2013-06-21        John W            John W's previous articles

Websites - what's the best format?

Current thinking among professional designers is that websites need a face-lift every two or three years, and need to incorporate all the latest moving, revolving, rotating, orbiting technology

Which is why CathNews Australia has just started using a new format - as explained here by editor Christine Hogan ....using the latest not-so-clear print against a sickly grey background.  Also now using grey is Eureka Street  ...symbolic of a reluctance to see things in black and white any more?!

Brian Coyne's take on the CathNews update is shared by myself and many other people: "it might grow on me"

Personally I prefer a simpler format that is user friendly. For me even the new format of The National Catholic Reporter is not as user friendly as the previous format.  I never know when new material will appear, which means I have to run through the whole menu each day, looking for new articles in the middle of articles which have been posted a week or even a month before

In Australia the AFL has continued updating its site ....and I find it less and less user friendly

A year or two ago the ABC made some drastic changes, but wound most of them back in the fact of reader backlash

One of my favorite sites, the Guardian, has the annoying habit of posting the same story at several places on its menu ...e.g. at the moment this Afghanistan story is posted at 5 locations on the main page

.... In the meantime, this little site will try to keep improving itself ...hopefully in a user-friendly way.
I hope the seven-day menu makes life easier.  Every day an easy-to-find new menu...in black and white.... and a few other colors!

What do you think about all this?
You are most welcome to post your comments here