News Site Design and Why They Have It Wrong

I stumbled across a link to an article today, and when the page loaded I was horrified. The sad thing is that it was from a major source, and the trend is very common.

The site was forbes.com and my complaint is with information overload that leads to messy layout. There are so many ads, widgets, buttons, and other informational pieces that do not relate to the story that I can’t focus on the main content I want to visit. I understand that news sites are driven by revenue but that factor should never overpower basic site layout principles and standard user experience guidelines.

I can no longer remember the article I was going to read on Forbes, or who even directed me to it, because as soon as the page came up I left. This is a slightly bias choice on my part; if a site layout is poor I assume the content follows suit and don’t spend any time there.

The first thing I noticed was a big sign up form on the right hand side of the site. The far right column has dominant colors which makes it stand out more so my eyes immediately went there. I began to scroll down, still “admiring” the right sidebar of the site and was greeted with an ad for “Executive Woman Attache”. That’s two strikes for the price of one; I hate seeing ads in the first place that distract from the main content, and I’m not a woman.

There is a another side bar just to the left, which has poorly design flash ad. The background is around 500px high while the content is only 200px, and centered vertically. The padding for the containing element could use some adjusting as well.

There is yet one more “call to action” section in the main post content, prompting you get your news via email. The form has poorly designed elements that do not fit the rest of the site; such as colors, buttons, and font-sizes.

This whole theme continues throughout the article with sporadic ads, images, and videos that disrupt the flow of the text. Much of this site could be improved with a bit of CSS. Overall it seems that a list of features was made for this site and just thrown in without thought.

Here are some images of poorly put together news websites:

1. forbes.com

2. ABC News

3. Fox News

So the big question now is, does anyone have a layout that isn’t so intrusive? They all seem to follow the trends…. The answer is yes, CNN recently launched a redesign of their site. The overall design is inviting and easy to navigate. The content of the site is not cluttered with ads or forms, so it’s easy to read. My only real complaint is that I would not have centered the logo, but that’s just a designer’s opinion.

I can only hope that other news sites follow in CNN’s footsteps. Maybe then I’ll be happier reading my news online, until then it’s all just what I hear on twitter.

I’m sure this is a debatable topic as I was pretty harsh and bias in my views. But this is certainly a big reason I don’t currently use them.

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Author Bob Pease