Publisher: News International
After a day or two of embarrassing server crashes and style-sheet errors, the much-anticipated and big-budget relaunch of Times Online seems to be up and running glitch free.
First impressions are that it is a very different proposition than before (no royal crests and a bold use of lime green) and that things have clearly moved in the right direction.
The new site is less cluttered with simple fonts and lots of white space.
Navigation is easy via channel tabs at the top of the page or colour-coded links denoting navigation, editorial or the obligatory user-generated content.
There are some good functional touches, such as the "Most Read/Commented" feature box and links to familiar columnists and bloggers.
The site makes use of the full screen width, creating more space for larger images, and ad placements are clear and prominent.
The site has access to a huge array of strong content, both written and audio/visual, and from journalists and users alike. Further browsing reveals a range of podcasts, RSS feeds, video channels and links to del.icio.us.
The site has opted for a similar route to the New York Times and The Daily Telegraph and betters The Guardian.
For some loyal and more traditional readers, these changes will be a step too far and represent a toning down of the title's heritage of quality and authority.
For others this will be seen as a necessity in a world where competition is rife and where loyalty is scarce.
It seems that, at last, newspapers have realised that the web is not to be treated as an extension of print, but must be viewed as central to survival.
This Times Online relaunch should help to attract and retain users for at least the time being.
- Review by Dave Schruers, Head of online, Initiative.
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