[LINK] The ABC updates their web site

[Ivan Trundle]

Dear Linkers

One thing that I've noticed with such redesigns (the 'OS X/Vista/ 
wordpress blog look - take your pick of what tickles your fancy) is  
that the actual content on any given page is less, and there is less  
density overall.

Whilst this might be refreshing for some sites, information-rich  
sites like that of the ABC appear to have swung too far to the  
extreme of 'openness', sacrificing content.

It's interesting that http://www.abc.net.au has a much higher density  
(and not just a smaller font) compared with http://www.abc.net.au/ 
news/, and appears more organised in its overall layout.

The new layout is busy, cluttered in it's design, yet offers little  
information (/news/australia/ offers, in my browser window, one main  
story with a very short intro para, two smaller stories, and then  
headlines for other material that falls off the page). The ABC could  
take a tip from the SMH website and have 'top stories' etc in the  
sidebar where you can find them without scrolling. OR look at  
CNN.com, Or BBC's site, or virtually ANY other reputable news site  
(other than The Australian or The Canberra Times...).

It bothers me that no matter how wide my monitor, or how small, I  
can't use the full width to display content. The old site wasn't much  
better, and many sites follow this blog-style approach of having a  
narrow column for content, and lots of empty space around it.

It also bothers me, again, that links are effectively guesswork (you  
can't rely on underline at all, and even colours are meaningless -  
though I can begin to appreciate that 'tags' are baby-poo in colour,  
and most links are pale blue. Incidentally, their choice of light  
colours for text is also maddening, as it makes headlines and/or  
links fade into the background.

I also dislike the vast amount of empty space in the header of each  
page, especially given that my viewport is generally a paltry 850  
pixels deep (discounting my browser's toolbar etc). This has the  
undesirable effect of pushing useful links off the page.

I suspect that designers all work from large, almost square (4:3)  
monitors, and neglect to consider either wide-screen, or even small  
monitors. To my uneducated eye, news sites index pages should have  
headlines on the left, most popular/top/breaking stories in a sidebar  
on either the far right or far left, and let the other material sit  
in the middle, or below.

However, the 'look' of the site is clean and refreshing - it just  
doesn't offer enough content for me to bother bookmarking it, or  
visiting it for my daily news fix. I'll stick to the other news sites  
that I've mentioned, and my RSS feeds.

Perhaps there should be a design school for news site website designers?

iT