Yahoo.com has redesigned its homepage to make it more appealing to a new generation of the online audience. Thanks to the redesign, the oldest web portal got a simplified, crisper look as well as more social-media feel, which is believed to help the website deliver consistent user experience across desktop computers, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. So far, Yahoo has rolled out the new look only in the U.S.
Over the past time the popularity of the Yahoo’s portal was declining—partly, due to the its old-fashioned outlay. The team behind the Yahoo led by the relatively recently appointed CEO Marissa Mayer decided to introduce some evolutionary rather than revolutionary changes to improve user experience.
Pic.: Yahoo! redesigned page
“First and foremost it’s a fresh foundation for a new Yahoo experience. Overall the design is streamlined for everyday use and focused on what matters most to our users—which is the content,” commented Yahoo design director Jackie Goldberg.
The refreshed homepage was introduced last Wednesday, February 20, following the design and function updates of Yahoo Mail and a new Flickr app. While paying tribute to the previous version’s style and authentic editor-picked content strategy, the refreshed page has a social-media twist with its no-bottom news feed, which is updated automatically. Readers can view the latest news in the All Stories section or choose a specific category, Business, Celebrities, Politics, Sports, and more.
Each news summary in the feed can be shared via Twitter, Facebook or email using the built-in functions. The page “remembers” a user’s share preferences and delivers more news on the selected themes. Since the updated page has integration with Facebook, it features more news pieces related to the pages the user has liked on Facebook. The updated homepage also serves as a great platform for delivering targeted ads tailored to consumer’s interests and preferences. The ads will be easily recognizable and won’t be confused with the new content.
The redesign has been introduced seven months after Yahoo! got a new CEO, Marissa Mayer, who had been Google’s vice president of location and search.