The Washington Times plans to launch later this month a new design for its Web site that aims to make it easier for its millions of readers to consume, share, customize and engage its award-winning news and opinion content on whatever device they want.
The Times on Saturday released its first screen shots and its first user guide to the site to help its readers prepare for the changes they will begin to see later in December.
The new site was built in partnership with tech industry leaders Celerity and Blue Text, and uses what is known as “responsive design” to reshape content to the optimum reading experience for the screen size of each device. Thus it creates a different experience for readers depending on whether they are on a desktop, laptop, tablet or cell phone.
The new design also simplifies navigation and enhances the visual and social media experiences of readers, making it easier for them to find like-minded news consumers, share their favorite stories with friends and family and customize what news and opinion they see when they come to the site.
Nearly every page has new and customizable features, such as weather and stock widgets, special news alerts and new tools for social media sharing and commenting. A new free registration system will allow readers to customize the type of content that shows up on pages as well, and a persistent feedback widget will allow readers to send feedback whenever they want.
The Times plans to launch early next week a public Beta of the Web site to help readers get even more familiar with the new platform. The site is expected to launch officially before Christmas.
The Washington Times’ website has seen steady growth since an earlier overhaul in 2009, and now attracts more than 12 million readers and more than 30 million page views each month.
Click here to see the first screenshots of the new Web site, or here for the early user guide.
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