New BBC Website

[Mia]

The Beeb have launched a beta version of their new homepage:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/home/beta/

What do we think, kind of retro no (check out the old school clock)?

I like the way the colour scheme changes depending on the section you pick, of course they have the ubiquitous rounded edges on everything...But I also like that you can re-arrange the content as you wish, very 2.0!

It feels like they have really tried hard to be standards compliant and accessible and use CSS to it's fullest extent - I checked it on the validator and it only has 3 errors, rather than the old home page which has 36.

Anyway, when such an important site as the BBC has a redesign I thought it important to flag it.

Look forward to hearing what you all think.

[rob]

Is there any need to have so much of the content below the fold?

[David]

Very interesting. I do like the mix of Web 2.0 style and retro BBC style (that clock brings back memories).

What is clear is that the BBC have a completely new strategy for their homepage. The old homepage was simply a starting point and was, in many ways, less important than the various section homepages. This new homepage is a clear attempt at a "portal" - a personal start page for any browsing session. Rob, the fact that the page is configurable means that it's less important for content to be below the fold as the user can decide what's important and bring it to the top. Anyone who has used iGoogle will be familiar with the concept. In fact, this is a clear challenge to iGoogle and other such services and it looks very attractive.

It is clearly a beta as I don't think the design is yet right. It looks a little crowded and needs better organisation. Also, I can't work out whether the chunky text and graphics are a nod to accessibility or a design intended mainly for higher resolution screens.

One to keep an eye on.

[David]

Well, the new BBC website is now up and running as a portal with lots of personalisation built in. It's competing in a crowded marketplace and a little late on the scene (I use iGoogle) but it is aesthetically very pleasing and (naturally) UK-centric. Interesting creative use of style switching to match the main image on teh page, a BBC design trademark.

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