Notice anything different around here? :) Leave your thoughts on the new look in the comments, let me know what you like, don't like, and any suggestions you may have.
Now time to have a meeting with Intel about why my QX9770 was so damn hot.
Now time to have a meeting with Intel about why my QX9770 was so damn hot.
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nowayout99 - Wednesday, December 5, 2007 - link
No suggestions taken!Thanks for "listening."
nagger - Saturday, December 1, 2007 - link
all I can see is it the top bar and this: http://nuno.mhr.pt/anandtech.png">http://nuno.mhr.pt/anandtech.png
woofersus - Friday, November 30, 2007 - link
I feel for you Anand. I posted a thread in the forums asking about the new layout on my site, and it got pretty well skewered, and for the same things.1. People don't like change. The previous version is always better unless the changes were only bug fixes.
2. People hate banner ads. They want every site to look like some guy's blog, except with high levels of content, and for free.
The fact is, banner ads probably go a long way towards funding this operation, and that big one at the top is occupying prime real estate for click-throughs. Banner ad placement isn't about only about asthetics, it's about getting people to click on them. You make more money that way than from page impressions only. Some of you may want to consider that if you are looking at the site at a lower resolution it may appear that the add is much larger by comparison. At 1024x768 you're probably seeing mostly header and advertisement until you scroll. This is less than optimal, but most displays (of people interested in this site anyhow) are going to be higher than that at this point in time. I'm at 1680x1050 and I can see quite a ways down the list of older articles.
Furthermore, site design isn't only about asthetics either. It's about navigability and encouraging people to see certain things. Everybody thought my sites layout was messy, but compared to the old layout the distribution of hits to different parts of the site evened out, and click-throughs on everything but the latest article increased dramaticaly.
My feedback:
I like the new box for highlighting the most recent articles quite a bit, but having it below the large banner add makes the page feel off kilter. That section isn't as prominent as I think you're going for and I have to look down, so to speak, to find the recent articles. The problem with the large ad at the top is that the links on the left hand side of the page are up higher than any of the other panes, which disrupts the natural pattern of eye movement. I understand that's a good place for the ad, but perhaps if it were just a tad smaller the page would flow better. You may also achieve the desired continuity by changing the color to blend with the gradient of the most recent articles box, or even by just removing the secondary ad just below. (I find that one to be fairly unobtrusive, though) Either way, the recent articles box needs to be higher if it's going to be that big, and the links in the left pane need to be not offstet so far from everything else.
I love the tabs for "more reviews" "blogs" and "product coverage." It encourages looking at things other than the main article list, and you get flexibility in organizing your content. Might I sugest adding a new tab there to replace the current Anand's Picks list. You could include a little more graphic interest than now, and include banners for the venders highlighted by the picks. Not only would it likely increase viewing of them, but you'd inevitably get click-throughs and revenue. Your readers get a handy "hot deals" or "best prices" list. (if you maintain it well...)
I love the larger font size and better spacing in the articles list. However, next to it the dailytech links look like they're in a positively tiny font. I would suggest removing the "Anand's Blogs" section (since it's redundant now, and to far down the page anyway) and the "Anand's Picks" section (getting moved - see last suggestion) and increase the spacing slightly. You may be able to get away with an ever so slightly larger font size if there's more vertical space to work with. You can also make them look clearer by slightly darkening the pale gray lines separating them. Not black or anything, since that would mess up the flow of the site, but a tad darker. Maybe even add some color gradient to each "segment" like you're currently doing at the top of sections only.
Finally, the large ad that is so controversial appears to not load in the articles themselves, or this section I'm in now, posting a comment.
I'm sure more people who don't like the design will speak up, so your site stats are probably a better indicator of effectiveness, but I thought I'd at least offer some suggestions other than "I'll never visit a site with a big banner ad at the top!!!!!" I like the overall direction you've gone quite a bit.
nunya - Thursday, November 29, 2007 - link
The biggest complaint I have is that it's not nearly as Treo friendly as the old site, and I read the site on my phone every day. Also, something about it makes it look like a parked ad site, I don't know why.irishScott - Monday, November 26, 2007 - link
Assuming the "Business of Technology" series is going to continue, shouldn't there be an added tab at the top and/or in the "product coverage" tab? Right now the only article I can find through the search is the "Creative" article.Zillatech - Saturday, November 24, 2007 - link
I don't like it, the previous version was better. The bigger pictures are not necessary & it looks like the only reason for changing things around was to create bigger Ad spaces :(Unfortunately, Ads and Spam will kill the Internet :( I work for an engineering firm and 90+ % of our mail traffic is SPAM. We have to spend a large amount of money (w/ annual support renewals) just to have a useful e-mail system back.
MSNBC recently changed their site too & honestly, I avoid it now where I used to open that site ritually. Fox News is now my first news site because I absolutely do not like the new MSNBC site. IMO, AnandTech's new look is a step backwards :(
Don’t let banner Ads take priority over a better “overall” layout.
SonicIce - Thursday, November 22, 2007 - link
How well does it support small screen rendering? Like a Nintendo DS browser?SonicIce - Thursday, November 22, 2007 - link
How well does it support small screen rendering? Like a Nintendo DS browser?luxor - Wednesday, November 21, 2007 - link
I am a bit hard of seeing, so I browse in Firefox at +2 fontsize (hit ctrl+ twice).The left-side menu is overlapping, as it has always been at anandtech, but now the front page "center space" text overlaps with the content below it. Other than that, it looks good!
strikeback03 - Wednesday, November 21, 2007 - link
I'm fine with the layout of the homepage, but don't like the comments as currently used. They seem to be limited to 10 per page, which makes for breaks in a thread within the comments and makes it much harder to see what is a reply to what. Also, quoting and links don't seem to be working properly.