(Stacy Lynch)

I've spent a good bit of time over the last year listening to people talk about the Web sites they love and hate.  Two truths have been etched in my brain: "too much" is the kiss of death and "easy to use" is the Holy Grail.

There are three redesigns unveiled over the past few months that seem to me to hit the mark on mitigating this "too much" problem.  ESPN, The Financial Times and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution have all released new looks that to my eye deliver a better experience.  I have no insight into how these redesigns were done, and can't say what guided the decisions. Certainly some of the de-cluttering is related to creating better display for the advertising as well as content, as the New York Times noted in its piece on the ESPN revamp.

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Across all three, what I see are some real moves toward cutting down on the information overload for users.  Here are some common threads in the changes:

Significant reduction in the information density.  We see fewer stories, fewer links and fewer bits and boxes in each one of the redesigns.   I've heard it in my interviews: the more information crammed on a page, the less users say that they are able to find.  Particularly in areas where different kinds of information are mixed together (ads interspersed with editorial content, navigation items with "live" content) things seem to get lost in the shuffle.

Reduced categories and navigation complexity.  FT.com leads the charge on this one, converting from a vertical navigation bar with dozens of categories to just eight across the top.  Espn.com likewise reduces the number of options along its horizontal navigation bar.  Again, fewer options – while sacrificing specificity – seems more inviting to users.  From what I've observed among consumers, those categories seem more likely to be used to browse and explore subjects than to navigate to a specific piece of information.  When hunting for something very specific, search boxes seem to be preferred anyway.

Creation of a focal point on the page.  When describing overload, users complain that they "don't know where to look" and that they can't figure out what's really important.  All three redesigns attempt to create a "focal point" story to draw their attention.  The Financial Times does not use art as ESPN does, but there is no question which story is most important on the page. 

When I look at Web sites, I think the information overload problem reflects a lack of clarity about what's important to users and what's not.  Many news sites seem not to know what users want.  In response, it looks like they're offering as many stories and links as possible, just hoping that users will find something that they like.  I would argue that's the worst possible approach.  Web sites need to embrace the role of editor and making tough choices.

For my two cents, I think that web sites could go even further. 

Go further in creating interesting "focal points."  From what I observe, users want special, interesting content to stand out.  Strong photos and headlines go a long way to make a story seem appealing.  But don't try to make every story special or it blunts the impact.

Get rid of the bits and pieces tucked into the corners.  Especially at the top of the site, there seems to be the temptation to tuck housekeeping links and menus wherever there's a blank spot.  I would argue that these bits are basically useless and add to the visual clutter.  Also, if ads and navigation pieces are being interspersed with live news content, users seem to assume the worst and ignore it all.  So, don't fill every nook and cranny.

Shorten the pages, seriously.  I think Yahoo (see a visual history of that site's evolution here) and msn have it about right when it comes to how much scrolling users are likely to tolerate on a home page.  Perhaps other sites do it as part of a search engine optimization strategy but if they actually expect that content to be read, I think they haven't been  talking to users. 


Stacy Lynch is a research associate of the Media Management Center (MMC) and a consultant on innovation, understanding audience needs, research, and newspaper management. Previously, she was director of innovations and readership editor at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and research manager for the Readership Institute. She teaches frequently in MMC programs and recently developed  and a new MMC seminar: "Beyond Commodity: Customer-Focused Strategy for Digital Media." She is the author of two recent Media Management Center reports: What It Takes to Be a Web Favorite and How to Become Easy To Use.