The Future Is Delicious
My goal with this design was to clean up and organize the homepage using new technologies, such as Ajax, while preserving the familiar feel of the current homepage. In addition, my design introduces personalization features that the current homepage lacks, while also giving visitors quick access to online audio and video content. Local content is also given new prominence, with both local news and weather receiving prominent placement.
The neutral color palette of the new homepage is easy on visitors' eyes and has plenty of large, easily-accessible text and links. Centered, but still 800x600 safe, the new homepage also appears to fill the screen better than the current homepage. The built-for-compatibility MooFX library (http://moofx.mad4milk.net/) gives the homepage subtle transitions and animation effects to provide users with helpful feedback. Throughout the design, the new homepage attempts to strike the perfect balance between new technology and compatibility, as well as between usability and organization.
Some of the most prominent features of the new homepage:
1.) The header is now divided into tabs, giving quick access to some of the more commonly visited sections of the site.
In addition, next to each tab is a drop-down arrow, allowing visitors quick access to various areas within each of those sections. The main "bbc.co.uk" tab houses what was once the directory listing on the main page.
2.) Everyone that comes to BBC.co.uk is looking for something different, be it weather, news, or something else entirely. Rather than forcing users to search through the homepage for the content they want, the customizable at-a-glance section, located just below the BBC logotype, allows visitors to choose what they want in the most prominent place on the homepage.
At-a-glance content modules can be just about anything, from a rolling news ticker to a content tag viewer (allowing users to keep watch on particular words to find new or updated BBC content they might be interested in) to even a Macromedia Flash-based inline radio player.
3.) The prominently-featured blue search bar below the at-a-glance section allows visitors to search quickly and easily without getting in the way. One click on the "Click here to search..." text turns the homepage into a full-view search page, while leaving at-a-glance content intact. Visitors can begin searching right away: the search box gets immediate focus.
4.) Visitors can more easily than ever see what's interesting and popular with the "People are talking about" section, in addition to the popular search section. Popular or featured discussions from the Talk boards are displayed, allowing more users than ever to join in.
5.) Rather than leave news and sport headlines in their own tiny sections, the new homepage combines them into a tabbed view, allowing for more headlines in each. In addition, a new "Local" tab allows viewers to see news from where they live without having to leave the homepage. Users wishing to use RSS content can find the standardized RSS icon next to the focused tab's name.
6.) The current feature image, once an immovable object on its own, is now part of a larger, rotating tab view with new BBC.co.uk content and the user-contributed picture of the day. Such an arrangement gives prominence to both new website content and user-contributed features on the same level as the feature image.
7.) The "Where I Live" section is reorganized and better arranged to give more prominence to the best local feature: local weather. The weather section now not only gives the forecasts for the current and next day, but also allows viewers to scroll through a complete five-day forecast without ever leaving the homepage.
8.) The media sections are now rearranged into menus to provide easier access to their features without cluttering the page.
I hope you find the design as clear and well-organized as I do. While I am a long-time visitor of the BBC homepage, I've always felt that better organization and some slight modernization could improve the service greatly. With this design, visitors can more easily access important features without ever having to leave the homepage.
If I had the time or energy, I would determine what exactly most people found the most important about their homepage, rather than just what I find important. With this data, I would better integrate these features into the new homepage, so even fewer people have to go to other pages to get what they need.
- 24 May 2006 17:27
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