The New ESPN.com (1 Viewer)

[Jack White]

Do you like it?

I like the dark type on white background. It's easy to read.

I'm not sure about the new blog-style layout.

 

[TheAristocrat]

Hate the blog layout. I don't care much about what the twits on Twitter have to say. How about just the news?

I need a new sports news website.

 

[GregR]

My biggest complaint was there wasn't any Top Headlines section. Then I viewed it on my desktop and noticed it shows up if you make your browser really wide.

I like the favorites thing on the left. Don't want the twitter feed at all. Want the banners across the top to not take up so much damn room when not on a mobile device. Especially when it's using the space for sports I don't care about... if I'm on the NFL page and there aren't NFL games to show, then remove the damn thing.

I also don't like the pure white of the page background everywhere. Some darker backgrounds in some places would be nice, helps the eye distinguish the jumble of stories when they show up in multiple columns.

 

[Swing 51]

I also don't like the pure white of the page background everywhere. Some darker backgrounds in some places would be nice, helps the eye distinguish the jumble of stories when they show up in multiple columns.

Agreed I feel like it messes with my eyes/vision.

 

[GregR]

I also don't like the pure white of the page background everywhere. Some darker backgrounds in some places would be nice, helps the eye distinguish the jumble of stories when they show up in multiple columns.

Agreed I feel like it messes with my eyes/vision.

Yep, I feel that way too.

 

[Courtjester]

I don't like how there is no end to it. It just goes on and on and on

 

[Jack White]

I don't like how there is no end to it. It just goes on and on and on

Yeah, I found that weird as well.

 

[The General]

It sucks. I'll get used to it, then they'll change it again.

Nothing can be worse than the people who design sportsline's fantasy sites. The worst and getting worser. The baseball site this year has reached new lows.

 

[Sinn Fein]

Terrible.

 

[ShamrockPride]

Hate the blog layout. I don't care much about what the twits on Twitter have to say. How about just the news?

I need a new sports news website.

Then it should be a universally accepted fact that E!SPN should be your last choice.

 

[Jack White]

Hate the blog layout. I don't care much about what the twits on Twitter have to say. How about just the news?

I need a new sports news website.

Then it should be a universally accepted fact that E!SPN should be your last choice.

What are some better choices?

 

[sports_fan]

It sucked before. They still found a way to make it worse. Awful.

 

[ShamrockPride]

Hate the blog layout. I don't care much about what the twits on Twitter have to say. How about just the news?

I need a new sports news website.

Then it should be a universally accepted fact that E!SPN should be your last choice.

What are some better choices?

Everyone has their own preference. I used to love foxsports before they laid out a new design a year ago.

Try any of these I guess. The top 15, though I just stick to the main ones. Fox CBS NBC. http://www.ebizmba.com/articles/sports-websites

 

[Dan Lambskin]

It sucks. I'll get used to it, then they'll change it again.

Nothing can be worse than the people who design sportsline's fantasy sites. The worst and getting worser. The baseball site this year has reached new lows.

 

[belljr]

I have not visited SI since their last redesign.

looks like I'm done with espn now also

 

[Das Boot]

Oof.

Awful.

Crap.

 

[comfortably numb]

hows their search function?

 

[ILUVBEER99]

i think the big sites like espn were better like 10 years ago before all the ads and fluff that overwhelm everything. the basic site when they just had links without audio ads/etc was better.

i get it as they need to make money, but it's like going backwards from a user standpoint.

 

[Nugget]

I am liking both CBS and NBC sports much better than ESPN at this point. I never would have known if not for the new format.

 

[randall146]

I liked CBS until recently, when they started embedding video on every page, sometimes with the same video showing twice at the same time

 

[MCguidance]

I can't find anything.

 

[GregR]

I liked CBS until recently, when they started embedding video on every page, sometimes with the same video showing twice at the same time

Dealing with that is one of my biggest requirements for a web browser. It has to have a working bit like FlashBlock for Firefox which won't let a video play until I choose to play it.

 

[BillyBarooo]

espn site is actually pretty good and going to get much better once their post launch multivariate testing takes root. they're just hitting the "i dont like change" headwind right now, but ultimately most will see that it's much, much better than the old one. Now SI, CNN, NBCNews...they were absolutely horrendous redesigns.

 

[GregR]

espn site is actually pretty good and going to get much better once their post launch multivariate testing takes root. they're just hitting the "i dont like change" headwind right now, but ultimately most will see that it's much, much better than the old one. Now SI, CNN, NBCNews...they were absolutely horrendous redesigns.

So what kind of work do you do at ESPN?

 

[Swing 51]

It sucks. I'll get used to it, then they'll change it again.

Nothing can be worse than the people who design sportsline's fantasy sites. The worst and getting worser. The baseball site this year has reached new lows.

Is it possible to just get rid of the chat function that pops up every ####### time I visit the home page?

 

[pollardsvision]

I like it.

It's easier to navigate, which is about all I care about.

I'm pretty sure that there's nothing ESPN can do that people won't ##### about or say they hate. Except for the 30-for-30 series.

 

[BillyBarooo]

espn site is actually pretty good and going to get much better once their post launch multivariate testing takes root. they're just hitting the "i dont like change" headwind right now, but ultimately most will see that it's much, much better than the old one. Now SI, CNN, NBCNews...they were absolutely horrendous redesigns.

So what kind of work do you do at ESPN?

i wish. it really is a good design, just needs a typical assortment of adjustments after such a major overhaul

 

[The General]

It sucks. I'll get used to it, then they'll change it again.

Nothing can be worse than the people who design sportsline's fantasy sites. The worst and getting worser. The baseball site this year has reached new lows.

Is it possible to just get rid of the chat function that pops up every ####### time I visit the home page?

Try hitting the little "text bubble icon" next to the mail icon in top right corner of screen. If we are talking about the same thing that will slide the chat feature off the screen.

 

[Sinn Fein]

espn site is actually pretty good and going to get much better once their post launch multivariate testing takes root. they're just hitting the "i dont like change" headwind right now, but ultimately most will see that it's much, much better than the old one. Now SI, CNN, NBCNews...they were absolutely horrendous redesigns.

So what kind of work do you do at ESPN?

i wish. it really is a good design, just needs a typical assortment of adjustments after such a major overhaul

It is a terrible design, with very poor information flow. It has no bearing to why most people go to a site like ESPN - needs to start at the top, with headlines, and links to major sports, then allow the user to drill down as deep as they want.

It is madness trying to put everything on the front page, and hope the user can find the information they want.

They recently formatted espnfc in this format and I assumed they simply bought the soccer content from someone else, and were going to change formats eventually. I have no idea they intended to make a mess out of the entire site.

 

[The Ref]

It sucks. I'll get used to it, then they'll change it again.

Nothing can be worse than the people who design sportsline's fantasy sites. The worst and getting worser. The baseball site this year has reached new lows.

This

X 1000

Sportsline is poo.

 

[KiddLattimer]

As long as everything is hidden behind the Insider pay wall that site is going to be pretty useless

 

[Card Trader]

Mobile first design, get use to it, it's going to happen on many sites. Many places in the world do a majority of their browsing on mobile devices.

 

[Sinn Fein]

Mobile first design, get use to it, it's going to happen on many sites. Many places in the world do a majority of their browsing on mobile devices.

I do most of my browsing on mobile devices. The espn design sucks

 

[BillyBarooo]

espn site is actually pretty good and going to get much better once their post launch multivariate testing takes root. they're just hitting the "i dont like change" headwind right now, but ultimately most will see that it's much, much better than the old one. Now SI, CNN, NBCNews...they were absolutely horrendous redesigns.

So what kind of work do you do at ESPN?

i wish. it really is a good design, just needs a typical assortment of adjustments after such a major overhaul

It is a terrible design, with very poor information flow. It has no bearing to why most people go to a site like ESPN - needs to start at the top, with headlines, and links to major sports, then allow the user to drill down as deep as they want.

It is madness trying to put everything on the front page, and hope the user can find the information they want.

They recently formatted espnfc in this format and I assumed they simply bought the soccer content from someone else, and were going to change formats eventually. I have no idea they intended to make a mess out of the entire site.

You are a smart guy and I respect you. So I'm not looking to pick a fight as this is your opinion and you are absolutely entitled to it. But your opinion is flat out wrong in this instance. I have nearly 20 years experience in web design ranging from mom and pop stores to billion dollar multi nationals. And ESPN absolutely nailed it when it comes to building a clean, accessible, modern, and future flexible site.

To your points

Why go to ESPN? Scores, Stories, and highlights - all of which are up front and easy to reach

Headlines? check.

Links to major sports? check.

Ability to drill down? check. nice roll over mega menu or just click the main sport and you're in that category's landing page

Infinite Scroll - people browse like this now, the rest of us will just have to deal with it. But the persistent header and menu system allows the exceptions (you and I) to bypass the infinite scroll.

Screenshot link for reference

ETA, just saw you do most of your browsing on mobile devices, so in that case...those 3 little lines that indicate the slide out menu are your best friend. This is the best solution out there right now for a deep or content rich site that needs to get it's visitors to numerous drop zones in as few clicks as possible.

 

[GregR]

I agree there are plenty of people who will ##### just because it's ESPN. I can say I'm not one of them at least. Most of the things you cited above they made worse.

Scores: Before if I drilled down to a sport I only saw scores for the sport. Now they take up room showing me scores I don't care about.

Headlines: Before they were always there prominently at the top. Now they disappear unless I make my browser ridiculously wide.

Links to major sports: No better or worse than it was before.

Ability to drill down: No better or worse than it was before via mouse-over. Since the headlines disappear it's far worse. And the old system they had that gave about 5 different major areas you could click on that would bring up that video plus multiple related stories, was far more useful to me as a drill down than anything in there now.

The non-mobile site would have been much better if they'd just added infinite scroll below the old above-the-fold section. Adding the twitter feed in at the top isn't helping me as a user, it's just ESPN trying to leverage their site to up their social media presence.

I'm sure a web developer is in tune with meeting their customer's desires and I'm sure that's a desire of ESPN. But it doesn't make the site better for me, their customer.

 

[Sinn Fein]

Its too much information at the top level.

Favorite teams - good - I have one favorite team - don't show me 6 more that I might like

Headlines - nearly impossible to find with the background, and no way to distinguish stories I have already read - very poor design (and I like simple)

Scores - again too much, by trying to put scores from all sports up there. Just pick the sport with most teams playing at a given time, and a link to other sports - like they used to have.

Tweets - again it just clutters the page with irrelevant content - put the tweets on the home page for each sport

If the home page stopped "above-the-fold" or shortly after, it might be manageable - but the constant scroll is overkill, and leads to the clutter.

For a content driven site, with ever-changing content, this is terrible. Since I follow soccer, I have been exposed to this format for several months, as ESPN rolled out this format for espnfc.com a while ago. It has not grown on me, and I actively choose other sites as a result. Based on feedback I see elsewhere, I am not alone.

So, if this is your professional opinion, I suggest you re-think it based on feedback from users. (The flip side is that this format may be a hit with younger audiences, who drive clicks and page views - but I have not seen much support for the format from anyone.)

 

[Das Boot]

Another complaint: a column that I've read for a long time is now squeezed into the 1/2 page column on the right.

So now there's a L/R scroll bar at the bottom of a multi-page table - an absolute nightmare of a PIA to use.

http://espn.go.com/fantasy/baseball/story/_/page/FLBForecaster150403/fantasy-baseball-forecaster-april-5-april-12-fantasy-baseball

 

[The General]

I don't like how there is no end to it. It just goes on and on and on

I wish you wouldn't have pointed that out to me.

 

[Das Boot]

It might be a great design for younger users, it might be a great design (somehow) for better monetization (subscriptions or something), it might keep ESPN looking hip like the other cool sites, maybe it lays the groundwork for future functionality...

But for simple usability by Joe Consumer, it's a Fail.

 

[Das Boot]

I don't like how there is no end to it. It just goes on and on and on

I wish you wouldn't have pointed that out to me.

I got used to that feature with twitter and facebook, and I haven't really found any downsides to it - other than when you control-f to search something, it won't find it if it's below the point you've already scrolled/loaded.

 

[GregR]

Headlines - nearly impossible to find with the background, and no way to distinguish stories I have already read - very poor design (and I like simple)

Ugh. I hadn't noticed that yet. You're right, that sucks. Much more useful when the link changes after it's been visited.

 

[The General]

I don't like how there is no end to it. It just goes on and on and on

I wish you wouldn't have pointed that out to me.

I got used to that feature with twitter and facebook, and I haven't really found any downsides to it - other than when you control-f to search something, it won't find it if it's below the point you've already scrolled/loaded.

I want to find the bottom.

 

[Das Boot]

I don't like how there is no end to it. It just goes on and on and on

I wish you wouldn't have pointed that out to me.

I got used to that feature with twitter and facebook, and I haven't really found any downsides to it - other than when you control-f to search something, it won't find it if it's below the point you've already scrolled/loaded.

I want to find the bottom.

Don't we all.

 

[Sinn Fein]

Another thing I hate about the format - I click on a link to an article about the Final Four. When the page opens 20+% of the page is devoted to a column of other stories, shrinking the content that I specifically wanted to see. Then, when I look at the column of other stories - they are not related to the story I clicked on. Instead it is just random stories from all sports, that I may, or may not, be interested in - yet they clutter my page for no reason (for me). If you have an article that is tagged "Final Four", "NCAA Basketball" "Kentucky Wildcats" etc., I could understand if you loaded the left-hand column with other current stories with those tags. But just wasting page space on stories I have not shown an interest in, is poor design.

It is trying to be all things to all people, and that ultimately will fail.

 

[pollardsvision]

For the 99% of you that hate it, what sports website do you consider to be really well-designed?

 

[Dentist]

The score app, that's all I need now, just scores and major headlines

The endless analysis and tweets are stupid

 

[dparker713]

I hate infinite scrolling and the favorites bar spoiled a game score I was trying to avoid. And while the score scrawl is pretty it takes up too much space. The main story headline doesn't even start until about 40% down my screen. Additionally, I only get a couple of the other headlines on the screen before I need to scroll down.

Then, instead of prominently placing key writers that drive traffic - Schefter, Mortenson, Olney, they're just part of the scrawl. And a search of their names doesn't lead to a writer specific page, merely a listing of their latest output.

The site seems to have prioritized recency of information first, whereas I want to see more information at a glance. And while I understand mobile is the majority of their business, it seems they've designed without regard for whether they drive away the non-mobile market.

 

[AAABatteries]

The design I can deal with - it's easy enough to figure out. What I find bothersome is their site loads even slower now than it used to and it was one of the slower sites I visited to begin with. If it continues to take a while to lad and prevents me from getting to where I want quickly then I'll jump to another site soon. I don't have a lot if time to browse sites and I'm definitely not going to sit and watch a page load. All my browsing is on mobile btw.

 

[belljr]

Can we stop with videos on every page. Tia

 

[Dentist]

Can we stop with videos on every page. Tia

Agree! If I want videos I'll goto YouTube or a pron site, or watch tv, I'm on the net because I want to read a story when I can't watch a video like at work or at home when the family is asleep.