The New York Times Will Introduce a Prototype Version of NYTimes.com Before Launch of Major Site Redesign
The New York Times today announced plans to introduce a prototype version of NYTimes.com in advance of a series of major site enhancements that will begin later this year.
The purpose of the prototype experiment is to gain feedback from NYTimes.com users about the functionality, design, navigation and overall experience of the planned redesign.
Starting today, Times employees who access NYTimes.com from inside the Company firewall will be able to experiment with the new article pages, which are the first to undergo changes, and provide feedback on their experience.
The public may access a preview of a sample of the redesigned article pages via this animated guided tour.
In the coming weeks, the prototype will become available to a randomly selected group of users outside the Company, who will have the option to utilize it and provide feedback, or opt out if they choose. Users who are not selected may request an invitation to test the prototype on NYTimes.com, though audience size is limited.
Users who participate in the beta experiment will discover changes to article pages that include:
- A cleaner, more engaging design
- Richer integration of photography, video and interactive story elements
- More efficient customized navigation for registered users
- Responsive designs optimized for desktops and tablets
- Higher-impact presentation of advertising
- Improved ability to scan and discover content
- Better-integrated user-comments and share tools
Read the Complete Announcement
Preview the New Design/Request an Invite
Filed under: News, Patrons and Users
About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.