It seems there are three main criteria web designers must take into account: Mequoda Library writer Terri Edmonston says that web designers can increase user-friendliness by improving navigation, content density and load time.
   The following argument develops two main methods to so: tool implementation and attractive design, before considering the new possibilities offered by the blog generation, and evoking the probable future of newspaper websites.

1) Newspaper websites: implement user-friendly features and stick to traditional newspaper design… for now

Tool implementation

 Arguably, newspapers’ online challenge is greater in places where the readership has widespread access to the Internet. Newspaper websites in America seemed to grasp the importance of their online version quite early on, and as a result they developed relatively efficient websites. This is not the case for newspapers from most other regions of the world, especially Europe.
   “The Use of the Internet by America’s Newspapers,” a report published by The Bivings Group, ranked newspapers’ implementation of Web 2.0, by judging them on 14 user-friendly tools (different link), including among others RSS feeds, video, podcasts, reporter blogs, bookmarks, registration requirements and user-comment tools. Among the leading newspaper websites were that of The Houston Chronicle, The Boston Globe, and the Washington Post. For purposes of simplicity, the assumption here is that most of these tools contribute to making a website more efficient, but it seems obvious that the choice to include each and any of the tools is case by case, depending on the audience.

   A few key numbers concerning US’ 100 largest newspapers’ implementation of Web 2.0 features:
_80 offered reporter blogs, including 63 that were open to reader comments.
_76 offered RSS feeds, but not always on the homepage.
_61 offered at least one basic form of multimedia, video mostly.
_only 31 websites offered podcasts.
_only 19 offered the possibility to comment on actual articles.
_7 of the 10 largest newspaper websites required registration – not user friendly.
_but only 23 of the 100 largest newspapers require registration
   In mere statistical terms, this is pretty good news. The better news was that smaller newspapers generally implemented an equivalent amount of user-friendly web tools.
   As far as basic feature implementation, any designer can learn from The Bivings’ report and by including, to an extent, the tools they refer to. The real problem then is to serve a full variety of Web 2.0 features without producing a convoluted and overdrawn website. Other miscellaneous challenges arise, for example when websites try to increase interactivity through commenting features. Many publications had to suppress free comments after the function was abused, but there’s always a possible compromise, such as a “Comment is Free” section or a Newsvine-like Greenhouse area, where comments from new users are filtered for a temporary ‘test’ period.
   But a wide array of tools doesn’t suffice to make a good website: design is also key, and US newspapers have as much to learn as others in that domain.

Current newspaper design is web design

   Most newspaper websites still reproduce, more or less, the classic formula of the print version.
   Ernst Poulsen, writer for the Poynter Institute, defends the current traditional newspaper layout, arguing that the online “average content management system is as comfortable as a coffin when it comes to bringing a story to life.” Well, that’s perhaps the exaggerated view of a pro-print journalist, but apparently research has led to the same conclusion. "Print media is capable of things that the online can't do. The text, the layout, the colors, and the context makes it easier to remember and understand things when we see it on paper," said Microsoft's anthropologist Anne Kirah, quoted in Poulsen’s posting.

The main problem of this print-type web design comes when the layout neglects good use of online-only possibilities. Take The Guardian’s layout. For a major newspaper, its website is surprisingly grim: articles are presented in a straightforward column running endlessly down the page, with no offered tools or decorative features other than a frightening string of running words.

On the other hand, as we mentioned, it’s not enough to simply include appealing features. In the case of Oh My News, a major Korean publication, the website abuses streaming videos and colorful ads – these divert from the content and can slow down navigation. The headlines and news are immediately available, but their grey font and white background makes them seem secondary compared to the vivid emphasis on… ads.

What about ad design? Online advertising has been a long-time hassle for web designers. From the classic ad box to splash ads, including pop-ups, interstitials and word-links (for example, the word “window” in an article might link back to Microsoft), publishers still struggle to include online ads that are both ostensible and non-obtrusive. A look at the National Geographic example below gives a good idea of how to include an online ad in such a manner. The Bivings report proposes that newspapers gain valuable web space by including ads in their RSS feature.

 2) The New Media alternative: Blog-style layouts

The emergence of citizen journalism, blogs, and online-only news sources has changed the standards for web layout, both from the publisher’s and the reader’s perspective.
Computer World’s Danish version made the news when web designers chose to revert from a content-priority format to a blog-style layout, where headlines are posted according to recency.

Headlines are all given the same emphasis, format and font, regardless of the relevance or ‘importance’ of the news. All users have ‘blog authority’ – they are free to post articles and comments. Editor Mikael Lindholm, as well as Edmonston, cited above, believe this new blog-type design is more user-centric.
   Many critics have argued, including newspaper-fan Poulsen, that this blog-organization of news actually limits user friendliness. Unless the reader is an extremely regular visitor, the time-stamp format forces the user to search his news of interest within a muddled list of headlines: this doesn’t suit the editorial aims of newspapers, which collect and distribute news but also organize it accordingly.
   The blog form has its qualities though: unlike many print-type websites, it encourages user interaction, which seems to be one of the readership’s favorite criteria at the moment. So including reporter blogs on your newspaper website is not only a plus, it seems like today it’s becoming essential for the reader’s satisfaction.

Ultimately though, the point is that potentially positive attributes of blogs, such as interactivity, opinion and multimedia, can all be used on a newspaper’s website. That doesn’t mean that newspapers should adopt the blog design, which is counter-intuitive, slower and less appealing for the efficient delivery of pre-categorized news.

3) Towards a better web design – multimedia and custom-fit

   Publishers and designers are still struggling to find the most efficient web layout for news distribution. The 2006 Press Survey conducted by Monroe Mendelsohn Research found that National Geographic’s website was the best of 135 publications’ online version, according to the public. While there are obvious differences between National Geographic’s interface and that of traditional newspapers, what are the lessons useful for web designers?

This is just a look at the homepage. Sections are clearly presented to the left of the screen, and three types of media are immediately available: photos, video, or written articles. The website presents a renewing streaming video, which intuitively gives the user an idea of the day’s features. The ads are clearly visible, but don’t stand in the way of the content, through a good design and color balance that leads the eye slightly to left and above of the center, where all news articles are available, including a visible ‘news of the day’ section.
   Provided that the navigation is efficient and that this design formula is used on all of the website’s pages, nationalgeographic.com gives a positive reflection of the publisher, and eases the users’ experience. The site’s navigation is in fact fast and intuitive, although heavy pages such as ‘Maps’ take forever to load. Web designers who tend to overload their pages with rich graphics should remember speed is one of the determining factors in a website’s appeal, especially since the audience has a short attention span, and doesn’t always have a high-speed internet connection.

How can the lessons taken from magazine websites apply to those of dailies though?  The main difference between both types of publication is that dailies simply have a much larger number of headings to display. But that doesn't mean they can't adopt the magazine-type layout, emphasizing clarity rather than density. Time magazine launched its new online deisgn on Jan. 9, and it is in fact similar to the National Geographic layout in many ways.

UK-based press publisher Johnston Press also recently unveiled its redesigned online format, a template that it will apply to all of its newspapers.
With the help of a specialized design agency, the group did some research, such as tracking the readers’ eyes and surveying the desires of readers, editors and advertisers. While the new websites may be less vividly colored and appear ‘whitened out’ compared to the old layouts, the new versions are sensibly clearer, less cluttered, and easier to navigate through. Take a look here at how Johnston redesigned its online newspapers and make up your own mind.
But larger newspapers don't always have the option to condense and trim out their headings as Johnston papers did. In that case, there's another viable web design solution: instead of trying both to fit everything on a website, and at the same time trying to space out the layout, just create multiple websites. That was the idea of the Norwegian paper Dagbladet, which created a main website that links to independent - clean and well spaced-out - websites. Instead of having a sports section within its homepage, Dagbladet has a sports website, instead of trying to include blogs on its homepage, it has a blog website. And so on. It's more web design work and slightly more navigation for the user, but the benefits can trump the costs.


   Perhaps it will turn out in the end that the traditional newspaper design and the blog format are both equally appropriate, depending on the news focus and target audience. There’s another possibility though.
   Until now, traditional newspaper designs have often been translated to the online versions – not always in the most efficient manner. It seems the trend is beginning to reverse, as more readers drift to the web. Instead, tomorrow’s print newspapers could mimic the publication’s web design.
   The most obvious examples of this new trend are already visible in free papers and tabloids, which display a melting pot of articles, pictures, and ads.
   The trend towards web design on paper is still in its birth, but the real question is: will it make content more accessible and visible, or just the opposite? This time of transition between print and web may be very confusing for newspaper web designers, unsure whether to stick to print’s safe formula or innovate in experimental online-only productions.

   For the time being, the best design for news websites remains that which prioritizes content according to popularity and relevance, can offer a full range of user-friendly features, and makes appropriate use of multimedia platforms and interactivity. The renewed emphasis of Web 2.0 on user-control is revolutionizing past designs. Those used to present a collectivist layout meant to fit the conveniences of a majority of the targeted audience. Now, Web 2.0 will open a whole new way to conceive websites.
   In the not-so-distant future, websites will have a wide range of custom-made abilities, welcoming the user into a tailored layout (some early attempts can be seen on Newsvine). An ideal news website which would prioritize breaking news, track the user’s local news, have a custom background and fonts, and automatically navigate the user through his or her areas of interest, in the media platform of his or her preference. Almost like watching an interactive news report, but with the satisfactory knowledge that every piece will be of special interest.

Above all, reader satisfaction is determinant of the quality of a website’s design. If you have any suggestions, of if there are particular sources you prefer, please send us your contribution.

Sources: Poynter.org – BivingsReport – Mequoda Library – National Geographic