I’ve been wrestling with how to make improvements to WUWT for a few months, considering different options such as trying out the WordPress Enterprise that I was invited into last year (which didn’t really pay for itself as many of the options didn’t work as advertised), and looking at different themes. With a website that is working well, it is always a risk making improvements because sometimes “improvements” have unintended consequences.
But, learning from our users, I’ve decided to make a small change, which is entirely reversible; here it is.
What I’ve learned from readers, both in watching the comment flow and in reading emails is that due to the volume of topics covered at WUWT, with typically 6-8 stories a day, is that some popular stories that are still active with debate, often disappear from the front page quickly.
This has to do with screen real estate. As you know, we like to make big graphs and images here in essays, such as some of the splendid graphs Willis Eschenbach produces. I’ve always felt that these large format graphics help people understand the concepts better., But they often hog the front page if they are part of the story introduction.
So I’ve come up with what I think is a good compromise that will keep interesting stories on the front page longer (where people can find them) before they scroll off the page. It will also help WUWT load faster overall.
I’m going to a capsule format on the front page. This means small sample graphics coupled with a short introduction paragraph. It gives the reader a quick overview, and if they are interested, they click through, if not, they scroll past to see other stories.
Here is a before and after view of the front page of WUWT. The numbers represent stories:
As you can see, with the new encapsulated format, I’ve been able to effectively double the number of stories in the same column space, going from about 2.5 stories visible before (story 3 is cutoff) to 5 stories afterwards.
Because of that, I’ve also been able to increase the number of stories loaded on the front page from about 15 to 25 or more before the “load more” button appears.
This change should also improve the experience for people reading WUWT on phones and tablets where a lot of scrolling was previously required to navigate the front page.
For guest authors, please note this new format. Try to make a short introductory paragraph followed by the body of your post. I’ll handle adding appropriate thumbnails where I can, drawing either from the article or our stock of clip art and previously used but relevant images.
[Added: And, there’s a new header and a slight font tweak too. If you need the font to be bigger, press CTRL+ Mouse Control Wheel forward/backwards to change size. Ctrl-Zero resets.]
While I know change isn’t always welcome, I hope this one will be an improvement for everyone.
And for those of you that don’t have a Twitter account yet, get one.
It is the easiest and most effective way to speak directly to many of the people we cover in stories and ask them questions. WUWT has reached over ten thousand followers now, and I welcome you to take part in this. https://twitter.com/wattsupwiththat
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You are to be commended for avoiding complacency – you just keep getting better!
I like it. Less appearance of alleged stridency.
New WUWT format is good.
Twitter is bad.
Jo Nova comment layout is best.
I use Feedly. I like it. Please don’t mess it up. I know you don’t intend to, but… stuff happens.
Make it so!
Best improvement would be threaded comments. But not using that groteque Disque platform!
Matt Drudge deleted ALL but one of his twitter tweets except one:
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/05/18/matt-drudge-just-deleted-all-his-tweets-except-one/
Seemed coincidental.
My wish would be to have URL’s included in comments open in a NEW window. Oh, that would be so much nicer ! Perhaps you have no control, sigh …
Looks fine from here. The new format is basically a tidied-up version of the old, and just formalises the “scan first paragraph – click through or not” approach many of us used anyhow. However, I shall not be Twittering anytine soon (like, this lifetime).
I was afraid I’d dislike the new format, but I’m happy I was wrong. The new, shorter intro blurbs are a definite plus in my book.
The danger here would seem to be that, with shorter intros to posts, people who were getting pulled in and reading posts before will skip over now. Seems that this should be easy to monitor: “continue reading” clicks in the old format vs. the new.
@Alec, yes it is a balancing act. The real test will be to see if Alexa notes the number of page views has increased by the ratio of visitors to views.
.
We do pretty well right now.
But now we are headed to summer, typically a slower time, so we’ll see how it plays out. I’m sure my Internet stalker Miriam O’Brien aka “Sou” will be hot on the case 😉
There is a natural impulse to want to ‘put/see everything’ on one page. That’s why newspapers are so big they can be used for DIY wallpaper.
Both the website provider and the visitor are subject to this phenomenon … even when it is grossly contrary to both their interests. (Early newspapers also sought to print everything on just one side of the sheet, to spare readers the trauma of turning it over.) We resort to/accept pagination and assorted navigational strategies, only when ‘absolutely necessary’. (This is one of the secrets to the success of WordPress … its navigational structure (and data tables) are kept extremely rudimentary.)
The essential core concept of HTML and the Web, is “the link” – for structure, and navigation. We should be, are supposed to be, navigating a lot – to exploit the theoretically infinite link-space. Translating this concept into systems that humans find agreeable has proven tougher than expected. (Many real such system-examples come with some degree of ‘learning curve’, etc.) (Indeed, “database programming” (ie, linkage-strategies on serious drugs) remains and always has been the bread-and-butter of career programmers, because the necessary knowledge & learning curve of the system that manages the data (‘content’, in the case of CMS like WP, Drupal, etc) rapidly becomes a sheer vertical edifice, requirement technical climbing aids and deep commitment.)
A couple-few years ago, I was arriving at the point where social opprobrium would soon ‘require’ that I ‘break down’ and accept a basic inventory of ‘social media’ (Facebook, Twitter). From my point of view, “fortunately”, the nefarious inner soul of these enterprises then began to ooze out publicly … and today when I report having never subscribed, folks’ reaction is often wistful envy.
Worse, in terms of providers reaching for/selecting social media solutions; they are breeding like rabbits and each new round of users entering Middle School, High School and College demands their own unique set of products, and views former standard products as old-hat & gauche.
Deployment of JavaScript has become outlandish beyond the pale. It is normal now for the script-files to outweigh the graphics-files, even on lavishly-visual sites (a megabyte of script-rubbish is nothing). There is a crisis bearing down on us here. “NoScript” (what it sounds like) is now the browser utility plugin second in popularity only behind “Adblock”. Visitors have long since choked on the JavaScript-driven 3-ring-circus that is many a website … providers for their part often have no inkling of the code-horror that is entrained in the solutions & tools they’ve chosen.
When I load this page, the body of the Post is 4 screens long. The comments are then 63 screen-pages long (@ur momisugly 138 comments). It is not uncommon here at WUWT, for single posts to exceed 100 screen-pages, simply due to the comments. We become inured to it, but it’s not good; to newcomers, it’s daunting … ‘meaningless’, actually.
Judith Curry has it even worse. She’ll get twice as many comments, and the average length of each may be several times what we see on WUWT. A single high-interest Post-page on her site could be the better part of 1,000 screen-pages long. Oh my. Again, really-and-truly, we are facing a crisis here.
But … the Internet is the greatest adventure and the most fabulous treasure of modern times. It’s just that like with Freedom, there is indeed a price … and at times it can seem awfully steep.
Congratulations, Anthony Watts, on a hugely successful & fundamentally important Internet presence … and on the willingness to spend months poring over its problems & issues, and studying the potential solutions. An impressive & inspirational project.
Ted Clayton
Yes, do it. Lets you quickly decide what to look at, keeps more good stuff on the front page.
I’m not sure about the new format.
Every time I click to go to the full post then read it and return I’m sent back to the VERY first post. This requires much scrolling to get to the next post in the que.
VERY FRUSTRATING!!
@TennDon:
I do understand your end goal
When clicking, try holding CONTROL
This leaves the old page
Opens up a new stage
When you close that, you’re back on your roll
===|==============/ Keith DeHavelle
(1) Strong like for the new format & glad to see you’re planning for the future. This site will become even busier as the CAGW fraud publicly unwinds.
(2) Strong dislike for Twitter.
Very interesting. Let’s see if you got rid of that annoying “enter your comment here” when writing a blog. Oops, no, sorry, it is still there. Tell these idiots you don’t want anything to interfere with your clients writing to you. Arno
What Joanne Nova did but it did affect me regarding how much I go to her site, was she didn’t email to everyone anymore. Subsequently if you want to read the latest, you just Goggle Jo Nova. Personally I rarely do now. But Tory Aardvark in UK, he has a list of titles on the side of his site, once you click on the particular comment to ‘read more’. Some have been going since 2011.
Now that I’ve test-driven this for a few days, seems clearer and much better arranged, ie. page view.
– like it.
Like the top 4 story section at the top. Good concept that.
Any chance the RSS feed matching the home page? First paragraph and thumbnail.
Right now the text is truncated and there are three images.
I couldn’t locate my comments, maybe I didn’t comment on those four threads?
Anthony,
As a suggestion…
The opening page is dominated by the WUWT banner.
It wasn’t as imposing in the past but it takes up quite a bit of real estate on your main page.
IMO… WUWT is in itself, a recognizable brand and though beautiful and awe inspiring, the earth-shot, especially the size of it, is out of proportion with the new format.
IMO and no offense intended, as you know, I love your site.
New layout is good. I like the new banner but I miss the old one which I really liked!
I forgot to say that I still do not wish to twit…
have waited some days before commenting in order to try out the new format.
definitely an improvement. what a lot of work must go into keeping this site working in such a professional manner, anthony & co. you are all to be congratulated.