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New look for Scotsman's leading website

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Published Date: 14 December 2007
By ALAN GREENWOOD
SCOTSMAN.COM EDITOR
THE Scotsman today unveils a new look for its award-winning website.
Changes to scotsman.com will make the site easier to use and more responsive to breaking news.

The revised site features exclusive video reports and new picture galleries.

Site searches will be faster and more accurate, while the popular reader-comments feature has been upgraded.

Industry experts advised The Scotsman on layout to make the new site as easy to navigate as possible.

scotsman.com is one of the UK's most popular newspaper websites, attracting more than 2.8 million visitors each month.

Mike Gilson, editor of The Scotsman, said: "The growth of scotsman.com has been a great success story. The changes we've made allow us to build on that success.

"We've listened carefully to our online readers. Many of their suggestions have been incorporated into the new site."



Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 13 December 2007 11:14 PM
  • Source: The Scotsman
  • Location: Edinburgh
  • Related Topics: The Scotsman
 
1

MacCoinnich,

Edinburgh 14/12/2007 01:22:40
This is appallingly bad, the old design was a little dated perhaps, but much better than this. I thought we left behind this 'my first homepage' aesthetic with Netscape Navigator and dial up modems. Why does Johnson Press seem so concerted to make The Scotsman into little more than a regional newspaper of little importance?
2

Guga II,

Rockall 14/12/2007 02:00:00
Not only are there still glitches in this new setup, but it is, to say the least, appalling. It is badly organised and quite feeble in comparison to the original. Did the Editor's kids design it themselves, ot was it a school project?

Another thing is these extremely annoying Microsoft adverts. Unlike every other site in the Internet, you cannot turn off the sound in these adverts. If there is yet another thing to annoy you about Microsoft, this is it.
3

Guga II,

Rockall 14/12/2007 02:00:34
And it is slower too.
4

Gnasher,

14/12/2007 02:02:51
It all seems very nice.
5

The Strategist,

Old Rayne 14/12/2007 02:09:12
I pay a subscription for premium content but it won't let me access any of the subscription only stories!!!!!
6

scottishrepublic07,

aberdeen 14/12/2007 02:10:42
Its too white and bland - and the comments spanning multiple pages is quite annoying.

And I agree it does seem very local newspaper-ish as no.1 says.
7

Guga II,

Rockall 14/12/2007 03:47:02
And what's with the two week old news in the international section?

And why can't we comment on things like the Japanese whaling story? Or other stories which are not sub judice because of an ongoing court case?
8

Samcafe,

Glasgow 14/12/2007 05:17:47
I love the new format, mush easier to navigate
9

Very Rev Ian Paisley,

14/12/2007 06:16:52
I remember congratulating Alan on his website only two days ago. It now looks worse than the Heralds. Bad move Alan
10

Boy Wonder,

14/12/2007 06:42:56
I'll post as usual ... but I don't like this set-up. Not a bit of it! It's now a generic newspaper look. How uniquely Scottish is that? Bad move Hootsmon ... Your advisers want shot!!!
11

Richard Havers,

The Borders 14/12/2007 07:25:56
The design of the new site is a retrograde step I'm afraid. Added to which it doesn't work very well with Safari.
12

Richard Havers,

The Borders 14/12/2007 07:28:26
And I cannot read the premium content which I pay for.
13

donald anderson it's me,

weegieland 14/12/2007 07:30:43
Had trouble re-registering and accepting my name. Seems OK to me.
14

donald anderson it's me,

weegieland 14/12/2007 07:36:01
The Herald website is too time consuming, having to jump hoops with every entry. The Sunday Herald is much simpler, as is the Scotsman.

Technology apart, all are Brit Nat papers anyways.
15

David Farrer,

Edinburgh 14/12/2007 07:44:27
Like others, I can't read the premium content despite logging-in afresh to the new site.
16

Kate,

Zurich 14/12/2007 07:46:38
Sorry, but I don't like it very much; it's almost identical to that of the Montrose Review, Brechin Advertiser and all the little locals which are printed by Johnson Press...adequate but not sufficient for a broadsheet such as The Scotsman...
17

Boy Wonder,

14/12/2007 08:05:37
By the way ... who said this was a "leading website"???
18

Idle Rich,

Glasgow 14/12/2007 08:10:52
And what's with the wasted real estate at the top of every page underneath the "members area" | "register" | ...
19

Roy B,

Edinburgh 14/12/2007 08:50:49
Why do I not see the additional pages in a news section unless I visit a story and then select the 'more x' from the right panel?
20

Mike S,

14/12/2007 09:08:17
The new look website is a bog standard format used by most local newspapers up and down the country. Who are you trying to kid?
21

Very Rev Ian Paisley,

14/12/2007 09:32:32
Where's page 3?
22

carrottop,

Dumfries 14/12/2007 09:42:17
Now a true tabloid in every sense of the word, even a sans serif typeface. Bring back some quality please, even the postings look tabloid reader quality.
23

Paul R,

14/12/2007 10:05:11
The new site is dreadful - it only lets you access one page of news stories in each category while before you got to access 5 pages. There appears to be about the same numebr of stories per page so only 20% of the stories are making the website! Sort it out please!!!
24

Boy Wonder,

14/12/2007 10:16:20
Why do I have to sign in again every time I change the page?? And having read the EN comments and these ones in the Hootsmon, I'm getting a rather strong impression that most posters think the Hootsmon has shot itself in the foot with this bl**dy awful makeover they've concocted!

25

Kate,

Zurich 14/12/2007 10:20:10
Having now gone through the sections, I really don't like it! When I click the "back" button, it reloads the pictures/ads, which means I have to click "back" 3-5 times - very annoying and amateurish for this website!

The navigation is very poor and I have had to re-register in order to see the subscription things.

Scotsman, please take these comments seriously as they affect all readers and subsequently the paper!
26

Roy B,

Edinburgh 14/12/2007 10:20:13
If I increase font size using link on page, reverts back when browse to another page. Tested on IE and Firefox. Also old site used to work OK on my mobile phone (SE K850i) but now unusable, cannot view any content, only menus.
27

Slioch,

Scottish Highlands 14/12/2007 10:28:03
#19 Dave from Barra

I think if you put the location* you prefer to appear when you make a comment in the 'Town' part in your 'Members Area', and press 'update' I think that should sort out that glitch.

*(presumably that's 'Barra' for you, but the rest of us probably think 'The Planet Zog' might be more appropriate)

Cheers.

28

Slioch,

Scottish Highlands 14/12/2007 10:48:59
Could I suggest to the Scotsman that they make available a comments page such as this on their new web site in a week or so, when people are more familiar with it?
29

Feenon,

Edinburgh 14/12/2007 11:05:42
Don't like it
30

Didaskalos,

Borders 14/12/2007 11:48:15
Too much white; and still very slow servers; and what is the point of the notification emails arriving several days late?

31

Statsman,

Auld Reekie 14/12/2007 12:11:17
I see the server is still as slow as ever.

If it's broken, ignore the broken bit and make it even worse?
32

Statsman,

Edinburgh 14/12/2007 12:29:59
This website is awful. I suppose the new dreadful look matches the new dreadful standards of journalism under Johnston Press.
33

McMillar,

Fife 14/12/2007 14:16:51
Give it a week or so to settle down. Bound to be launch issues and user trouble as we get used to the revamp. Can't really comment either way about +/- at the moment as it's like going round tescos when they have moved everyhting.
34

Exocet,

14/12/2007 14:30:55
Stories on the smoking ban and those fighting against it seem to be kept out of the press. See nationalsmokingday.com/
35

The grouch,

Ontario 14/12/2007 15:00:53
What are you Scottchers Belly'aching About...
IT'S FREE....It fulfills a genetic requirement,,Duh!!!

Think Thin..You Lardy Lot..Shalom
36

Richardinho,

14/12/2007 15:01:10
And having to sign in again every time you want to post a message is also a big improvement...NOT!

imho the best website for posting is the Guardian's.

Because of this it gets a huge international profile which it wouldn't have otherwise. A lesson the Scotsman should learn.
37

The Master,

14/12/2007 16:24:19
Where has the Trump/Salmond sleaze article gone? It was here this morning and I was champing at the bit to get my teeth stuck into it! This site has suddenly gone all peculiar: it’s doing my head in, so I’m calling it a day (do I here loud cyber rejoicing out there?) I may be back (or there again, I may not!)
38

Sinnerman,

Another Planet 14/12/2007 16:29:54
The wife's just redecorated The Scotsman website. all lovely pastels and I can't find a bl**dy thing. I'm off down the pub until it's put back where it was...
39

Sinnerman,

Another Planet 14/12/2007 16:30:53
.. and the clocks wrong!
40

decent one,

here 14/12/2007 20:29:44
Christ this is poor!
Had no complaints before.
41

T1,

14/12/2007 22:17:06
What a terrible new website. Definately a step backwards. EEN all around I suppose.
42

Vile,

15/12/2007 11:15:51
I'm sorry but this article is a pack of lies. This new site is uniformly awful. To claim the changes are to "make the site easier to use" insults our intelligence.

In which industry are the "industry experts" that advised this travesty? Clearly not the web industry.
43

An actual web designer,

Scotland 11/01/2008 18:01:56
"We've listened carefully to our online readers. Many of their suggestions have been incorporated into the new site."

or

"We've ditched the other site because we don't really understand how or why it works and replaced it with the same site which works perfectly well as the face of many popular regional newspapers such as the Kirkintilloch Herald and Chichester Observer or any other of their siblings"

I know this is a late comment but I have just seen how bad the site has become.

 

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