I love when a brand puts their planned new site into “preview” mode and gives the public a chance to take it for a test drive. My start page is MSN. It has been for years. Recently though, I was leaning toward finding a new start page (probably my iGoogle Dashboard) because MSN had grown tired, chaotic, and an eyesore.
Well to my delight, this morning, when I fired up IE8, MSN presented me with a new version of MSN.com. It’s a huge improvement over the old version. We’re talking night and day differences here. Here’s the before/currnent MSN.com home page:
And here’s the new/planned/in-preview version of the MSN.com home page (if you click on the image you’ll see a higher resolution version):
The first thing that’s very clear is how much cleaner, simpler, and more organized the new site design is. The color palette and font choice make everything seem a little brighter and happier. Hell, even the butterfly in the upper left looks happier. The decision to use different colors for each content section (eg orange for news and pink for entertainment) was very smart. They carry out the color palette through the site. This should help people remember where they are without the need for a formal breadcrumb.
Overall, I love the new design. I only wish that you could choose to keep seeing the “preview” version instead of the old version. While sharing the preview version with the public is a nice way to gauge interest and behavior, not offering them the ability to use the new design seems like a big time miss.
What’s your take?
Head of Social Media at Walgreens. Interactive marketer, innovator, boat rocker, continuous learner, movie lover, risk taker, dad and all around good guy. I'm always up for a spirited conversation. These are my thoughts and ramblings, not those of my employer.
