A disappointing redesign

Blank image placeholders in the pages of another major Bermuda website? It must be the newly-redesigned site of another MediaHouse company.

Earlier this year I became excited at the news that the Bermuda Sun website was going to receive an overhaul. Archive searches were to be significantly improved and even a web feed was promised.

Alas, I should have tempered my enthusiasm with the knowledge that the newspaper is owned by MediaHouse. That company also owns Bermuda.com, which 7 months ago received one of the most half-assed redesigns I have ever seen for a supposedly professional website. Even now, placeholder text and images still litter the site.

The Bermuda Sun’s redesign isn’t all bad. I like the new colour palette, which certainly makes the site look smarter than before. The search also now seems more usable, and the addition of a photo gallery is a nice touch, particularly the ability to buy photos online. I also like the sections that collect opinion pieces together by author.

On the down side, every story page seems to have an incongruous blank image placeholder, one story (“Jostling underway for leadership of the UBP”) appears twice, and some sections are empty (Tony McWilliam’s opinion pieces, the letters page). The sidebar does not appear on the story pages, making it harder to navigate the site. And there’s no sign of the promised web feed.

Some of the new additions feel underdeveloped. The photo gallery could be improved by grouping similar pictures together and providing index pages to enable you to quickly navigate to pictures of interest. An image search would be useful too. The forum feels thrown together, with all comments appearing in a single list. Given the site already provides the ability to comment directly on each news story, I don’t really see what this adds.

These are all relatively minor gripes, admittedly. More of a concern is that the most useful feature of the old site – the ability to jump to a particular edition of the paper by date – has been removed. Most seriously, the redesign has also broken all existing links to old stories, instantly rendering useless all links from other websites as well as the links returned by search engines (at least until they are able to re-index the site’s content).

Hopefully these are just teething troubles, and will be resolved soon. The failure of MediaHouse to fix Bermuda.com’s problems hardly fills me with confidence though.

Comments

[Mr. SJD on 13.11.05 at 18:38]

Hey man I do agree with you the new colour palette is better than before and it could do with a bit more work in some areas..but I guess there running on Bermuda time...(it will get done eventually lol)

[island dweller on 13.11.05 at 18:58]

Limey,

Take it easy on Bermuda Sun and the Island Press Group (now known as Mediahouse), they are doing the best they can.

They spent thousands of dollars and used qualified talent to make the site you now see. You should be proud! It was done by a Bermudians. Hey, they even avertised it in the newspaper as something great.

What I am really looking forward to is the Bermuda.com launch on Nov 16 or 17th. Advertisers have invested heavily on their new sales pitch - Bermudians will run in droves to signup for a bermuda.com email address. Think of the cache, limeyinbermuda@bermuda.com!

Both are another fine example of hardwork and clever marketing from Mediahouse (formerly known as Island Press Holdings).

[Phil on 13.11.05 at 20:24]

island dweller

Hadn't realised they'd rebranded themselves as Mediahouse - thanks for the correction.

As for the rest of your comment... I hope you were being ironic.

Having image and text placeholders 7 months after the launch of a new design isn't "doing the best they can", it's lazy. I gave three examples of this in my post of 8 September - none have been corrected.

Similarly, breaking every existing link to old stories on a news website is not only bad marketing (their clickthroughs from Google and other search engines, not to mention LIB, have just dropped to zero), it's unnecessary. Why not just leave the existing pages in place, even with the old design?

[Uncle Elvis on 14.11.05 at 00:35]

I thought they launched Bermuda.com ages ago?

[Denis on 14.11.05 at 00:58]

I agree with Island Dweller that you shouldn't be so hard on the Media House team. Given the limited resources they have on hand to put towards ongoing web development they are doing a decent job. I can't remember the last time the Gazette made any kind of change to their website. I've always hated trying to look up how to write the editor on the gazette site as the details are hidden on the about us page and not on the contact us page which is utterly confusing and ultimately annoying. At least the Bda Sun is clear and concise when it comes to contacting them and how to do so.

I too am disappointed however with the placeholders. Having 11 years exp in web development I know a thing or two about running websites and placeholders should be something that are made to be not visible until they are filled. I see no need to have them scattered visibly throughout the site when they could be hidden in a more constructive manner.

I am not fond of the new rebuild and I would nearly rather they go back to using the old design as it was much easier and more friendly. I find the menus are scattered all over the place and too disjointed. It is a very common problem to overload the first page real estate with too much information that the common user will never use. Menus should be concise and simple allowing you to clearly jump to the sections you want with subdivisions and a clear means of determining where you are and how to navigate back and forth. There shouldn't be so much emphasis on making the first page a one stop shop or everything that is available on their website for simply much of it most people will never click on. First and foremost access to the news should take a priority and I find it's not of enough focus. I typically rely on their website quite a bit to stay current on whats going on in Bermy. I'll admit I often enjoy reading the Bda Sun articles quite a bit more then the Gazette so I really hope they can pull things together with this launch and that this is just the first steps of many.

I do really question why Media House chose to redevelop their site based upon Active Server Pages, a technology that was growing obsolete 3 years ago. With the various portal site technologies that exist out there for ASP.net that likely would have made things easier and more manageable it seems odd to choose a legacy platform to rebuild their site on.

I really wish they wouldn't crowd the site with their ads as well. There should be a few pixels of border space separating the ads and the content of the site because it makes it too difficult to decipher between the two. It would make things alot cleaner and more manageable if there was a gentler visible separation of ads and site content rather then the sharp divisive edges that just makes things look jumbled.

I hope this is only the beginning of their changes and there is much more to come. I'm really hoping they they will launch a more realistic forum. There are many such free and open source solutions out there that are very well supported that they could utilize. So it really confuses me that their redesign comprises of a forum that looks like it came out of internet tech from '98. I hope it's just temporary.

So far I find myself missing the old site, reading articles on it was much easier but I understand it will take time for the Media House team to fully roll over their changes.

I wish them the best of luck and hope it won't take as long as Bermuda.com to get those ugly placeholders removed because as I have to agree with Limey that they're quite annoying.

[Uncle Elvis on 14.11.05 at 02:48]

"Given the limited resources they have on hand to put towards ongoing web development they are doing a decent job."

I have to disagree. Bermuda.com used to be a one-man shop years ago and there were NEVER any placeholders back then. There was also no PHP or ASP. It was all done page-by-page. This is a HECK of a lot more work and it got done.

The two redesigns took about a month or two each and weren't launched until they were ready. It's not a difficult concept, really. Don't release until it's ready to release.

Then again, both newspapers go out with typos and misspellings, so...

at least they have the excuse of daily deadlines.

[Adjustah on 14.11.05 at 08:16]

Hmmmm, I don't like the colour scheme, but hopefully this is a first draft?

[hotspur on 14.11.05 at 08:18]

“disappointing” is a bit harsh. I’ve just been over there and had a look around and the technical issues you mention did not jump out at me or make navigating around a problem. The pages downloaded very fast (even over my ridiculously expensive 256kb DSL – thanks again BTC!). I think it looks good.

[Raptor on 14.11.05 at 08:48]

Why can't I get it online? I go to bermudasun.org, and I'm still getting Prince Andrew in his white uniform.

[Full Fullish on 14.11.05 at 09:48]

Island Dweller -

Stop praising mediocrity. Bermudians should be on the same par with anywhere else in the world when it comes to web design (and almost all other things for that matter). Yes I applaud MediaHouse for using Bermuda talent, however I refuse to say, well it was a good job "for a Bermudian". That is not only an insult to the rest of us, but it also lowers the standards at a whole. Just cause we live on an Island does NOT mean we should have inferior services.

Aside from the fact that if you have a website online, you either post the finished product, or post nothing at all, IMHO of course.

[Uncle Elvis on 14.11.05 at 12:51]

THANK you, Fullish!

That's exactly it. I am so sick of the "It's good... for a Bermudian" stuff that goes on here *Couch cough FreshTV couch couch*.
It doesn't help, it only breeds arrogance and complacentcy.

Accepting sub-par product, because it's produced by a Bermudian, is not helping us to move forward as a nation.

[Uncle Elvis on 14.11.05 at 13:04]

Did I atually spell cough, "Couch"?
Dammit. I need coffee... or couchee.

[SmokingGun on 14.11.05 at 13:29]

"Atually" I just figured you were being a Fresh TV couch potato...... ;)

[Full Fullish on 14.11.05 at 14:56]

Uncle Elvis -
Yeah this one binds my boxers too! By saying stuff like that you instantly make Bermudians out to be retarded or something, really irritates me.

[island dweller on 14.11.05 at 21:05]

Good day,

I can apprecite your sentiments - usage, colour scheme, and quality labour. However you don't understand how difficult it is to create a site. Bermuda Sun worked extraordinarily hard to do this project. You can tell by the thought process and effort they collectively put in - it was a collaborative between the sales, advertising, and editoral teams.

As a leading newspaper, they all did a complimentary job of launching the website. And they are proud of their hard work. Even TeleBermuda are confident in the design. They took the top spot and are paying thousands of dollars to stand behind it.

You should all agree, this is by far and away one of the best mediums to represent Bermuda on the world wide web.

[Uncle Elvis on 14.11.05 at 21:12]

"However you don't understand how difficult it is to create a site"

Actually, I do. I know very well how difficult it is to create a site. I understand ALL of the problems involved.

[Uncle Elvis on 14.11.05 at 21:16]

"...they all did a complimentary job..."

I'm pretty sure they were paid for it.
Unless you mean exemplary... not sure

I'm sure we all agree that the internet is a great way to represent Bermuda to the world. I think that's why we're all so disappointed with the job they did on Bermuda.com. They could.. and perhaps SHOULD... have had an amazing product. They don't. Sorry

[Phil on 14.11.05 at 23:37]

island dweller

I also fully understand what's involved in creating a professional website: I spent three years of my life helping to develop the (now defunct) website for the BBC's commercial arm, beeb.com.

[Full Fullish on 15.11.05 at 07:57]

Island Dweller -
Actually being in the IT field I do understand how difficult it can be to create a web site. Ok lets move your comment to another context for a moment. Would you be satisfied living in a brand new house built entirely by Bermudian labourers, however due to lack of time or experience they left out the window and used tape to cover them up and the front door or plumbing didn't work?

You are right when you say "You should all agree, this is by far and away one of the best mediums to represent Bermuda on the world wide web." As such it should have been done properly since it's got our countries name as well as being viewed by the world's wired population.

[Raptor on 15.11.05 at 09:15]

Bermuda Sun used to be "www.bermudasun.org". Now it's "www.bermudasun.bm." I'm overseas, and I can't get it anymore. I'm sure I'm not the only one. Isn't this a little unusual, that the changes they've made to their site would now restrict it?

[David on 15.11.05 at 19:45]

As a loyal Sun reader, bermudasun.bm has been named such for the past 5 years, maybe it's time to update your bookmarks. And let's not confuse Bermuda Sun with Bermuda.com. From what I understand, they are not managed by the same people despite having the same owner...Let's wait and see what the Sun has in store for us. The new site has only been live for a week and with ANY new site there are teeting problems. At least they are moving with the times and embrace change...it's hardly fair for website developers to weigh in on it. Most IT professionals I know diss each other's work and opinions anyway. And come on, anything's better that what the RG puts out!

[SmokingGun on 15.11.05 at 20:42]

I just got round to seeing the new layout.

Can I just say: "Sun Burnt"?

[island dweller on 15.11.05 at 23:37]

Good day All,

I do appreciate the hardwork and shared experiences you may have with your unique website. However, the Bermuda Sun was completed professionally and the time and effort of the team should be commended.

Yes, I agree with your experiences and applaud that you worked hard to make the Bermuda online experience a great one for those who visited your respective sites. However you have to remember, sites are built to serve the needs of the company not those visiting, as it is excellently demonstrated by the Bermuda Sun team.

If it was not for the company and the great team of people who designed and maintained the Bermuda Sun website, you would not see the brilliance that Bermuda talent has to offer our strong and growing community.

Also keep something very important in mind, the site is a tremendous success! The unique users they have gained since they relaunched are tracked and reported and show how excellent their quality marketing, design and publishing has shown overwhellming results for Media House and there interactive division.

Once again, they have proven they are the best at what they do. You should be proud.

[Uncle Elvis on 16.11.05 at 01:04]

"Once again, they have proven they are the best at what they do."

Um... Riiiiiiight.

"However you have to remember, sites are built to serve the needs of the company not those visiting"

This is actually pretty much the complete OPPOSITE of how it is.
At least for sites that want to make money.

If the site doesn't serve the needs of the visitor, what use is it? If a visitor cannot find the information they need, or do something they needed to do ON the site, it is useless. Completely and utterly useless.

If a news site is launched with broken links and placeholder pages, it is serving the needs of neither the company NOR the visitor. So... yeah.. not such an "excellent demonstration".

[David on 16.11.05 at 01:29]

Let's be real "uncle Elvis." Sites exists to promote a brand, make money AND provide relevant and useful information to its users. To say they exist solely for the user is utter nonsense. Yes many sites like Wikipedia, Ebay and even this site would not exist without their loyal users/bloggers but there are other motives at play. I really don't think CNN and MSNBC, Google put out terrific sites (at budgets far exceeding that of most local companies) NOT to suit their own needs, including to make money and proliferate their BRAND. Haven't quite figured out the purpose of this site yet.

I guess at the end of the day if you don't like the Sun's site or Bermuda.com there's always RG and good luck getting ANY interaction on that site.

Good luck to the Sun....I remain loyal.

[island dweller on 16.11.05 at 07:15]

David,

Thank you for your kind words and remaining loyal. It is easy for visitors to believe the Bermuda Sun site was created for them. The site was put there to showcase the Bermuda Sun's talented professionals.

We should all appreciate that we get to use such a high quality Bermudian website.

[Turtle on 16.11.05 at 07:26]

Island Dweller, I think you need to use the irony point. See link under 'About' on the right side of the page.

[Raptor on 16.11.05 at 09:09]

"As a loyal Sun reader, bermudasun.bm has been named such for the past 5 years, maybe it's time to update your bookmarks." (David)

David, I'm up to date. Whereas you may have been reading bermudasun.bm in Bermuda for five years, overseas I have been able to get it only as bermudasun.org.

Maybe that is an additional step they're working on. I hope so.

[Uncle Elvis on 16.11.05 at 10:29]

"Let's be real "uncle Elvis." Sites exists to promote a brand, make money AND provide relevant and useful information to its users. To say they exist solely for the user is utter nonsense."

First off, I didn't say "exist solely". I said that sites must accomodate the needs of the visitor.

And this it must do. If you think otherwise, you are sorely mistaken.

In order for a site to become successful, it needs repeat visitors. THAT is a fact of life. For a site that has advertising as the means of making money, it needs MANY return visitors.

MSN, Google etc. put their sites out to attract visitors and thus get page views for their advertising. THAT is how they make their money.
Promoting their brand? That's part of getting people to the site. It's not a reason to have a site.

If you don't see that accomodating visitors and suiting their needs is the most important factor in geting them to return again and again, and that getting them to return, again and again, is how a website that uses advertising makes its money, you obviously don't understand how websites work, how television works, how pubishing works.

Next time, try researching the subject before you post.

[Uncle Elvis on 16.11.05 at 10:30]

Oh, and island dweller, if you ARE using sarcasm, as I've seen you do in other threads...

BRILLIANT! I missed it completely.

If you're not... um... yeah.

[SmokingGun on 16.11.05 at 11:25]

ID's sarcasm sort of reminded me of the Guiness Ad's - "Brilliant!"

Raptor - try clearing your cache and changing your bookmarks. I had the same issue as it didn't kick over from .org to .bm immediately.

[Raptor on 16.11.05 at 13:07]

SmokingGun, I had just cleaned my cache, so I didn't think it would work. Did it again, on your advice--and got it! Thank you very much!

[SmokingGun on 16.11.05 at 14:49]

Glad to be of help.

By the way, would you agree that the colour scheme is a tad too dark over-all? I imagine a brighter red with less heavy blackening/smoky effects would help. The reversed white on black lettering should be larger and the bold black on white headlines a little thinner.

I really like the simple elegence that Limey's site portrays and even though getting used to the type-face took a while I think it works. The Sun's content may be OK but the presentation is just a little too harsh. Almost gothic.

[island dweller on 16.11.05 at 16:33]

Good day All,

It is important to understand that the website is a business tool that belongs to the company. Yes, it should be visually pleasing and have pertinent information, as it presents the company. The challenge is finding good quality information and good quality people to present the information.

As it stands now, the Bermuda Sun website is doing it's job. It is presenting news information to widest possible audience for the lowest possible cost at an acceptably high quality.

Having talented people will definitely ensure a good quality end product. Inferior websites can be easily linked to the competency of the team that created it and the financial resources that support its development.

We should all strive for quality equal to our ideals. Unfortunately, all does not share idealistic high standards; this is something we should all accept.

And yes, there are challenges between what we conceptualize and what becomes reality.

The talent used to create such interactive site, with the quality standards of a long serving institution such as the Bermuda Sun, speaks volumes for the standards we uphold in our community.

Lest we forget those who have financially given hundreds of dollars over the yes to sanction and support the quality standards we have before us today and clearly demonstrated on www.bermudasun.bm? Be proud of your relation’s best effort to be the community source for information.

[SmokingGun on 16.11.05 at 17:04]

Good day All,

It is important to understand that the new television station is a propaganda tool that belongs to the government. Yes, it should be visually pleasing and have pertinent information, as it presents the government. The challenge is finding good quality information and good quality people to present the information.

As it stands now, the PLP is doing it's job. It is presenting news information to widest possible audience for the lowest possible cost at an acceptably high quality.

Having talented people will definitely ensure a good quality end product. Inferior parties can be easily linked to the competency of the team that created it and the financial resources that support its development.

We should all strive for quality equal to our ideals. Unfortunately, all does not share idealistic high standards; this is something we should all accept.

And yes, there are challenges between what we conceptualize and what becomes reality.

The talent used to create such interactive government, with the quality standards of a long serving institution such as the PLP, speaks volumes for the standards we uphold in our community.

Lest we forget those who have financially given hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years to sanction and support the quality standards we have before us today and clearly demonstrated in Bermuda. Be proud of your relation’s best effort to be the community source for information.

Posted by Alex Scott on 16.11.05 at 16:33

[island dweller on 16.11.05 at 19:19]

Smoking Gun,

If we are to be seen as leaders, we should never been seen as followers.

To see our leadership quality, compare our Bermuda Sun website to those of our Caribbean cousins: Barbados (http://www.barbadosadvocate.com), Cayman (http://www.caycompass.com) and other island locations, we should all appreciate the talent and value of the Bermuda Sun team.

We should look no further than our own backyard to see examples of premium quality websites: www.cingular.bm, www.ccs.bm, or www.liquidgroup.bm. Of which, the standards are very very high for powerful Bermuda companies.

The standards have been set and continue to be reinforced that local talent is superior and the function of the website is for the exclusive value of the creator.

We should consider ourselves lucky to have such a strong and diversified talent pool, which deliver such consistently high level of product.

[David on 16.11.05 at 19:41]

Alas, they are listening to the people. The .org problem is fixed as well as some font issues. I also think screen resolution affects size of text. My grannie's screen is set to 800x600 and she doesn't need her glasses to see the site.....

[SmokingGun on 16.11.05 at 20:09]

www.liquidgroup.bm - made in Canada?

ID - Sounds like maybe you were being sincere in your earlier posts. I've not knocked the Sun so much as given some constructive pointers as to how they might improve their site. Yeah OK I had a little fun with the PLP stuff but that was just to see if it worked.

There is one thing I must disagree 100% with you on though. The best web-sites are absolutely not designed for the simple purpose of serving the needs of the company. The ease of the visitor is critical. Especially a site that is for an information selling venture that makes it's living from ad revenue. If I advertise on a site I want to make very sure the site is easy to navigate and done well enough to attract and keep it's visitors. If that is accomplished then I would say it shows off the accomplishments and talents of it's design staff.

So if you really want to serve the best interest of the company then ease & elegance is of far greater value and yet is often over-looked.

[Kev on 17.11.05 at 12:06]

Both the Sun and the Gazette sites stink .. sure they serve their purpose (not very well) but only from lack of alternatives!

Why would you compare them to our "Carribean cousins" if theirs are no good either? Why not compare it to CNN or BBC? We're not talking about something phsyical we're building .. which would mean we couldn't compare the National Stadium to the Bernebau in Spain .. because of land, labour, material, costs, etc, etc .. This is all virtual, anything they can do and use we can do the same anywhere in the world! Which is why when you make something electronically, especially online, you are able to compare it globally.

Not to mention if you think CCS's website and liquidgroup's are class site's, then perhaps you just need to enhance your standards a little bit (or a lot a bit)..

[island dweller on 17.11.05 at 17:07]

Good day Kev,

I don't think you understand, our Government has set our standards close to those of our Caribbean cousin, so you need not look to North America or Britain - a location your elected Government wants to part from.

The talent found at Bermuda Sun can be extended to Media House's affiliates in the Caribbean and CCS Groups immediate island cousin CNS (http://www.cns.ky/cabling.htm). You must agree our standards are the highest of any of our Caribbean cousins.

To further illustrate the point of the standards we must continue to exceed, we need only to look to your new leading cellular prepaid provider, Digicel, on ways a successful Caribbean company presents the talent of their company (www.digcel.com or www.digicelbermuda.com or www.digiceljamaica.com).

You must accept the greatness of these companies and quality they present to the market. After all they do hire the best and the most qualified. Further, they set the level of expectation for our students, so we should be gratified with the next level performers.

Collectively, their talents make us competitive and clearly demonstrate professionalism, integrity and quality of web design in Bermuda. We should all be proud!

[Kev on 18.11.05 at 09:27]

Yeah but I'm saying there's no reason why we should keep ourselves limited to reaching the standards of that of the Carribean.. If your going to measure yourself up against something, why not do it against the leading sites on the web? If we want to make ourselves feel better then why don't we just set our standards against countries that don't even have electricity or running water? We would certainly kick ass then.

And your saying we should be proud that we're the best of that?

I would love to work for someone who sets their standards so low!!! Where can I apply?