The New York Times Announces Plans to Introduce a Prototype Version of NYTimes.com in Advance of a Major Site Redesign
The New York Times today announced plans to introduce a prototype
version of NYTimes.com
in advance of a series of major site enhancements that will begin later
this year.
The purpose of the prototype experiment is to gain feedback from
NYTimes.com users about the functionality, design, navigation and
overall experience of the planned redesign.
Starting today, Times employees who access NYTimes.com from inside the
Company firewall will be able to experiment with the new article pages,
which are the first to undergo changes, and provide feedback on their
experience. The public may access a preview of a sample of the
redesigned article pages via this animated guided tour.
In the coming weeks, the prototype will become available to a randomly
selected group of users outside the Company, who will have the option to
utilize it and provide feedback, or opt out if they choose. Users who
are not selected may request
an invitation to test the prototype on NYTimes.com, though audience size
is limited.
The Times will use the feedback as it continues the process of
developing a richer digital platform to best showcase its award-winning
journalism and premium advertising.
Users who participate in the beta experiment will discover changes to
article pages that include:
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A cleaner, more engaging design
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Richer integration of photography, video and interactive story elements
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More efficient customized navigation for registered users
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Responsive designs optimized for desktops and tablets
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Higher-impact presentation of advertising
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Improved ability to scan and discover content
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Better-integrated user-comments and share tools
Jill Abramson, executive editor of The New York Times, said, “As we
continue to develop our rich content offerings across video, slideshows,
data visualization and interactive graphics, these adjustments to
NYTimes.com provide the structure our newsroom needs to deliver a
best-in-class digital news report.”
Denise Warren, general manager, NYTimes.com and senior vice president
and chief advertising officer, The New York Times Media Group, said, “We
are constantly looking for ways to better express our journalism and
improve our digital experiences, for users and advertisers alike. We
trust that our highly-engaged audience will provide constructive
feedback about the beta site, which we will consider very seriously as
we work to create the most comprehensive and immersive digital news
experience we possibly can.”
About The New York Times Company
The New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT), a leading global, multimedia news
and information company with 2012 revenues of $2.0 billion, includes The
New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, NYTimes.com,
BostonGlobe.com,
Boston.com
and related properties. The Company’s core purpose is to enhance society
by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news and
information.