New site design

[roadfreak44]

better?

The bew websire design is an utter disappointment...the old design had more variation in it and was easier to navigate through...the new design seems to be visually mor ehogenized and less distinctive,...did the the bloke that came upo with this idea actually get paid for it ???

 

[pedrospeeps]

PR firm Odd

I do find your idea of hiring a PR firm odd. I have done what I can to respond to any sensible suggestion, been honest in telling you the things that we cannot change up front, pushed for changes based off feedback and updated the readers via this forum as those changes happen. Yet, you'd rather us hire a PR company to manage perception - which, lets be honest, is all they do (now a good time to say hi to all my PR friends?) - by feeding you a bunch of waffle?

Dear Greg

I read your post and it left me feeling that these guys really are not getting it. I think you are Ok but you have been given a job way above what you should be doing. The good Doc should be kept behind doors in a clean room. You have a PR nightmare and you are not helping, there there we are, it is of your making. Saying this was a clean sheet of paper is one example of a PR blunder, didn't he the belly laugh around the world like a Mexican wave.

I started on the forum because there was not a contact info at the bottom of the site. Did you guys want this forum to air the mess in public. Not having contact info is fundamental to a website and should have been the first thing on your clean sheet, give me a break.

Thanks for all your help, but it is not really helping, I think we all understand your position, at sometime we have all been wage slaves, luck I got out and became my own man.

Good luck without that help.

Kr

Peter

 

[ciclismo]

Abysmal new layout

I agree with others that the new layout leaves much to be desired. Navigating now is very difficult. Where is the "contact us" link? I had to register for the forum to make contact. Maybe we will get used to it.

 

[titan_90]

Crikey, I'm happy to clear up any comments you feel might be a contradiction from our staff. Unfortunately the theory about BikeRadar and Cyclingnews isn't correct - while they share some similarities visually at the front end, Cyclingnews was built from a clean sheet of paper, so to speak. BR has no results/race engine to begin with, doesn't publish editions of news etc. - so CN is a from scratch job. Even the back ends of both websites are completely different.

This is such BS a three year-old can see how similar they are.

You also mentioned naming dates for changes - this is something we will not be doing. We're working through each issue one at a time, ensuring we get them done as fast as possible but equally ensuring all the elements are there before it goes live. For instance the revised race sections aren't up yet as I asked for them to have the same level of detail as the old website before we roll it across.

People have limited patience, which means you have a limited time to make the changes your readers want.

Oh, and thanks for your kind words in a later post. Good to know there's one less garden stake with my name on it out there

You have been the most professional replying to the feedback and I appreciate that and thank you, but other haven't. Unfortunately you have been put in a position which you have to take a lot of abuse.

When I have an answer.


This has previously been addressed - but I understand if you've decided not to read the 83 pages of comments here or various other threads. The intent is to have all the same race section content as the previous website - we've got some technical issues with things like maps, while we're still perfecting the startlist/race results engine. It shouldn't be too long before these are running.

This should have been included when the redesign went live.

Some of the decisions made aren't popular, I get that, but we've called a spade a spade, told you what we can do based off the feedback and you've already seen changes - and will continue to over coming weeks - based on that.

No matter how many times you want to say this, THE ISSUE is SPOILERS. Your readers are giving you feedback you are just choosing to ignore it. The lack of spoilers was the main feature that made the old site so popular you didn't ruin the drama for people. Now you are no different from any another site. At least I can go to other sites and have the drama ruined for me without having to deal with technical problems. The decision you are holding firm to is going to be what kills the site remember we all warned you.

 

[mondyjr]

New Site

I like the layout of the new site. Easy to navigate. Would be great if there was a mobile version where I could get the information on my blackberry quickly and without scrolling halfway down the page to get to what I want to read.

Keep up the great work though!

 

[Bala Verde]

Hi Greg,

I was wondering (again, don't know if someone posted it already) if the "tech layout" is going to resemble the old design a little more. The problem is, that if I want to see an overview of all the 'reviewed pro bikes' in a season, let's say all of the ones in 2009, I have no idea how I can find them in one neat list.

I now see a 'pro bike feautures' list, containing 5 of the latest reviews, but how do I get an overview of all of them done in 2009?

(It could be that I haven't figured out how to navigate there... but then, enlighten me

PRO BIKES and INDEXING OLD SITE

PRO BIKES NEW SITE

cheers

PS> it would be a nice addition to have the 'titles' of the specs in bold. Instead of seeing (Cancellara's TT bike)

Front tyre: Veloflex tubular

Front tyre: Veloflex tubular

 

[duusen]

Hello cyclingfriends!

I must say that I agree to all those who has been very critical to the new webside. During many years I have been a true reader of the best cycling-webside in the World (I believe). But now it has become impossible for me to find simple information e.x. about the stages profile (Tour de Suisse) and many things are very complicated to get an overlook of. To thedirectors: Please do something about it fast - and give us - all the dedicated readers an explanation about what you think about all the bad feelings arond the new design and register.

I hope You can make it better soon.

 

[Alaska]

I am baffled about the redesign. It has fixed problems that were not broken, and reduced the usefulness of the site. I liked to go on and read live reports or look at stage maps without knowing the results of the race, and then skip from "Next result" to "Next result" with ease. That is no longer possible.
Previously, for a stage race, all topics were available in one spot on the left side of the page. I could go straight to what I wanted. Now I have to hop around in a very confusing manner. Sure, the style looks slick. But in this case, it's a example of style triumphing over substance. Please go back to the previous format.

 

[tommynoel]

New''improved''web-site.

What have you done to my favourite web-site?There is nothing to like about the new architecture.Especially annoying are the tiny pics. and text.The old format worked very well;the new stuff is rubbish, very disappointing indeed.

 

[rayjay]

change for the worse?

I can not believe it. Cycling News has been my favorite web site for many years. I have recommended it to everyone I know who rides. Now I am tired of trying to use it. What in the heck is this all about?

 

[rayjay]

change for the worse?

I can not remember when I first found cyclingnews.com. I am guessing it was 10 years ago?? Whenever it was, exactly, does not matter. What matters is that I did not ever have to "learn" to use it. Why should this or any other web site be so complicated that users are required to "learn" the darn thing?

I did not have to "learn" the original, and I used it thousands of times over the years. Maybe tens of thousands of times. Without once ever having to stop and "learn" "how" to use it.

I just can not believe it. I have been trying for the last week or so, but I may give up. I do not come here gladly, now. I have only been coming here to "try" to "get it", but I am losing interest.

I have had worse losses than this in my life, but I am not happy about losing cyclingnews.com.

 

[titan_90]

A funny comment from Podium Cafe:

"OK, they destroyed their archives this week, or at least made them impossible to find. I swear, their content loss in the changeover is reminiscent of Chicago after the Great Fire."

 

[Bala Verde]

A funny comment from Podium Cafe:

"OK, they destroyed their archives this week, or at least made them impossible to find. I swear, their content loss in the changeover is reminiscent of Chicago after the Great Fire."

Have you tried this already?

OLD SITE

 

[titan_90]

Have you tried this already?

OLD SITE

Sorry, I didn't say what context this comment was written in. They were talking about the Tour de Suisse race Preview.

 

[The Barron]

Yikes! Bring Back the Original Format.

The Races & Results section is way too difficult to locate what you want F-A-S-T.

Use better separators to make the different section stand out.

Best Bet - just put up the previous version of the website!

The Barron

 

[wallisrw]

stage route details

I am upset because I can't find stage route details , maps, or profiles. This is one item that I want on the website.

If this info is on the site, where is it?

 

[easytiger]

Sorry for sounding like a broken record!

... if it ain't broke don't fix it!

I have been reading cyclingnews.com for about 8 years maybe longer, and have seen the various changes in format and management, some good, some not so good, but this really takes the cake. I profess to being a bit of a retro-grouch, and slightly techno-phobic, only because I view change to be for a reason, not for change sake.

Daniel Benson (ed) says the reason for the site changes is for advertising revenue, but seeing that everybody is voting with their feet (ie. running away at warp speed), I think he has dropped the ball on this on. Probably the remaining traffic on this site is to complain about it!

Stand up Daniel, say you stuffed up, go back to the last version of the site, and try to get back all the readers you have lost and are about to lose. I for one find the site quite visually disturbing, and extremely hard to navigate, not to mention the spoilers. Doing this just before le Tour is probably one of the most misguided things you could have done.

 

[bobber12]

Website

This may not be the correct area but... this new website stinks - super extremely slow, takes along time to navigate, never had this problem before, website hangs, meaning it takes forever to see a response, I usually go to a different website instead of waiting, which I have done, usually for a few minutes!!!!!! Not due to my computer or my graphics card, which are high quality.

 

[blandy62]

I have been reading this website fro more than 10 years now. I have always enjoys it very much because it was easy to read, the results were presented in a very easy manner... I am really socked with the new design, this is really a huge step backwords. i know that it always take time to get used to a new website. Howevere the problem in this case, is that everything has become messy and difficult to reda. I really hope that an updatred version will be realised soon to improved this poorly design website

 

[eyemgh]

I'm gone...

I check daily to see if the spoilers are gone and then click around the forum to commiserate with other p*ssed long term CN fans. All that does is add clicks for CN and continue to make me mad.

So, today is my last day until after the tour. I'll check again after that and if the spoilers are still up, I'll be gone forever.

It is sad because this has been a part of my daily routine for over 10 years.

Oh well, nothing lasts forever.

So long.

M

 

[lucybears]

a quote from over the pond

"they destroyed their archives this week, or at least made them impossible to find. I swear, their content loss in the changeover is reminiscent of Chicago after the Great Fire."

BUT that is not a judgement on the layout and usability of the new site.

 

[Cant Climb]

The new site = train wreck..

 

[lucybears]

last stage of Tour de Suisse today

GO Chris Luxton of the Savings & Loans Cycling Team
http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/73rd-tour-de-suisse-2009-upt/start-list

Dear CN, will he be on your startlist for the Tour de France also ?

 

[yyzzguy]

Cyclingnews has been my favorite site bar none for the last couple of years, basically since I discovered it. I've been comparing the old site (http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/) with the new one, trying to specifically pin down why the redesign doesn't work for me and here are a few comments.

- What is with the sunflower frames on the sides on the home page? I have the latest version of Firefox (3.0.11), and yet it looks like the page isn't displaying properly. My eyes keep jumping from one side to the other.

- Purple text is annoying. Not quite as bad as the white text on black background at Versus, but annoying nonetheless.

- Speaking of annoying, the Flash carousel at the top of the page needs to go. I'm not a five-year old with Attention Deficit Disorder. I'm sure on paper it seemed like a cool idea to have the flashing picture match up with the story to the left, but it's giving me a headache. At the very least, change the frequency at which the picture switches from every 3 seconds to 20 or 30.

- I sure hope you have the Stage profiles up by the time the TDF starts. The Tour de Swiss is one of the biggest stage races of the year, and yet there have been no stage profiles available for it!

- Under "News Editions Last updated", the text all runs together and is hard to read. Why is everything underlined? Every single word does not need to be a hyperlink. I suppose the idea is that the user can click on only the story that they want to read, but it's visually confusing to try and scan through it all.

- When you click on a "First Edition Cycling News" header link and get taken to that page, the text column is too narrow. Too much scrolling has to be done. On the old site, the column was wider and easier to read with less scrolling. There were also links in the stories to related articles that aren't there now. Are they coming back?

- As has been mentioned by more than a few people, get rid of the spoilers. Seriously. Listen to your customers on this.

 

[laziali]

Thanks to those who posted links to the old (now archived) site. I have to say I felt a wave of relief and pleasure wash through me as I opened up the old site. Illusory, I know, but that's some powerful emotion, and hence buying power.

Have just found a potential replacement to the new CN - http://www.pezcyclingnews.com . Of course, I live in hope CN editors will listen to the veritable barrage of negative feedback, but have to say I am feeling a little less gutted now knowing the Pez may offer an alternative.

EDITORS - BRING BACK THE OLD SITE NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!