We're rebuilding this weekend

Posted by Jennifer Sizemore on Friday, November 09, 2007 8:26 PM PT
You may notice some weirdness on your msnbc.com this weekend. Beginning Friday afternoon, we're rolling out the changes we've been talking about all week. We decided to do this on a weekend because there are fewer people looking at the site and the news cycle slows down. For site stability, that makes it the safest time to make big changes.
 
That said, nothing is totally safe. Some might say that's what makes online publishing fun. I guess that's true if you think feeling just a little bit out of control is fun.
 
So please be patient if you see things that look a bit broken on Saturday and Sunday. We have a pretty incredible team here working around the clock to make sure things get to working perfectly for you.
 
And please, report broken stuff! We will be monitoring the comments for technical stuff as well as your thoughts and ideas, throughout the weekend and next week.

Comments

Hi, i really like the new design of the site and i think it makes it more up to date with other new sites.  There is one thing that i think would be a good idea to add.  When in a news post you talk about such and such a place, i think you should add a little map so if we dont exactly know where the place is, we can look at the map and then know where you are talking about. Again thanks for the great redesign and please consider the map addition

Seth L. , Henderson, Nevada (Friday, November 09, 2007 5:57 PM)

I LOVE the new look - the entertainment page looks great. I particularly like the green COMING UP headline - although I have no idea how long a wait that means before it's fresh. Colors should equate with time.

The time should be bold like the date and I would prefer it flush right. It looks too crowded and too small next to the Entertainment header.

I particularly like the lower sections that I'm able to move around.

The weakest section is the top. The lede story seems uncomfortably pushed to the right. Eyes scan from the upper left to the lower right. It is disjointed having the lead story off to the right and the Television (Ellen story) in the left corner immediately breaking the flow.

The linked heads on top are too small - they should be the same size and they should be hot linked in the same way the others are.

The final column on the right (currently Gossip) seems extraeneous and make the top look waaaaaay too busy.

Let the top breathe like the rest of the page.

Other than the top row, the new page looks great. The new menus are terrific. The flexibility is great.

Congrats to all involved.

Billy-Ball, Brookline, MA (Friday, November 09, 2007 7:05 PM)

Change is usely for the better. I hope This not just a waste of time and money as I have seen with some other website who wanted to improve their coveage and finally get the page they want but lost their viewers due repeatly thing not working as they should.

Jeff Tarver Tiptonville Tennesse (Friday, November 09, 2007 7:32 PM)

If you can keep this new web site unbiased you can win the whole ballgame

Tony M Reid Ardmore Oklahoma (Friday, November 09, 2007 7:54 PM)

The new site is fantastic!  Its very sleek and much more engaging and accesible.

Good work Freddie!

Stan, Tucson, AZ (Friday, November 09, 2007 9:39 PM)

Can't get any e-mails through.  Not even to feedback@msnbc.com.  Suppose that's to be expected?

Mrs. Peel, Denver, CO (Friday, November 09, 2007 10:56 PM)

When sent to a site that had been updated, I noticed the "home" button wasn't there.  Why'd you delete this easy access back to the homepage when reading articles???

Tamela, Glendale, AZ (Saturday, November 10, 2007 12:12 AM)

You're reconfiguring the site on the weekend because "the news cycle slows down"??? That's because you report the same news as the rest of the MSM.  Dig a little deeper and you'll find some interesting stories worth reporting on the weekends.

Mary Ann, Tacoma,WA (Saturday, November 10, 2007 12:13 AM)

On the Home Page, the headlines are written in blue ink, which is not as pronounced as black. Hopefully the ink color will be changed to black, which will make easier reading.

Roger Brown, Quarryville, PA (Saturday, November 10, 2007 12:19 AM)

now just stop using flash and it will be a lot better.

gk, ap, mi (Saturday, November 10, 2007 12:24 AM)

The green colored background with black text is impossible to read.  I would prefer white text on blue background.
Also, having trouble viewing some links, says my brower does not support it.
I'm using MSNTV2.
I have always liked MSNbc site in the past and would like to continue to use it, but may not be able to.

Mrs. Champ, Springfield, MA (Saturday, November 10, 2007 12:29 AM)

Sorry, but I'm not a fan of your new site.  I get most of my news from MSNBC.com and have done so since the very early days of the site.  So far, I have appreciated your updates. I've stuck with the site even though many features (e.g., voting, posting on message boards, etc.) aren't available to me as I use FireFox instead of IE (contrary to your help section, I find the site is not completely compatible with FireFox, but what can one expect from a Microsoft-based site). But as for this new layout, I prefer the tighter layout of the old site.  The new layout is so spread out that I wind up scrolling much more to see the headlines and taking up too much of my time. That also applies to the left side menu; it is now spaced so that I need to scroll much more. In addition, although I love the old flyout menus on the left, the new site has so many flyout menus on both the left and right that when I move my mouse to access the scroll bar on the right side of my browser, I wind up activating the right side flyout menus, blocking my view and taking longer to perform the action I want.  Although I applaud your efforts at updating the site, this one isn't working for me.  Will try to get used to it, but you may have lost a long-time fan.

Mary B., Boston, MA (Saturday, November 10, 2007 12:46 AM)

Please have an easy link for TV listings. Can't seem to find it in the Entertainment section. Thanks...

David, Las Vegas, Nevada (Saturday, November 10, 2007 12:47 AM)

I really dislike the new designs. I think the current design is great, and is easy to navigate whereas the new site loks very very cluttered.

I think there should be options to use the old version as well, because I should think I'd have to think about using a different website for news if I am forced to used the new design, which is sad because I've been a loyal MSNBC.com reader for literally 8 years or so.

Dylan, New York City, NY. (Saturday, November 10, 2007 12:48 AM)

BIG PROBLEM------When I cursor to the subject (title)of the news, if my cursor isn't on the title within a second, I lose all titles.  Then, I have to start back over.  Didn't used to be that way..it used to work friendly.  If you don't fix this, I will go back to AOL for all my news. I hate to do that because you have always been my favorite.  I can't believe your programmers don't see this irritating event.  

George Henne, Gautier, Miss. (Saturday, November 10, 2007 12:56 AM)

I can't wait!

M@ (Matt) (Saturday, November 10, 2007 12:56 AM)

First Microsoft loused up my computing.  Next you ruined my hotmail.  Now you've crapped on the news!
You people have waaay too much time on your hands -if it ain't broke, don't fix it.  Idle minds are the devil's playground! PUT EVERYTHING BACK LIKE IT WAS BEFORE YOU MESSED IT ALL UP!

Kamama/K Yeager (Saturday, November 10, 2007 12:56 AM)

The top popu menu for Today Show, nightly news, meet the press is very intrusive. When you casually scroll over, it suddenly pops up huge section that overlays the text and is popping up everytime someone scrolls. I don't think that top pop up should be there. I think same goes for the left link popups too (the javascript). Just an idea

John Smith, Los Angeles, CA (Saturday, November 10, 2007 1:05 AM)

The new site is too wide.  A good web site should be no wider than 800 pixels.  The purpose of having larger monitors isn't so web browsers can monopolize the screen real estate.  It's so you can view multiple programs at once.  I want to be able to see my e-mail client while I read the news.  And also I don't want to maximize my browser on one site, and keep it the standard size on others.  The new site would require this or force me to scroll horizontally, which is even worse.

John Doe, Buffalo, NY (Saturday, November 10, 2007 1:19 AM)

I hate it.  Put it back the way it was.

Norman Page, Minot, ND (Saturday, November 10, 2007 1:23 AM)

I certainly hope this redesign wasn't due in large part because you want to push even more ads at us than before.. (I know, I can dream...)

While many may not complain that the double, sometimes even triple banner ads at the top of the screen on each page is annoying to say the least, you might want to at least lay off -some- of the ad placement.. It's hard to focus on a story about drug companies, etc, when there are 5 drug ads flashing at me all over the place on the screen..

Mike (Saturday, November 10, 2007 1:44 AM)

New web site is a step back.  Whoever hired the person that convinced you the web site needed a re-fit, fire them and the redesigner.  Too wide, not intuitive, too much coast-over chatter, headings intrusive, and how do I customize this like I did before?  Even if there is a way, it isn't as easy as it was.  Just because it's new doesn't make it good.

Scott Moore, Ankeny, Iowa (Saturday, November 10, 2007 1:55 AM)

I thought I was on CNN for a second

Sherry, Ridgecrest, CA (Saturday, November 10, 2007 1:55 AM)

It is a cool redesign. In the future, I'd want msnbc.com news headlines to match their contents. For example, if your headline says the Fed cut interest rate, the news post should state the same, not something else like the Fed increased interest rate. There is a problem with the news posts being inconsistent with the headlines. Also, I hope msnbc.com is going to be more careful in reporting dates - sometimes I see discrepancy in how dates referring to when events took place are reported (as an example, I recently read one news post which said the Blackwater shooting in Iraq took place on Sept. 20, while another post said Sept. 16). Again, nice redesign, but I hope the news posts are always consistent and more error-free than before.

News Bug Bugland, United Bugs of America (Saturday, November 10, 2007 1:55 AM)

I hate it too!  Very cluttered.
Please put it back the way it was.
Sometimes change isn't always needed.
Will be getting my news from yahoo now!!!

Joe Below (Saturday, November 10, 2007 2:09 AM)

Too cluttered, too wide, too confusing. Why change something that worked beautifully? Maybe it's that I don't like change, but the old site was easily managible for my needs. Now I have to scroll more left and right and I don't like wasting the time. I might change to something else after 7 years using MSNBC as my home page for news.

David Knezz, Homer Glen, Illinois (Saturday, November 10, 2007 2:13 AM)

The new page is certainly fresher, but I'm not sure it is functionally better.  Too wide and now I have to drill down to find local news, sports scores, stock ticker that used to right on the top page and easy to find in a glance.  Where is the customization?  The bottom part of the page is cut off.  If it is this way on Monday, I will be changing to a new home page.

Rick G, Springfield, VA (Saturday, November 10, 2007 2:32 AM)

I agree with Dylan from New York and others.  The new version is very "loud" visually, and takes a lot of scrolling to get from one point to another.  Those and the other problems that commenters have noted do seem to indicate that the site wasn't "broken" and didn't need to be "fixed."  I would also prefer the option for users to be able to choose between the new version and the old; such a choice may prevent the loss of a number of current users to other news websites.

Linda B., San Jose, California (Saturday, November 10, 2007 2:36 AM)

I must say that I have to disagree with what seems to be the general sentiment here.  I really love the new site.  On a widescreen monitor, the new design is much better than the old site - the centered layout alone is a massive improvement.  I can't imagine how I managed with the old design after using the new site.  People tend to dislike change and initially complain a lot.  Give it some time, and people will grow to appreciate the changes.  And thank goodness you have implemented a site that is compatible with multiple browsers.  Welcome to the new vision of the Web!  Congratulations, and keep up the great work.

Doug, Seattle, WA (Saturday, November 10, 2007 3:43 AM)

We are living in a fast-moving visual world, which calls for visual redesign of information from time to time.  If MSNBC doesn't keep up with periodic changes, then it will lose market share.  It might seem chaotic for all during this transition, but for those of us who believe in chaos theory, there is order in chaos.  Keep up the good work!

Dee L., Colorado Springs, Colorado (Saturday, November 10, 2007 11:06 AM)

Great job.  A much needed upgrade.  The old look was too constrained and felt very dated.

Charlottesville, VA (Saturday, November 10, 2007 12:17 PM)

Finally the page is centered!!!! Thank you!!!

Ileana Port Washinton WI (Saturday, November 10, 2007 3:21 PM)

I really like the new look! I was a little disappointed, however, that the promised support for Safari is not complete.  While I can view the site okay, the video links make no mention of Safari support.  Instead, they suggest Firefox 2 when using a Mac.  Are we going to see support for Safari?

Bill (Sunday, November 11, 2007 9:49 AM)

I like the new set up.  The news is much easier to see and access.  I rely on internet for most current news, and like the changes.

Jean Miller, Guernsey Wyoming (Sunday, November 11, 2007 3:49 PM)

I'm having a problem trying to get local news. I had the setting before and now, no matter how many times I try to reset the zipcode, I keep getting rhe news from Rochester, New York, instead of Rochester, Minnesota....please help!!!

Jean, Rochester, Minnesota (Tuesday, November 13, 2007 2:17 PM)

I've tried to cover as many questions about where the stocks, news, sports, weather and other things are here: http://alphachannel.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/11/21/477438.aspx

We're still trying to sort everything out and respond to as much as we can, so sorry about any delay.

Ben Tesch (Monday, December 03, 2007 5:10 PM)



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