San Juan Update undergoes major overhaul….what do you think?
Posted March 17, 2009 at 2:03 pm by Ian Byington
Hey, my friends….
As you can see, the Update underwent surgery this past weekend, and got the equivalent of a journalistic nose job. It’s all really about the same, with a few additions: the Calendar is easier to find, the ads are now located on every page, and it’s possible for you to comment on the stories that I post.
I also wanted to make it easy for you to check on things if you miss a day, so I busted the Update into the categories above, so you can look “backwards” to see what I’ve posted about sports, or the latest photos, and so on. Let’s give it a try & see if that works.
I would love to have you let me know what you think! Click the “comment” deal down at the bottom of this posting, and weigh in!
And…as you can see from the archives (yes, you can go back in time), the Update has undergone different format changes in the past twelve years, but we changed, too, didn’t we?
From The Boxer, by Paul Simon:
The years are rolling by me
They are rocking evenly….
I’m older than I once was, but younger than I’ll be
That’s not unusual –
It isn’t strange – after changes upon changes,
We are more or less the same
After changes, we are more or less the same.
Thanks for reading. I’m really glad you’re here.
Love ya,
Ian
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Categories: Around Here, Random Thoughts
44 comments:
44 comments...
Groovy baby!
I feel lost, but it the Update has a more modern touch to it!
I think its ok but it seems more like the other sites(sanjuanislander.com and sanjuanjournal.com) and I really liked the old one as it was original and didnt follow suit to the other online sites. All in all its ok
You have been busy. Good on you for taking SU to a new level. Any chance you could put back the links to the various webcams?
My goodness, I’ve been sicker then I thought. Looks like you are playing with the big-boys. Very nice. I miss the homey look but I do like this.
Where will the quotes go?
I love the new look Ian. Congrats.
Ian, I really like the new Update. Looks like lots of thought went into the design…which looks very professional while still maintaing the good old Island Charm!!! Really nice work!!!!!!
Eewww! I wasn’t ready for this first thing this morning. Jury is out for me.
Ian
What a surprise…but after a moment or two of getting use to the new layout, I like it. But the layout never matters as much as the content, and the content is always superb. So keep up the good work of keeping us updated.
Bob
Nope, sorry Ian, doesn’t ring my bells. Really liked the “folksy” style of your previous website design…this is too much like the other online newspapers. And it’s so WHITE. I don’t want to click thru all those tabs at the top. And I miss the quotes, too. Again, sorry. I know it must have been a lot of work to do this redesign
Other than the fact the Update had become a warm, friendly, and familiar spot on the cold superhighway of information overload, this new look has a clean, crisp quality about it. As even friends are subject to change over time – aka evolve and grow – so I’ll embrace this “new” Update, and soon it too will become as familiar as the “old” one… It does look good, Ian.
Hi Ian, nice “Mug” Shot.
Ron
Hi Ian,
Right away I missed the easy format of your other site, and the ferry cams, the links to Roche, etc, the quotes, you get the piture. It’s too glitzy for me. Your old site was more user friendly. Sorry,
Jeanie
No! I miss the old one…
Your new website is great! very pro looking and has a definite flow about it. I like it a lot.
Cheers Frankie
We miss the old site!!! Sob sob…
Hi, Ian-
Nice running into you and Josie this morning. I really like the new format! It’s much easier to navigate. Keep up the good work.
I like the nose job analogy. Quite an overhaul, and I suspect a lot of work. Looks good!
Change is good…. I think the format is fine, but the font is harder to read on a monitor. Keeping the font you had before may reduce the negative input.
Thanks for the update!
IAN-I COMMEND YOUR STEP TOWARDS PROGRESS, BUT HONESTLY DON’T THINK IT WAS BROKEN. I MAY JUST BE A SIMPLE PERSON BUT I LOVED THE BIG PICTURES FIRST. THEY DREW ME TO A STORY. THIS FORMAT MAKES ME READ HEADLINES AND I DON’T GO FARTHER. UPDATE GIVES ME A REAL CONTACT WITH REAL PEOPLE AND BYPASSES THE BS (BIAS SITUATION) OF OUR TOWN. IF MY VOTE COUNTS, IAN, I VOTE NO THANKS.
I love it Ian!
Ian, I hate to say it but it seems like the general consensus was that everybody liked the Byington “Web One Point Oh” style that you have become synonymous with. Change is hard, but it is afterall the only constant in life. (I would have run a Beta site and asked everyone’s opinion before switching over.) I guess we’ll all get used to it. I will miss the big frontpage images; much more interesting than text! 😛 Best, John S.
Ian: New website if very professional looking. But I miss the homey, friendly feel of the old site…felt better. This feels like a newspaper. But if that is your goal, you got it right!
Eeewww….I don’t like clicking on things so I can read the whole article. I like change, but I don’t like this. It feels like I’m reading USA Today.
I think the day-by-day blog format was much more inviting and comfortable, even though the new format is certainly more professional. It seems like this is now just like all the other “news” sites, when your old site, and the islands themselves, are supposed to be unique! At the least, you might want to lead off with a nice “picture of the day” at the top to showcase something key going on that day
Ian, your website is always a joy. I view it every morning with my coffee to look at the good things happening on the island(s). I have to be truthful; I don’t like the new format, but I certainly appreciate that you and your team spent many hours to make it “better.” I will adjust and learn to appreciate the site for the creativeness that you and your team bring to its’ development. My observation is that it does replicate the format of the local on-line newspapers. You can do better than that.
Hey Ian i really enjoy your site but i really like the feeling of the old site it was warm
Sorry Ian I don’t like it at all.
Too cold and generic looking for me. The old site had warmth and character, and I do not like having to click to read the rest of every article.
Your old nose was just fine, and will be sadly missed.
What a difference! It will take some getting used to. My two thoughts/comments that come with a first impression:
Way too white!
I don’t like having to click to get the rest of a story, especially when it is just a few words or a sentence longer. I think me (and many others) might start just reading the headlines, whereas the other format was conducive to reading the whole thing.
I like it.
I thought I’d gone to the wrong website! 😉 I loved the warm,community feel of the previous format, but, like everything else, we’ll adjust to the change and this will become the norm in a couple weeks.
🙂
…perhaps a couple warm colors in the background will warm it up a bit. You used deep yellows, greens, and reds in the previous format..that might give the readers that don’t like the new sterile feel of this one, a bit of fabric of the old one to cling to. 🙂
I really like the makeover. Nice work!
I need to play around with the new layout before I make a decision. Change is always difficult.
I DO like the photos link -any chance you’ll be posting the fun banner pictures too? I enjoy how you change those up often. It would be great to be able to go back to view them.
Hey Ian,
The new website looks great….well done.
I don’t care what it looks like. You keep the same quality content, and I’ll keep reading.
Sorry, but I agree with the poster who said they miss the old format. This looks much more big city, like every other site out there. The old one was more friendly, more Islandy, more just like talking with a friend.
I know it probably took a lot of work, and I respect that you tried hard, but but somehow is’s no longer my friend Ian, but something much more impersonal and urban.
Ian, you are a rockstar! I love the new site!
I stopped reading the online Journal and Sounder because it was not user-friendly. I liked your site because it was easy and very “home town”. Having just lost the P.I., I was especially sad to lose the old format. Is it too late to return or re-do?
hi Ian,
my gut told me I liked the other one better right away! but i still like you!
Sorry, it doesn’t work for me. The simplicity of your previous design is far superior. Entire articles, images throughout, fonts, very high usability. It was all right there and could be scanned and absorbed very quickly. I’m sure the new design will be easier to monetize so I see why you were motivated to make the change. Thanks!
Ian,
Boo Hoo… i will miss the old format. Your old format made me feel like i was checking in with an old friend for local news… like a friendly phone call to a pal. Do as you please, i will adjust.
Oaky, since we’re not the first to grump, we don’t like the white either, DO NOT like having to click on the rest of an article, and well, to be honest my first comment was that now it looked like all the others. That said, we won’t stop reading you because we really enjoy the Update and will eventually get used to it.
Hi Ian,
I go away for a couple of weeks and what happens – you update the update. Looks good. Will need to get used to it.
Carolyn
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