Earlier today, Techcrunch reported that Yahoo has developed a new homepage, which is currently only visible to a handful of visitors, likely as the company evaluates engagement, conversions, and general reception to the redesign. The visual differences from the original homepage, which last saw an overhaul in February 2013, are highly evident. The new homepage highlights the different properties on the left-handside, especially highlighting the magazine offerings that Yahoo began rolling out at CES earlier this year. To this point, I think Yahoo has done a smart thing in showcasing the influencers it has nabbed for each of the property; these big names can help drive traffic to the relevant pages and hopefully increase pages/session.
The redesign does confuse me in terms of the two middle columns for current events/news. The second column on the page currently follows the traditional newsfeed format seen on the original Yahoo homepage. It's headline focused with a small image. To the right of this column are larger image ad formats that show other news stories. This feels inconsistent and a bit messy. However, this does allow both sponsored content pieces and display advertising to hold their real estate on the Yahoo page, which is likely why this format has been utilized. However, the design isn't visually appealing. I do find that a banner ad across the top of the page is missing, but this may be due to the screenviews Techcrunch has provided in the below source link. Otherwise, the advertising real estate in the new homepage and original homepage seem comparable.
Lastly, Yahoo has begun integration of Twitter into the homepage, which seems late to the game. Yahoo seems to struggle with how to integrate social media/user-generated content with its professional content, but this may be one big step in bridging the gap. Twitter is big source for breaking news and integrating it into a homepage makes sense, especially when the main news articles may not refresh with content as frequently as an up-to-date Twitter stream.
Only time will tell what homepage experience Yahoo ultimately goes with and the success it can bring in increased user engagement and the subsequent impact on advertising revenue.
Source: http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/01/yahoo-tests-a-new-homepage-highlighting-magazines-talent-and-twitter/
The redesign does confuse me in terms of the two middle columns for current events/news. The second column on the page currently follows the traditional newsfeed format seen on the original Yahoo homepage. It's headline focused with a small image. To the right of this column are larger image ad formats that show other news stories. This feels inconsistent and a bit messy. However, this does allow both sponsored content pieces and display advertising to hold their real estate on the Yahoo page, which is likely why this format has been utilized. However, the design isn't visually appealing. I do find that a banner ad across the top of the page is missing, but this may be due to the screenviews Techcrunch has provided in the below source link. Otherwise, the advertising real estate in the new homepage and original homepage seem comparable.
Lastly, Yahoo has begun integration of Twitter into the homepage, which seems late to the game. Yahoo seems to struggle with how to integrate social media/user-generated content with its professional content, but this may be one big step in bridging the gap. Twitter is big source for breaking news and integrating it into a homepage makes sense, especially when the main news articles may not refresh with content as frequently as an up-to-date Twitter stream.
Only time will tell what homepage experience Yahoo ultimately goes with and the success it can bring in increased user engagement and the subsequent impact on advertising revenue.
Source: http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/01/yahoo-tests-a-new-homepage-highlighting-magazines-talent-and-twitter/
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