New site design

[djconnel]

Cyclists love cycling because of the drama that develops in a race. The result is the output of a long, beautiful journey involving thousands of variables and complications, over which we get to see human spirit triumph. 90% of the interest is in the unfolding.

I agree. Consider the following scenario: I get home from a ride and want to watch the YouTube "final kilometer" without knowing the outcome. I want to check first, however, for the route profile. This was possible on the old site, but not in the new spoiler site, unless I google into it (or use the predictable nature of the URLs... which may no longer be predictable).

Imagine a movie site which labeled each movie with tag lines such as "the butler did it." Cycling is part news, part entertainment. Don't compare it to CNN or BBC reporting on meaningful current events.

 

[ninjaslim]

The Best Cycling information site

Can some one please post a link to a decent news / information based cycling site that isn't purple and doessn't try and dress up what is otherwise superb content.

It's no accident that News papers are crisp and clear in their presentation of text / information, the paying public wouldn't have it.

Thinking about it I'd pay a subscription if this site was put back to how it was. It was so damn good.

 

[titan_90]

Thinking about it I'd pay a subscription if this site was put back to how it was. It was so damn good.

+1

Me too

 

[stefan]

My sentiments exactly. It made me laugh and scratch my head when I first came to the site a few years ago. Html hell and information chaos.
Thanks for the new design. This is far better. It was full of bugs when I first visited in the morning. There are fewer bugs now, and I am sure that they will all disapear by and by. The bugs I wanted to post here are gone already. Go on. I like it more by the hour.

Contrary to what others have said I have no issues with site display and loading times (even faster than the old site with UMTS and Firefox).

Please keep the „spoiler“ headlines. I for one like them. Who has won a race is the most essential piece of information and this is what I want to read first and foremost. The „non-spoiler“ headlines were one of the things I would never have expected to find on an news site.

The flash thingy is one of the new features I could do without. It is so dominant and irritating. It hides information rather than highlights it and it is eye catching only insofar as it makes me scroll down as soon as the thing appears on the screen.

I'm glad you like it, and recognise that things are still undergoing rapid change. I said elsewhere that we believe that "a website is not a truck-load of print" - it can evolve, day by day. It's still only day 2!

The "carousel" as we call the "flash thingy" probably offers a little less to the seasoned user. We see it as a device to draw in new users by highlighting striking photography and so forth. It also serves as a bit of a brand familiarity between Future's websites (see bikeradar.com, totalfilm.com, techradar.com etc). As an aside, I'm aware that bikeradar is somewhat looked down upon here, sadly - especially since it's a very successful cycling website, and run by the Cyclingnews alumni and all-round legend Dr Jeff Jones.

 

[Alexanderrios]

Results on new site

The best thing about this site has always been the comprehensive, simple, COMPLETE results. That has been taken away, which gives me no reaason to get my cycling information from this site. Anyone have any suggestions on where to get next, besides Velo News?

 

[stefan]

Modern news sites integrate UGC (user generated content) directly into the editorial.

Sure they do, if they (a) have very, very little traffic, or (b) have a very, very large budget to spend on hardware. If you look, the BBC doesn't, for example.

In our case, we have lots of traffic - I could quote you our max peaks, but you wouldn't believe me, and a very, very small budget for hardware.

 

[Ziptie]

The best thing about this site has always been the comprehensive, simple, COMPLETE results. That has been taken away...QUOTE]

Actually, it hasn't. Go to today's Tour de Suisse results, it's all there. Granted, you actually have to click on the down arrow to see the full list of standings, but that's really not that hard.

 

[Escarabajo]

Sorry guys. I don't like the new design. I used to like the compressed way that I could look at everything at one glance. That was the edge that this site used to have versus the other ones. I even preferred to look at the GC standings and stage standings from CN than the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and other races web sites. It was so simple, quick and easy to navigate. That is now lost.
My 2 cents.
Thanks.

 

[titan_90]

The "carousel" as we call the "flash thingy" probably offers a little less to the seasoned user. We see it as a device to draw in new users by highlighting striking photography and so forth. It also serves as a bit of a brand familiarity between Future's websites (see bikeradar.com, totalfilm.com, techradar.com etc). As an aside, I'm aware that bikeradar is somewhat looked down upon here, sadly - especially since it's a very successful cycling website, and run by the Cyclingnews alumni and all-round legend Dr Jeff Jones.

What about an option to hide the "carousel" also?

 

[agaler]

Carousel

What about an option to hide the "carousel" also?

The carousel is a fairly standard web pattern: http://developer.yahoo.com/ypatterns/pattern.php?pattern=carousel I'm surprised you haven't come across it before elsewhere - other than Future sites.

titan_90 - you're making some helpful suggestions here. We are listening. Please keep it up.

 

[coldass]

News editions are now working:

Latest Edition
First Edition

Thanks for your patience.

Daniel

Good job on fixing some bugs Daniel.

NOW MAKE THE PAGES LOOK LIKE THEY DID BEFORE - don't you get what people want? A simple to read and navigate NEWS site.

If we wanted Bikeradar we would have gone there.

We run cycling tipping comps at work. About a dozen of us participate. All think your new look and feel is a massive mistake. ALL.

 

[manolo]

Coffee Shop Analogy

Your site used to be like a little coffee shop for me. Like a library. A place where I could sit down in quiet and read at my pace. Enjoying the tidbits from around the world of cycling at my leisure.

This morning I thought of coming to your site and I felt like my television set had taken over the quiet of my library. In my mind you took a quiet little place you could enjoy at your leisure and turned it into a sports bar. You may have -although inadvertantly or not deliberately - ruined a beautiful web experience for many people. I think this was one of the last few "quiet" places on the internet. How horrible. I thought to myself, "Wow. I might as well head over to VeloNews, Universal Sports, Yahoo Eurosport. It's all the same now!"

And for the first time in years, I decided not to go to your front page first thing in the morning. I was literally disgusted. No offense meant. It was actually felt (the offense, that is) - by me. I was offended someone took my coffee shop away. B@st@rds! I mean that in the most respectful way - of course. But - I am mad.

It's amazing how possessive we (I) get! We (I) feel like the web site was "ours" and not "yours" to change without consulting us first!

 

[coldass]

Guys you are not listening. It's time you admit that the new design was a bad idea and bring back the old design or you will lose massive readership. We don't want you guys to get the new site working we want the old site back period

+100% this is what we are saying.

 

[lostintime]

I don't like the redesign folks, but like all things that are changed for changes sake, I guess we get used to it, or we leave.

I found the previous site much easier to navigate. This new one seems designed for someone who has Attention Deficit Disorder(no offense to those who do). But, that's what keeps the kiddies interested I suppose

Take the Tour de Suisse. Stage 4. I click on "Breschel wins from nine-man break". I see the results, but where is the link for the photos? There is no direct link to the photos of this stage on this page. A link would help under the "Stages"-"Stage report / results / overall standings" Tab.

Otherwise . . I don't know . . I'll have a beer and think about it.

 

[manolo]

I logged onto the CN site today for my daily fix of bike lore...

Felt like I'd just seen my dog run over by a truck...like I'd just had a dear friend die a grisly and painful death. I'm going through those stages of grief: shock and remorse. But I don't think I'll ever get to the place where I get over it.

Looking at the new, improved site has quite literally made me sick.

CyclingNews has been my #1 default setting for cycling news for years. I visit multiple times a day. What has set it apart from ALL the other sites has been its simple, easy-to-navigate, easy-on-the-eyes format.

Now all that is gone, swept away by a tsunami of bad taste and glitzy, flashy garbage. There really is no way to overstate this: you have just committed a very public act of commercial suicide.

Many others in this forum--some with extensive web design chops--have already enumerated the failings of the new site. I can't address the tech side of it, but will just note a few things others already have...

• Way too gaudy and flashy. Navigation is klunky. It's bad enough that your sponsors feel the need to have their banners blinking on and off and bopping around endlessly. Now you have to do it too? In the big, fat, middle of the page? Do you have any idea how irritating it is, when you're trying to read something, and all around the copy block, lights are flashing and photos are winking in and out of focus? Anyone who thinks this constitutes good design has a head full of rocks.

• Where did the Live Coverage go? Anytime I couldn't get TV or streaming video on a stage, following along in your live descriptions was the next best thing...great fun, and often full of little details that didn't make the final report on the stage.

• Whose bright idea is it to announce the winner in the title bar? See above item about enjoying the suspense of reading along in the Live Coverage.

• What happened to your contact address, where we could write you notes about your content? Just a week or so ago, I had a pleasant exchange of e-mails with one of your writers about some roads in the Giro. It was nice...like there are real people at CN whom we can talk to. Now? I looked everywhere on new site, and I didn't see a "Contact us" link anywhere. Don't you want to chat with your readers anymore?

Lots more gripes of the same sort, but others have already mentioned them. I'm just adding my 2 cents' worth in the hope that weight of public opinion will force a rethink on the part of the site managers. Not likely, I expect. They have a lot of time and energy invested in this change and won't want to admit they absolutely laid an egg.

Hey, as angry and frustrated as I am about this, I still feel some compassion for the folks who did this. Nobody likes to be told they failed after they worked hard on something. But, sadly, there really is no other way to spin this. It's just a complete disaster, from start to finish.

So beginning today, my search begins for a new site for racing news.

For whatever it's worth, my views on this come with some design sense behind them: I've been a commercial illustrator and graphic designer for over 30 years. I know good design when I see it...this is not good design.

I also write a monthly column about cycling at BikeCal.com called On The Road...

http://bikecal.com/index.asp

I know what my July column is going to be about now: the total destruction of my favorite bike site.

Bill Oetinger

Bill - beautiful writing! Thanks for taking the time to write this down. I agree with the sentiment exactly!

 

[manolo]

No full results? That is one of the worst decisions you could have made. Terrible. I was willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, but one of the main reasons I like your site is the information (even thought your start lists are notoriously wrong). If being more like VeloNews is your goal, you are on target. If not, I suggest making some tweaks.

Full results was one of the things I loved about this site: being able to see who was up in all the jerseys, what the difference in points was from day to day. It was beautiful. Please bring it back!

 

[coldass]

OK,

Not hearing us or listening FP and want to make this about the technology and blame it on bugs.

Stefan has made it clear the IT guys will win this. It is more important to satisfy the FP IT staff than the traditional CN readers. Only one thing to do.

RIP CN. I am gone. Last post here.

 

[stefan]

NOW MAKE THE PAGES LOOK LIKE THEY DID BEFORE - don't you get what people want?

You are completely entitled to disagree with how the site's been reshaped, but shouting is in my humble opinion unlikely to win anyone over.

 

[stefan]

OK,

Not hearing us or listening FP and want to make this about the technology and blame it on bugs.

Stefan has made it clear the IT guys will win this. It is more important to satisfy the FP IT staff than the traditional CN readers. Only one thing to do.

RIP CN. I am gone. Last post here.

Umm. "The IT guys"?

I must admit to being a bit lost what's being referred to here.

 

[Anonymous]

Umm. "The IT guys"?

I must admit to being a bit lost what's being referred to here.

I.T. information technology...

the work experience students that did the design work..

sorry.. thats a little cruel.. the ability is there, its just the implementation thats gone wrong..

 

[ukpaul]

I dont have anything new to say that hasnt already been said. I just want CN to know yet another avid reader is just dissapointed.

 

[stefan]

I.T. information technology...

the work experience students that did the design work..

Right! I'll tell them you called them that

 

[Anonymous]

this is NOT as it was before this is a ridiculous font, even more stupid line space but more imporantly 50% YES FIFTY PERCENT WHITE SPACE!! All because of ads and the stupid archive box that could have gone horizontally...

so stefan.. you think that looks good, user freindly and readable? or not readable, erm, easy to read

it actually reminds me of when you are at school and the teacher says write three pages and you can be bothered so you just right really really big and put in lots of gaps..

probably the most read page on the site each day.. and a mess..

 

[Rentakill]

You are completely entitled to disagree with how the site's been reshaped, but shouting is in my humble opinion unlikely to win anyone over.

Written (i.e. not spoken) like a true cybergeek that doesnt live in the real world. Mate, the majority of your readership does not live their lives in front of or working on computers, some even speak to (and get shouted at) by real humans and just want a simple, usable site. A lot of us actually speak to other humans regularly and realise that capital letters while in computer parlance might signify shouting, in the real world it kind of doesnt

I detect some very precious sensitivity in your posts rather than a simple "I got it wrong and I will fix it" type comment or sentiment.

Will give you some good old Aussie slang which if you understand it might give you an insight into what you have to do........

Pull your head in, cop it on the chin and get it bloody fixed. You stuffed up.

 

[Rentakill]

Umm. "The IT guys"?

I must admit to being a bit lost what's being referred to here.

Are you thick as two planks? Maybe you have your head so far up your own **** you dont realise that it means information technology which is an old fashioned term for all that computer stuff. I dont really understand any of it I just want to get my cycling info.