After more than a year in production this Wednesday (Dec 20) Anglican Media will be proudly delivering its Christmas present to the Diocese - the first total revision of Australia’s leading Christian news site since its launch in 2004.
Your.sydneyanglicans.net version 2 is a comprehensive upgrade that focuses on delivering the award-winning content you have come to expect in a highly streamlined way.
The most obvious development is the elimination of the site’s sub-pages, allowing for all articles, pictures, MP3s and conversations to be accessed directly from the home page.
Among other new features, Anglican Media will be introducing a new style of weekly news feature aimed at stimulating debate on a range of key issues throughout the year.
Favourites like ‘Around the Web’ have been bundled into a new ‘Breaking News’ sliding pane that will allow users to access key web articles without having to scroll the length of the home page.
Your.sydneyanglicans.net version 2 also includes a new ‘Favourites’ feature that lets you know what other site users are reading, as well as a ‘Vault’ section that neatly serves up the best articles from past months.
There will be several updates to version 2 in the new year which will include helpful features like a desk-top widget letting you know the latest articles as well as weather conditions for your favourite city, and new digital audio magazine bringing together the best news, reviews and interviews for your portable MP3 player.
What to expect on Wednesday
On Wednesday December 20 users can experience some down time with the website as the process of updating the server and implementing the new design takes place.
All things considered, the site should be stable at the end of the day, but the adjustment of some minor features may continue through Thursday December 21.
User-driven features
Your.sydneyanglicans.net version 2.0 is fundamentally a ‘realign’ rather than a redesign of the site.
The first sydneyanglicans.net design was a completely new look for the site, and quite a different direction from the previous anglicanmedia.com.au site.
However it was part of a transitional process where we were trying new things, and still carrying some old things.
Over the months since the site launched in October 2004, we've been able to learn what is and isn't used throughout the site, about how users navigate large sites from research reports, and our own analysis of time and resources.
Essentially this meant coming to a deeper understanding of our strengths and weaknesses, and addressing them appropriately in light of the research.
Fundamentally, this new design reflects the way you use the site, making the most of the features you use
What you will first notice on the site:
- More effective use of space
- Drop down navigation on top and ‘navigation map’ on the bottom of every page
- Every page is a ‘contents’ page
- ‘Print friendly’ feature
- ‘Tell a friend’ form
- New home page features
- Random content "from the vault'
- Popular stories
- Feature article with room for your input
- Opinion writers collected together in one place
- Classifieds and position vacant in an easily spotted position
Web 2 thinking produces Your.sydneyanglicans.net 2
We've learnt a lot not only from our web stats, but also from the excellent writing at UIE - particularly their informative Brain Sparks blog - see Is Home Page Design Relevant Anymore?and Prioritizing Design Time: A Long Tail Approach for instance.
One of the most significant things we've learnt about web design in recent times comes from UIE's Designing for Scent report. The UIE guys offer a lot of practical, sensible, and most importantly, well researched info that offers some excellent insights into the way users go about navigating and finding info on web sites.
Please be patient when we are updating the website. We would love to hear your opinion about the new look and functionality!
We hope that the community forum will work as usual through most of the process.
