimmyB · February 01, 2018, 04:58:41 PM

Quote from: remc86007 on February 01, 2018, 04:18:12 PM
I don't hate it, but I'm not sure it is better either. I'm not as bothered by the TU's new approach as I am with the Daily Record. When I go to the TU website, I generally look at the top story then scan around for something else interesting to read. Since there is little regularity in when or how often I go to their website, it doesn't bother me as much that I can't quickly filter what I've read. The Daily Record however, I used to check religiously at lunch time and read the headlines of every article posted. The new design of that site has caused me to not visit as frequently because I don't want to waste time searching for new headlines.

What I can't understand is why Jacksonville.com doesn't use an rss feed. Every single news source, from world news to business to tech to sports to local news, etc., uses them. They don't, so you have to actually go visit their site to see what the headlines are. Are they still using fax machines, as well?

remc86007 · February 01, 2018, 05:30:36 PM

^ Is this not what you are looking for? http://www.jacksonville.com/section/feed

Their IOS app is also borderline unusable. It seems like it was designed in 2009 and never updated.

TimmyB · February 01, 2018, 06:26:00 PM

Quote from: remc86007 on February 01, 2018, 05:30:36 PM
^ Is this not what you are looking for? http://www.jacksonville.com/section/feed

Their IOS app is also borderline unusable. It seems like it was designed in 2009 and never updated.

Yes, thank you!!! When I searched for it, the link that I found showed only news from about 2008!!! I searched their site again today and still couldn't find this page.

river4340 · February 01, 2018, 07:08:39 PM

The web design is apparently one that all Gatehouse papers use. But stories certainly show up in multiple places. The Donald Smith story is there at least three times.
The T-U will have trouble filling all those spots as they keep reducing the newsroom staff. And it does look like they're going to start charging for access to the site.

KenFSU · February 02, 2018, 09:09:13 AM

Quote from: river4340 on February 01, 2018, 07:08:39 PM
The web design is apparently one that all Gatehouse papers use. But stories certainly show up in multiple places. The Donald Smith story is there at least three times.
The T-U will have trouble filling all those spots as they keep reducing the newsroom staff. And it does look like they're going to start charging for access to the site.

Maybe it's the web optimization guy in me speaking, but the curation is just awful.