Welcome to the new msnbc.com

Posted by Jennifer Sizemore on Saturday, November 10, 2007 3:35 AM PT
Though we are in a bit of a remodeling period as we continue through the weekend working to make sure the site works as it should, we have rolled out many of the changes we've been promising all week.
 
We have been working toward this for a long time, and we couldn't be more excited about finally being able to share it with you.
 
Tell us what you think, and what you'd like to see next. We can't wait to keep working to make the site better for you.
 
Update at 11:44 p.m. PT
 
Did we mention that change is hard? We have a couple of days of hard work in front of us. If your favorite thing is missing, it's likely still being perfected. Things you think don't work quite right are still being developed so that they work.
 
Here are some things that you don't see now but will:
 
Near the top of the home page, there will be a section that you can customize for your local news and weather. Many of you are looking for your personalized information -- don't worry, we didn't forget you, it will already be set to your preferences.
 
Your local weather (or whatever ZIP code you choose) will display at the top of the page.
 
In Business, you'll be able to get the latest on the stocks in your portfolio. In Sports, you'll be able to get the scores you care most about.
 
And in the weeks to come, you'll see more of the changes that you've requested.
 
We'll keep you updated as we work through the weekend.
 

Comments

I personally LOVE the new page, amazing how everyone hates change so much!

JB, Columbus, Ohio (Saturday, November 10, 2007 1:24 PM)

I love it.  It's got to be the best news web page yet.  Sure glad you fixed it.  The old one wasn't much.

Don Eisenhardt, Hodgenville, KY (Saturday, November 10, 2007 1:31 PM)

The new web page is fine. It will take awhile to get used to it. I do like the fact that the sections are bigger and easier to read. Also, the video clips are broken onto each section.

I like the the white space between the sections and type. I believe they teach us that as children in elementary school.

All the complaints, well my guess is these folks have little screens to view their information.

It may take me a bit to figure out how to maneuver through the content and, I am sure I'll figure it out. It's very appealing to my eyes and I like the flow.

Give it time, your content is still tops and that will carry the day.

Peter, Long Beach, California (Saturday, November 10, 2007 1:39 PM)

It's amazing, some of the people here make a point that initial responses to redesigns are always bad, then they turn around and do exactly that! If anything people, give it a few days before you attack it and kill it, I mean, MSNBC's had the same defacto look for around 5 years now with minor modifications and I think we can all expect we aren't going to love it the first moment.

Anyway, the graphical change is kinda nice in all honesty, and the centering of the page just makes it seem to actually use the space better. I'll be holding judgment for now, but so far, an interesting mix.

Chris L, Richland, Wash. (Saturday, November 10, 2007 1:41 PM)

Bravo, good job web designers, I love your new site!

Kim, Burbank, CA. (Saturday, November 10, 2007 1:45 PM)

Chalk me up in the like-it column.  Every site I've ever see do a big redesign has a vocal minority who don't like it, and a huge but quiet majority that think it's great but don't see a need to go seek out somewhere to say so.

Hope you folks get some rest soon. :-)

Chris, Rochester NY (Saturday, November 10, 2007 1:46 PM)

The new look cluttered and the text is too small. My eyesight is bad, and your old design worked much better for me. I don't want to zoom and then be forced to scroll side to side just to be able to read the text. Not user friendly.

K. Bagley, Randle, WA (Saturday, November 10, 2007 1:48 PM)

Wow.  This is incredible.  I like the layout, the colors, the navigation.  

Pam, San Antonio, TX (Saturday, November 10, 2007 1:52 PM)

I LOVE IT!!  Looks neat & clean. Easy to customize so I see only what I want.  Looking forward to the 'Local' section.  Thanks

Vicki K., Indialantic, FL (Saturday, November 10, 2007 1:56 PM)

Calm down people. We will all get used to it.

Bj, White House, TN (Saturday, November 10, 2007 1:56 PM)

I think I will get used to the new layout pretty well.  It doesn't bother me too much, and I find the ability to get rid of sections like Travel entirely quite nice.  One thing though, I find that I totally ignore the highlighted stories when I am scanning, and only looking at the list format headlines.  I ignore the #1 story and the multimedia in favor of the hopefully juicy new in between.

More irksome is the missing content, including:
MSNBC recommended
Most Popular
Clicked

Those three were awesome tools for finding interesting news and information.  They are all gone.  Content-wise, it feels a bit like a Google news with double the links.  The hands-on touch is harder to find here.

Magnus Elhardt, VA (Saturday, November 10, 2007 2:07 PM)

I view MSNBC.COM throughout the day, but for some reason didn't even know the change was coming till I logged in today.

I haven't looked around a lot, but was pissed to discover the drop-down menus remain on the left navigation pane, as they did on the old site.

This is the only part about MSNBC I absolutely HATE. No one uses drop-down menus like this to navigate, and every time my mouse drifts to the left of the screen those stupid drop-down menus pop out on the page, covering up what I'm trying to view.

For example, if I want to view Sports (Or Entertainment, whatever) I will click on the Sports link on the left, which takes me to the sports page, in which I then continue navigating. I can't fathom anyone moving their mouse over "Sports" then slogging through the drop-down menu that ensues, and clicking on anything. It's by far the most horrible part of msnbc.com.

PLEASE, for the life of God, get rid of those drop-down menus on the left navigation pane.

They have bugged the hell out of me for years on the old site, and now they remain. :(

Boomer, Austin, TX (Saturday, November 10, 2007 2:13 PM)

Hey, I don't care what all the complaints are, I like your new sight.  It's a fresh look that is infinitely better than the other news sites I also land on.  Thank you for the new look...it was l-o-n-g overdue.

Ron, Lincoln, NE (Saturday, November 10, 2007 2:16 PM)

Thanks for the change. I like the new lay out,will still use as my homepage...

mark long birirmham ,al (Saturday, November 10, 2007 2:19 PM)

You have made a huge improvement in the MSNBC website.  I have always used MSNBC for my news, but I find this new sight more concise and easier on the eyes.  Congratulations on a great website made greater!!!

Mike, Bellows Falls, VT (Saturday, November 10, 2007 2:35 PM)

The new website is wonderful! MSNBC and NBC have been, and continue to be, at the forefront of innovation. I visit MSNBC.com twice a day. Many, many thanks! Grogie

Grogie, Bay City, Mi (Saturday, November 10, 2007 2:39 PM)

People, people...calm down and give it some time!!!  Just like dating someone 'new' there are bumps in the road.  On first look I missed my personal info, but read through and understand it will be available in the coming days.  Otherwise, I like the new layout as long as the CONTENT I want is still easily available.  MSNBC has been my homepage forever and so I will continue on.  CNN, Fox, others are blah... Did you stop watching MSNBC when they changed their set, or NBC Nightly News?



James McKay, Watsonville, CA (Saturday, November 10, 2007 2:39 PM)

I hated the old msnbc.com. It was disorganized and hard to find things. The same story headline would be repeated 2 or 3 times on the front page. I LOVE the new design. I can see the the top stories in each section, Business, World, Sports, etc. at a glance. I can see more Sports stories and less Entertainment stories if I want. Thanks, Msnbc. I'm back.

DP, Tucson, AZ (Saturday, November 10, 2007 2:49 PM)

For now, I'll give MSNBC the benefit of the doubt on the changes.  However, I want my personal preferences and the ability to set up the site as  I wish, back immediately!!!!

This has been my homepage for years.  It won't continue to be if I don't have functional control back pretty darn quick.  Rather than make cosmetic changes, why not add font type and size control to make everything easier to read?

I hope what I formerly regarded as the best website in the world has not become, overnight, a nightmare, just for appearances sake.

T.C. Mits Sr. (Saturday, November 10, 2007 3:02 PM)

Really like the new design. The old navigation was well .. old. I like the local news section! But the search is bad. It still goes to the old search page.

Kd, Seattle (Saturday, November 10, 2007 3:03 PM)

Simply, brilliant. Lovely, easy to navigate.  Thank you.  

Kathy Baker, Portland, OR (Saturday, November 10, 2007 3:16 PM)

Wow, I can't believe the other comments! As a journalism graduate, I hated your old website. Since the redesign, I decided to make msnbc.com my start page. It's so much more aesthetically pleasing than before. The only thing I wish you would eliminate are the annoyng JavaScript menus on the left side. They were irritating on the old site and are now a bit dated for the new one. Perhaps make them Flash if you insist upon keeping them?

Brian, Washington D.C. (Saturday, November 10, 2007 4:54 PM)

I love the new site! Well done-- it looks great and is easy to use! Keep it! :)

Lauren Okun, Phoenix, Arizona (Saturday, November 10, 2007 4:58 PM)

I love it, Great Job!

Dave, Seattle, Wa (Saturday, November 10, 2007 4:59 PM)

Nice look, very sharp.  Don't believe the nay sayers, change it seems this time, is good.  Centering the page in the middle is just you needed, especially having a 17" wide screen laptop.

Good job!

Alejandro Sandoval (Saturday, November 10, 2007 5:13 PM)

Where is the section on Peculiar Postings? Loved that cockamamie section! O

O (Saturday, November 10, 2007 5:30 PM)

I think that the new layout is wonderful. People gripe and complain, but face it...America just doesn't like change. I think the layout is detailed, and very well organized. Thanks!

J. Brown Texarkana,AR (Saturday, November 10, 2007 5:43 PM)

I too don't care for the new design, but again, it's change, and I fear change.  We'll see what happens. I don't like it today, but have relied on msnbc.com for my news for years, so I WILL give it a shot.

To the incompetent netuser who struggled to "find hotmail" how about going to www.hotmail.com ... ever thought of that?

Michael Cangiarella, Wilkes-Barre, PA (Saturday, November 10, 2007 5:52 PM)

i believe that you should add the nbc logos of nightly news and dateline back on the page at the top where they were before.  i love the new design, but i believe that when you go to their pages you should see their banners, not just written out.  thank you.

greg, az (Saturday, November 10, 2007 5:55 PM)

msnbc.com has been my home page for 5+ years.  My thoughts on the redesign?  Love it, love it, love it.  Thanks for an amazingly well thought out layout. Ignore the complaints - I'll bet these individuals are the same ones who complain to the supermarket manager when aisles are rearranged or to the office manager when the water cooler is moved. Don't worry about them - they're the small end of the funnel.

Drew Stroikus, Shelburne, Vermont (Saturday, November 10, 2007 5:57 PM)

I think the site is well done.  It is aesthetically pleasing to look at and has a good flow and user experience.  I was a fan of the old site, so the new one will take some getting used to, but good job on the redesign and i look forward to new things to come.

Jim G, Wilmington, DE (Saturday, November 10, 2007 6:11 PM)

The look is nice, but will it work better for me?  

Where can I put my list of stocks and funds on the frontpage? That is a key feature for me.

Also it would be nice to be able turn-off certain sections. I couldn't care les about entertainment "news", other people may not care about business, why not let us personalize?

Marc Doe, Seattle, WA (Saturday, November 10, 2007 6:13 PM)

This new layout is nice, but I used msnbc as my homepage because it provided headline news along with my STOCKS all on 1 page.   Where are they?  I haven't been able to get them on the initial page so I'm changing.

Steve, Smithfield RI (Saturday, November 10, 2007 7:28 PM)

I first wrote in at about 1p this afternoon. But I wanted to add that since then I have used the site several times and really do like it! I can only imagine the work thats been done to get this up & running. Thank you for bring us a new/cleaner site.

Bj (Saturday, November 10, 2007 7:50 PM)

Overall the new design is a huge improvement. It leverages some of the best aspects of new web technologies but doesn't go overboard like ABCnews does. The bottom half of the page is great. It's the top part of the page that's messy.

As a user I have no interest in which NBC property the content came from. Those awful drop down menus are not useful The header is a cluttered corporate-compromise mess. And the featured story does not have any real visual weight. The explore section seems out of place at the top of the page as well. So all you need to do is scroll past the visual clutter at the top and there's a cool site down below.

Mark, San Francisco, CA (Saturday, November 10, 2007 8:03 PM)

I am 56 years old, but quite Tech-Savvy. I like it, but you folks at MSNBC have a LOT of work to do to win-over your skeptics! LOTS of negative comments. Speciofically: I want guidance on how to get ONLY the content I want on my MSNBC which by the wya IS my home page.

Chris Webster (Saturday, November 10, 2007 9:30 PM)

It stinks! Where's the crosswrd puzzle and the comics?

JR, Rubicon, WI (Saturday, November 10, 2007 9:35 PM)

One major point and I do mean major. The website is not as readable. You have made the subtitle font size too small. Believe it or not you have many over 40 readers who cannot read small fonts any more. I may not be able to continue visiting your website if you don't upsize the fonts!

AnnMef, Richmond, VA (Saturday, November 10, 2007 11:44 PM)

I don't like change, but this is still much better than ABC, CBS, and CNN.  I'll be patient...

Leslie (Sunday, November 11, 2007 12:50 AM)

I also miss not having the Stock Market Update and my Stock Portfolio on the home page, now having to go to the Business page to get them. That reason alone is enough to make me prefer the old design. But if you can add them to the home page, I have no problem with the new design.

Peter D., Baltimore, MD (Sunday, November 11, 2007 1:26 AM)

I actually like the new look and layout. Had no problem so far navigating around the site and finding my usual haunts. However, there are loads of issues with using it in Firefox, hence I've had to load up Microsoft Internet Explorer just to post this comment.

That said, once you figure out the the web is not completely dominated by Internet Explorer and start to cater for us Firefox users the site will be more attractive as a news destination.

Stephen Ferry, Dublin, Ireland (Sunday, November 11, 2007 2:19 AM)

love it"Want to see Sport scores from around the country.

Teddy from Delray (Sunday, November 11, 2007 7:28 AM)

The new design is "prettier," but not necessarily better. I find that it takes longer to scan the headlines, and the absence of the customizable right panel is a big loss. Time will tell, but right now I feel you stepped down to average.

Brian McNamara, Charlotte, NC (Sunday, November 11, 2007 7:58 AM)

Don't sweat the bashing, since most folks who will comment here are looking for a place to submit their negative feedback.  Most folks will appreciate the new design, which is clearly well-thought-out and effective.  And half of the bashers here are just reluctant to see any change, but they'll come around.

I'm glad to see that MSNBC, which had what I thought was the second worst site among the tv news networks (fox news being the worst), now has the best site of the crop.

And it's not about the aesthetic, which is nice, but the layout and organization of things that really makes this a success.  The users will come around to it.

You should be very happy with a very well-done redesign! Congratulations!

M. Jackson Wilkinson, Washington, DC (Sunday, November 11, 2007 8:17 AM)

The new design merely illustrates how MSNBC.Com follows CNN around like the beta dog trying to be like them and blowing their chance to be unique.

I hate it.  It looks like a drop down ad that never goes away.

Mark, Detroit MI (Sunday, November 11, 2007 9:24 AM)

I like the new format. Especially that it uses more of my screen.
Easy to navigate and for me very well organized. Nice looking site. An improvement in my opinion.

Randy H (Sunday, November 11, 2007 9:35 AM)

Wow! I love the new design - it's clean, well organized, and very easy to find the things I need. Visually it's dazzling. The new features allowing customization of the layout on the home page are outstanding. MSNBC has been my home site for years. There's no question that the old design, while functional, was getting tired and needed a facelift. This vaults MSNBC well ahead of the competition and certainly exceeds my expectations. Great job!

Most peeps are naturally resistant to change, so it's not surprising to see some initial complaints. Don't let that detract from the great progress showcased here. Looking forward to seeing the site develop as more of the features are brought online.

Kurt Schulz, Cincinnati, Ohio (Sunday, November 11, 2007 9:45 AM)

Why did you make it *wider*?  It's really a pain to keep scrolling left and right to make sure I don't miss everything.

Robert, Sacramento CA (Sunday, November 11, 2007 9:57 AM)

I do not like the new layout, it seems a little bit disorganized and hard to navigate. Perhaps once the updates are complete it will be more user friendly.

JS, Canada (Sunday, November 11, 2007 10:04 AM)

I LOVE IT!!!!!  AWESOME!!  Watch CNN copy your look once again.  :)

L.G., Phoenix, Arizona (Sunday, November 11, 2007 11:06 AM)

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This is the work and the thoughts of msnbc.com's site design and editorial concepts groups and a place for us all to discuss design, content and the future of news.

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