I like the old layout. To me is cleaner more balanced and easier to read. Say the old one is more conventional or that we are more use to it but to me it is about balance and distribution. Also, in the new version there is no element really dominating the design and it plays with your attention not being as easy to see where to go.
- Status
Here's what I think about the new homepage: It's not bad. I think I could get used to it.
But I don't think I will. Because this site used to have some nice content and it hasn't for a while. Sure, the occasional article on power supplies and 2D window rendering are a unique draw -- but ever since videos featuring Ben Meyer, Rob Wright, and Tamara Krinsky disappeared, Tom's Hardware has gone downhill. I'll be visiting less often as I continue to be disappointed. That is all.
But I don't think I will. Because this site used to have some nice content and it hasn't for a while. Sure, the occasional article on power supplies and 2D window rendering are a unique draw -- but ever since videos featuring Ben Meyer, Rob Wright, and Tamara Krinsky disappeared, Tom's Hardware has gone downhill. I'll be visiting less often as I continue to be disappointed. That is all.
stalker7d7
Distinguished
- Jun 20, 2010
- 110
- 0
- 18,680
I like the old style/layout. The live feeds are cool tho. If you could implement the new stuff into the old layout I think many people would be happy.
Or, you could allow individual users to customize their own homepage layout? That would be a really cool feature to have.
Or, you could allow individual users to customize their own homepage layout? That would be a really cool feature to have.
clonazepam
Distinguished
- Jul 10, 2010
- 2,629
- 0
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I've looked at the new version a couple more times. I'd have to say the major issue I have is combining horizontal scrolling of articles mixed with a mostly vertical-oriented look. I'm so accustomed to processing the data in a vertical environment, that the horizontal aspect just throws me off. I could say that I'm conditioned to the vertical as its been the format for so long. However, I view many websites for the first time that don't throw me off at all and are easily digested, unlike Tom's new format. So it's hard to say definitively if its b/c I expect one thing or that that isn't an issue based on how I digest sites I'd never seen before.
Traildriver
Distinguished
- Sep 10, 2010
- 587
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- 19,160
Had both versions open for comparison. Agree with others, the font too thin and small on my 1920x1080 screen. Wanted to zoom it up a notch. 1st spot I check out is the Forum section and this is definitely where readability/info is lacking but love where it is located. "Twitter Feed" is bandwidth and time wasted as seriously, who will sit there for any period of time reading what goes by? I did like the new version's "Charts" grouping of links.
Prefer the older version as more info and headers available at a glance. No need to open links. Easier to view all the recent article titles. Definitely eye-catching topics on the old page. Latest Articles section is on the old page is better in that no scrolling required. Drop the image size a bit on the old page, add more links than presently displayed and you have a better setup.
Have seen some other sites change their layout and observing how they responded to their comments I doubt that any of ours will make a big difference. I think the new one is a done deal which is too bad since overall I prefer the more info layout of the old version.
Prefer the older version as more info and headers available at a glance. No need to open links. Easier to view all the recent article titles. Definitely eye-catching topics on the old page. Latest Articles section is on the old page is better in that no scrolling required. Drop the image size a bit on the old page, add more links than presently displayed and you have a better setup.
Have seen some other sites change their layout and observing how they responded to their comments I doubt that any of ours will make a big difference. I think the new one is a done deal which is too bad since overall I prefer the more info layout of the old version.
cyberstatic
Distinguished
- Oct 9, 2003
- 10
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- 18,510
I really prefer the old layout. It has the news front and center where the new version has it off to the side. It feels like the old design really presents you with more useful information in the same space.
chesteracorgi
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- Apr 11, 2011
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Flynn_Serlant
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- Aug 12, 2010
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Quick reference of specific points:
Good - I like the new titles of the sections (i.e. instead of "recent questions" having "forum live feed".
Neutral - the rearrangement of where the sections are located
Bad - not optimized for wide screen monitors, severe reduction of items on the old page (I miss the quick references to the latest graphics articles, SBMs, Linux Round-ups, etc).
Overall, I dislike the new page, but mostly because a lot of the previous content which I like having quick access to has been removed.
Good - I like the new titles of the sections (i.e. instead of "recent questions" having "forum live feed".
Neutral - the rearrangement of where the sections are located
Bad - not optimized for wide screen monitors, severe reduction of items on the old page (I miss the quick references to the latest graphics articles, SBMs, Linux Round-ups, etc).
Overall, I dislike the new page, but mostly because a lot of the previous content which I like having quick access to has been removed.
I like the fact it is SHORTER, and I don't need to scroll a lot, .... but does not impress me with nothing else
grossemesser
Distinguished
- May 7, 2009
- 75
- 0
- 18,640
It is the exact same... thing. I mean it has almost nos changes, the only thing you did was re arrange the things but didn't really make a change. If you want a good example of a great looks and a friendly way to display content and give Tom's a facelift then check out techspot.com I mean I love Tom's, because of the content, but as far as looks go you should consider "inspiration" in a page as good arranged and graphically superior as techspot.com
Oh and to make things clear:
I didn't like it at all
I think it is the SAME thing
And no, I am NOT propmoting other pages, but instead ask you to take that good example into account so you can be at the level
Oh and to make things clear:
I didn't like it at all
I think it is the SAME thing
And no, I am NOT propmoting other pages, but instead ask you to take that good example into account so you can be at the level
decembermouse
Distinguished
- Dec 1, 2009
- 70
- 2
- 18,635
It's the same exact thing as before, with a blander layout. The "Latest Articles" are in the middle and kind of look like ads unless you read them.
What you need to do is remove the 2 or 3 inches of Tom's Hardware logo from the top of the page, cause every time I visit the home page I have to scroll down a few inches in order to see the good stuff. We know the site is Tom's Hardware without the logo taking up half of our browser's viewing area.
I tend to visit the "Latest News" articles more than the "Featured Topics" or "Latest Articles" because they're interesting and quick to read. Sometimes though, too many are published at once so ones I haven't gotten a chance to read yet get pushed back to "page 2" of the "Latest News" and I forget and never read some of them. Give the "Latest News" section a more prominent amount of space, get rid of some of the huge Tom's logo, and efficiently place your Features and Latests somewhere where you can still see the associated picture for them.
Ok, with that said-- most tech news websites are guilty of having a massive logo to say what the site is called. At Fudzilla I have to literally Page Down to read anything (because their java scroller of recent articles doesn't usually work when you click on it and should be done away with), and Something Awful also doesn't show very much when you first get there because of the big logo. CNet does a little better, by having links at the very top of the page, it's just not usually stuff I care about. Take a look at their page. Anandtech's site is terrible. Get there and there's TONS of wasted space at the top of the page, and you have to Page Down if you want to see more than 3 article links.
I like the Tom's general layout but if you're really going for a redesign, focus less on how much you like the Tom's logo (people KNOW they're at Tom's, because they're geeks if they're reading the site) You don't have to bash readers over the head with a huge logo, frustrating viewers who then have to scroll down a bit to see anything interesting. Maybe a logo up on the top left but let the top 3 inches of the webpage actually be interesting links instead of wasted space we have to make an effort to scroll away from.
Make ads on the right side of the page instead of at the top. Popup ads when one first visits the site don't bother me, but once I'm AT the site I'd really like to see a well-thought-out, well-laid-out list of articles, features, news I can read from. I can't really find a good example because all tech news pages would rather fill the space with their logo than material readers are actually looking for...
TL;DR:
- Take a look at the new page, and get a ruler. Almost the entire top half the webpage has nothing worth clicking, on my 1366x768 laptop screen. Terrible space usage. Ok, maybe it's not entirely half, but at least a third of your webpage space is totally wasted on nothing but the Tom's logo and links I don't click on. If I want to see News, why hit the red "news" button when I can just scroll down? Put this series of red buttons elsewhere, lower on the page (or maybe in a discrete dropdown menu next to the small Tom's logo on the upper left of the screen), so you can actually put to use the top portion of the Tom's homepage with the content people came here to see.
- I like the News on the left, and the Features where you just put them, center/right.
- I can only see 1 Featured Topic without hitting Page Down.
What you need to do is remove the 2 or 3 inches of Tom's Hardware logo from the top of the page, cause every time I visit the home page I have to scroll down a few inches in order to see the good stuff. We know the site is Tom's Hardware without the logo taking up half of our browser's viewing area.
I tend to visit the "Latest News" articles more than the "Featured Topics" or "Latest Articles" because they're interesting and quick to read. Sometimes though, too many are published at once so ones I haven't gotten a chance to read yet get pushed back to "page 2" of the "Latest News" and I forget and never read some of them. Give the "Latest News" section a more prominent amount of space, get rid of some of the huge Tom's logo, and efficiently place your Features and Latests somewhere where you can still see the associated picture for them.
Ok, with that said-- most tech news websites are guilty of having a massive logo to say what the site is called. At Fudzilla I have to literally Page Down to read anything (because their java scroller of recent articles doesn't usually work when you click on it and should be done away with), and Something Awful also doesn't show very much when you first get there because of the big logo. CNet does a little better, by having links at the very top of the page, it's just not usually stuff I care about. Take a look at their page. Anandtech's site is terrible. Get there and there's TONS of wasted space at the top of the page, and you have to Page Down if you want to see more than 3 article links.
I like the Tom's general layout but if you're really going for a redesign, focus less on how much you like the Tom's logo (people KNOW they're at Tom's, because they're geeks if they're reading the site) You don't have to bash readers over the head with a huge logo, frustrating viewers who then have to scroll down a bit to see anything interesting. Maybe a logo up on the top left but let the top 3 inches of the webpage actually be interesting links instead of wasted space we have to make an effort to scroll away from.
Make ads on the right side of the page instead of at the top. Popup ads when one first visits the site don't bother me, but once I'm AT the site I'd really like to see a well-thought-out, well-laid-out list of articles, features, news I can read from. I can't really find a good example because all tech news pages would rather fill the space with their logo than material readers are actually looking for...
TL;DR:
- Take a look at the new page, and get a ruler. Almost the entire top half the webpage has nothing worth clicking, on my 1366x768 laptop screen. Terrible space usage. Ok, maybe it's not entirely half, but at least a third of your webpage space is totally wasted on nothing but the Tom's logo and links I don't click on. If I want to see News, why hit the red "news" button when I can just scroll down? Put this series of red buttons elsewhere, lower on the page (or maybe in a discrete dropdown menu next to the small Tom's logo on the upper left of the screen), so you can actually put to use the top portion of the Tom's homepage with the content people came here to see.
- I like the News on the left, and the Features where you just put them, center/right.
- I can only see 1 Featured Topic without hitting Page Down.
Pallimud
Distinguished
- Nov 30, 2010
- 520
- 0
- 19,060
I visit the homepage a few times a day or at the least daily only for the NEWS updates. I feel like pushing it to the left side minimizes its role on the website. I would do a study with analytics to see what people are clicking on most. If you find that News is getting more clicks (like how I use the homepage), then you need to make it more prominent.
Based on this, my first suggestion is to move News over so it isn't on the left and/or make it somehow more prominent. That is the most value added content that is changed often, so why is it mineralized and pushed aside? Also, give me more news at a glance like on the old homepage.
As for positive notes, I like that the homepage is condensed and not so long. I never scrolled down because the content below the fold seemed more static. I never understood why it had so much real estate when News had so little.
Back to the negative, content is more cluttered on the new homepage. You reduced the margins around the different content blocks, and this makes your new design actually look older. I feel like you guys need to modernize your design concept for the homepage, making it feel more spacey while including more relevant content.
I see a lot of companies not really understanding why people use their homepages, and this is why sometimes they don't get it right. These are the things to me that are why I visit Tom's Hardware's homepage:
1) Seeing the latest News
2) Seeing the latest articles
For News and Articles, make it so I get something at a glance, not just a small title and an image. This is the main reason why I come to the homepage (note I keep saying homepage and not site), so make it so it is obvious what is news and what is articles and give me something that helps catch my eyes. Title, image, abstract should be standard, and if no image, then the other two.
Twitter is just fluff, forums posts are not that important since forum uses go to the forum and see what is there. I'm not saying don't have them but just keep that in mind.
For the tl;dr, here is the summary:
1) New design doesn't look modern, more spacing needed since it was reduced from the old design
2) Promote news and new articles since that is the content that updates the most. Add in title, image, abstract (and date) and make it more visible .
3) Make sure you really understand why people go to your homepage and tailor towards that
Based on this, my first suggestion is to move News over so it isn't on the left and/or make it somehow more prominent. That is the most value added content that is changed often, so why is it mineralized and pushed aside? Also, give me more news at a glance like on the old homepage.
As for positive notes, I like that the homepage is condensed and not so long. I never scrolled down because the content below the fold seemed more static. I never understood why it had so much real estate when News had so little.
Back to the negative, content is more cluttered on the new homepage. You reduced the margins around the different content blocks, and this makes your new design actually look older. I feel like you guys need to modernize your design concept for the homepage, making it feel more spacey while including more relevant content.
I see a lot of companies not really understanding why people use their homepages, and this is why sometimes they don't get it right. These are the things to me that are why I visit Tom's Hardware's homepage:
1) Seeing the latest News
2) Seeing the latest articles
For News and Articles, make it so I get something at a glance, not just a small title and an image. This is the main reason why I come to the homepage (note I keep saying homepage and not site), so make it so it is obvious what is news and what is articles and give me something that helps catch my eyes. Title, image, abstract should be standard, and if no image, then the other two.
Twitter is just fluff, forums posts are not that important since forum uses go to the forum and see what is there. I'm not saying don't have them but just keep that in mind.
For the tl;dr, here is the summary:
1) New design doesn't look modern, more spacing needed since it was reduced from the old design
2) Promote news and new articles since that is the content that updates the most. Add in title, image, abstract (and date) and make it more visible .
3) Make sure you really understand why people go to your homepage and tailor towards that
I like the added features features (live feed / daily coupons) but the page looks VERY cluttered. Also, the most frequent feature of Tom's I used was the newsfeed - which has now been relegated to the left. I much preferred it front and centre. The old site layout, although unoriginal, was very neat.
ProDigit10
Distinguished
- Nov 19, 2010
- 585
- 1
- 18,980
eddieroolz
Splendid
- Sep 6, 2008
- 7,057
- 0
- 25,860
Personally I like the news articles in the centre. Having them on the left is very unusual for me...I am used to staring at the centre of the screen when I visit Tom's homepage.
The only other thing may be that the Twitter feed is constantly in motion and so may be distracting.
Otherwise, good.
The only other thing may be that the Twitter feed is constantly in motion and so may be distracting.
Otherwise, good.
mickey21
Distinguished
- Aug 20, 2008
- 205
- 0
- 18,710
The new new format is a step in the wrong direction... The non-beta current in use site was a step in the wrong direction in my opinion from the older site. Seems like this site just gets worse and worse every new version....
What I want to see...
Tech News (preferably not news that one of my other sites told me about two weeks ago - a theme Tom's has been doing for some time now but I guess revisits are nice sometimes)
Hardware Reviews and Roundups (The reviews have been hit or miss lately and I find myself not reading them much anymore, something I always came here for, cant put a tangible handle on it, but they arent really that good, or they dont call into question something I care about, and I care about a lot as a 25 year veteran to IT and technology)
Proper spelling, heck I dont always do a great job with my forum posts, but I am not asking everyone to read my work as a proper article/review. The grammar and spelling mistakes lately are epic and I often wonder if 10 year olds write this stuff, just feels unprofessional and drops it down a notch or two.
I hear the person talking about wide screen optimizations. You guys need to harden the heck up in my opinion. I hear what you say about developing the page to the wide majority, but I think you are wrong about the wide majority. So many people read your website day in and day out on widescreen resolutions and it is a bit sad we still cant have a better experience. I mean arent there mobile versions of sites for people who browse differently, cant there be a cookie preference or user oriented experience? I would think a tech site could figure that out! Why cant it be MY EXPERIENCE, and not the less than 1024x768 poor sap who doesnt have a clue or desire for more. Just give us choice, I dont see that as impossible.
Forum links would be nice, and not old ones either. Maybe even hot topic forum links separately. People want to engage in conversation and it needs to be up front and easy to see.
Ads, to be specific, less annoying ads. I know you have to pay the bills, I get this, but some of the ads really look like no one has given any thought to the reputation of the website. Some of the animated ads that are linked are just horribly annoying and make me want to block every single one of them. What benefit are you giving your ad supporters when they become a distraction to the site and likely blocked from their target audience? I was trying to find an example to post but dont actually want to see any of them again. Not saying there is a lot of wrong, but can be improved.
The new site makes me feel like I am missing something, due to the large amount of content that seems stripped away. But of course that only comes from seeing them both. If the content stripped is fluff, then so be it. Just at first glance, not sure what I am missing, maybe it was for the better. The old site was getting a bit long winded.
What I want to see...
Tech News (preferably not news that one of my other sites told me about two weeks ago - a theme Tom's has been doing for some time now but I guess revisits are nice sometimes)
Hardware Reviews and Roundups (The reviews have been hit or miss lately and I find myself not reading them much anymore, something I always came here for, cant put a tangible handle on it, but they arent really that good, or they dont call into question something I care about, and I care about a lot as a 25 year veteran to IT and technology)
Proper spelling, heck I dont always do a great job with my forum posts, but I am not asking everyone to read my work as a proper article/review. The grammar and spelling mistakes lately are epic and I often wonder if 10 year olds write this stuff, just feels unprofessional and drops it down a notch or two.
I hear the person talking about wide screen optimizations. You guys need to harden the heck up in my opinion. I hear what you say about developing the page to the wide majority, but I think you are wrong about the wide majority. So many people read your website day in and day out on widescreen resolutions and it is a bit sad we still cant have a better experience. I mean arent there mobile versions of sites for people who browse differently, cant there be a cookie preference or user oriented experience? I would think a tech site could figure that out! Why cant it be MY EXPERIENCE, and not the less than 1024x768 poor sap who doesnt have a clue or desire for more. Just give us choice, I dont see that as impossible.
Forum links would be nice, and not old ones either. Maybe even hot topic forum links separately. People want to engage in conversation and it needs to be up front and easy to see.
Ads, to be specific, less annoying ads. I know you have to pay the bills, I get this, but some of the ads really look like no one has given any thought to the reputation of the website. Some of the animated ads that are linked are just horribly annoying and make me want to block every single one of them. What benefit are you giving your ad supporters when they become a distraction to the site and likely blocked from their target audience? I was trying to find an example to post but dont actually want to see any of them again. Not saying there is a lot of wrong, but can be improved.
The new site makes me feel like I am missing something, due to the large amount of content that seems stripped away. But of course that only comes from seeing them both. If the content stripped is fluff, then so be it. Just at first glance, not sure what I am missing, maybe it was for the better. The old site was getting a bit long winded.
alyoshka
Splendid
- Oct 2, 2009
- 6,166
- 9
- 27,915
Ok, after looking at the usual frontpage of Toms for 2 years everyday, I think this new thing was a welcome change. But, since I am pretty used to the old simple look of Toms , I really don't think I liked the New layout.
If Toms is looking for a change, I'd suggest giving it the iGoogle type of customizable script.
I bet everyone here loves to be continuously in stride with tech
but the best way to go would be by giving us , the Members of Toms, the flexibility of swapping the places of the tables, that way each one can have what they want , where they want it and in the size they want it.
After 2 years of visiting this site daily , I have ended up just sticking to the RSS feed, I really don't know why, just for kicks maybe. But now, I'm back to check the page.
Mine is just a suggestion I guess most of us would love to be able to shuffle the contents all around as and when we please.
On the whole , I personally like the older version because of it's simplicity and mainly because of laziness of not wanting to realign my grey-cells for the new layout.
If Toms is looking for a change, I'd suggest giving it the iGoogle type of customizable script.
I bet everyone here loves to be continuously in stride with tech
but the best way to go would be by giving us , the Members of Toms, the flexibility of swapping the places of the tables, that way each one can have what they want , where they want it and in the size they want it.After 2 years of visiting this site daily , I have ended up just sticking to the RSS feed, I really don't know why, just for kicks maybe. But now, I'm back to check the page.
Mine is just a suggestion I guess most of us would love to be able to shuffle the contents all around as and when we please.
On the whole , I personally like the older version because of it's simplicity and mainly because of laziness of not wanting to realign my grey-cells for the new layout.
what am i supposed to be looking at? the front page is messy and confusing i recommend keeping the old stuff and maybe just change the color scheme or even better form it to be like the igoogle page and have each page per user how they want it then users can have what they want to know and where to look to find it.
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