Design To Improve Navigation

Another study looking at mobile news websites shows how design can affect perceived effectiveness of navigation and labeling in a user’s experience with news websites. A 2015 study recommends that designers use a thumbnail style layout for the home page. It shows that this type of layout “allows quick recognition of the content in an article without reading a text-based title.” The “finding suggests that a simple and straightforward home page design for news sites makes it easy to learn.”

 

It also showed that users preferred “simpler more intuitive interfaces” like single-page or multi-page designs and that indeed out of the 14 news mobile sites the study looked at all of them had at least a single-page design in which users scroll through to explore the page. It also showed users of mobile news websites perceive list-view style layouts to be more user friendly than other layouts and are just as easy to use as the thumbnail style.

Basic News Website Designs That Work

Research shows that there are certain design elements that help aid the user’s satisfaction with the quality of experience interacting with the news website.

Above The Fold

Traditional newspaper design included the functional process of folding the paper in half to present in the newsstand window. The term “above the fold” referred to the area above the crease in the paper that was visible through the newsstand window. This term still exists for headline and top story designers on news websites. The term now applies to the first view of the news website that appears in the user’s browser or mobile device window.  It is the prime space used for breaking news headlines and feature graphics, meaning to lure the user into reading articles and exploring the site for more content.

A 2016 study analyzing a wide variety of online news outlets, found “the most prominent articles were those located ‘above the fold’ of the home page in the upper left portion of the page that could be found without scrolling.”  A 2016 usability study of cnn.com shows users looked “above the fold” to find the latest posted news headlines for articles they were looking to find.

Design Based On Content Type

The type of news information being presenting should be considered for the type of design being used. A 2016 study shows users of news websites remembered more facts “after using a scroll-through site but gained a more comprehensive understanding of the content after using the click-through site.” They show that this means that “a journalist whose primary focus is to provide content that requires deep understanding” like a complex political issue; it is better to present that content on “a nonlinear, multi-page website.” Conversely reporting factual content like sports scores, weather, or stocks “should present that information on a linear, single page website. This study shows the importance of navigation and in particular labeling to the goals of journalistic efforts.

 

Feature stories are often presented on their own page or subsite that offers a more interactive experience for the user and can include animated or interactive graphics about the story.

Mobile Version Or Responsive Websites

As previously discussed more users are accessing news websites online and through mobile devices. In a 2013 study, Hannah Gascho Rempel and Lauri through the study of a library website found that many mobile apps did not have the content that was on the website and tasks were unable to be completed by mobile. The full website had to then be accessed if possible. The article suggests using responsive design as a way to avoid the problems with a mobile app.

 

The study explained in the article “The Presence and Use of Interactive Features on News Websites" found almost all of the websites studied had mobile versions or responsive websites. The study found designs of news websites are becoming more similar and “there were slightly more differences based on the target of the news outlet than based on the medium (newspaper, tv) of the outlet.

Home Page Design Elements

In “Will They Come and Will They Stay? Online Social Networks and News Consumption on External Websites”, the researchers find that “the type of navigation” consumed on a news website “differs significantly across users.” They identify two types of navigational modes as explorative and directed browsing modes. Their data confirms this pattern: “visits without home page views are on average shallower than visits with home page views with a significant 12-page difference, confirming directed vs explorative patterns.”

Design To Improve Readability

Users of news websites are attempting to gather information and making the website easy to read is important to overall usability of the site. When considering what fonts to use, remember that there will be users of the website which may have visual impairments or other reading issues like dyslexia.

 

One 2013 study looked at what fonts increase the readability for dyslexic users, which according to the study are about 10% of the population. The study concluded for people with dyslexia are Helvetica, Courier, Arial, Verdana, and CMU. It also showed sans-serif, monospaced, and roman font types increased reading performance, while italic fonts decreased reading performance. It showed that designers should avoid Arial Italic because the study showed it significantly decreased readability.

News Websites: Designs That Work

News Websites: Designs That Work

News Websites: Designs That Work

News Websites:

Designs That Work