In case you have not notice, we’ve been making changes since the weekend. This is phase two of the effort begun last September to upgrade the site to more current software, build in new features, redesign the look and feel and otherwise update and improve the site.
What may not be entirely is obvious to most is that the primary purpose is to place more access to news, information and content one click-away from the “above the fold” section of the home page — the part you can see when you open the site in your browser. Some folks like it, some do not but the overall experience of the site will improve with faster load times by moving readers off the home page and into the content so site usage is more balanced.
As a result, there is increased use of tabs, blocks, drop down menus and “nav bars” or sets of links in a row to help readers navigate the site.
A major change will be the increased use of the tabs at the top of the home page which will feature a Lead Story, a list of the 10 most recent Headlines, an Op-Ed Article, links Elsewhere on the Web (almost entirely about New Rochelle in some way) and, for now, our 2011 Readership Survey.
An equally large change is blocking out space on the home page for advertisements as part of our six month long effort to put Talk of the Sound on a “going concern” basis. We will soon be out selling locally advertising to New Rochelle businesses which includes the Header Ad at the top of the home page, a Calendar sponsorship, a Newsletter sponsorship and a series of block ads in the left and center column.
This is the final phase of this process so please pardon our appearance as we finish up this week.