MarketWatch has redesigned its site, "showcasing the breadth and depth of its original content" and the market data and "valuable tools" it offers to investors, according to a press release. The site is part of the Wall Street Journal Digital Network, published by Dow Jones.

The new design features new navigation, "expanded content and features and better surfacing of the site's leading personalities and columns." Within the site there are two new tools, a "Terminal Header" at the top of each page and the "Dock" which is a floating tool bar. Both can give "on demand quotes, news and customized data and charting," A new advertising element has also been introduced, the "Kiosk," which offers "a blend of content and advertising delivered dynamically in a rotator format." There is also increased coverage on emerging markets and key European, Asian and Latin American markets.

According to Reuters, the move is partly financial: "an attempt to bring in a wider class of advertisers, going beyond the usual financial services firms to include technology and luxury goods makers." It is also an effort to "highlight the fact that we are creating our own news," MarketWatch editor David Callaway told Reuters, and to elevate the site's profile to match those of Dow Jones and the WSJ. Even though there is frequently duplication of stories on the three sister publications, Callaway insisted that MarketWatch has a separate audience and that it is the only place on the web that comprehensively covers institutional markets, but for a retail audience. Gordon McLeod, president of the WSJ Digital Network told Reuters that the redesign is also a way for MarketWatch to get back to its roots, with a "laser focus" on markets.

The site plans to stay free, unlike many other financial news services, including the WSJ and Dow Jones, which provide news which is specific and unique enough that people are prepared to pay. McLeod said that the site attracts, for example, day traders "who can't afford a Bloomberg terminal." Parent company News Corp, however, plans to start charging for online newspaper content within the next year, and it will be interesting to see if MarketWatch survives as a free resource.

Source: Wall Street Journal press release, Reuters