April 8, 2006

By CURT CHANDLER, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
and BILL OSTENDORF, Creative Circle Media

We're not used to the kind of nasty competition that is coming our way. The battle for web hits is going to be a street fight in the years ahead. And when the going gets tougher, our sites will flounder. Until now, we've won by default. Newspaper sites are ugly and hard to navigate. To hold and grow our audiences, here are five things newspaper sites must change now:

• Simplify, especially on your home page. Your home page (and probably your entire site) is bloated with links and visual debris. Take a look at the home page of just about every financially successful web site. How many links or options are there on Google (essentially, one link), Apple (about a dozen major links, 40 total), and Southwest (about six major links, 34 total). Now look at yours. Count the links. You probably have 200 or more. It's insane, stupid and lazy. On the web, simplicity sells.

• Get visual. Want younger readers? Think pictures. What are the lightning-rod sites among young people on the web? MySpace, Flickr and Facebook. Getting the picture? Now, how many photos are on your site? How big are they? Can I just look at today's pictures? And do you do video? Most likely, your answers to these questions are not good news.

• Remember, it's about me. The web is self-indulgent. I get to read what I want and I get to do it fast. Can I customize your home page to make it reflect my interests? Can I automate your site to RSS or email articles I want on command? Does your advertising reflect and respond to my choices so it becomes more relevant, too?

• Be interactive. Really. That means readers get to comment on everything. And get on the user-driven bandwagon now. (I don't like "citizen journalism" myself because journalism it isn't!) Is it a good idea? Maybe not. But it's a much better idea if you do it than if someone else does! Encourage comments and contributions from readers. Edit them and use the good stuff. At the least, readers will be more loyal to someone who cares enough to listen to them. Plus, chances are good readers will catch on to what you like and more useful content will begin to appear.

• Be friendly and fun! Or else! Our sites are so staid and static and predictable. Watch your tone. Are you talking down to me? Are you friendly? And your web design should change and surprise to grab my attention to keep me coming back. Most newspaper sites are strictly formula layouts and that's even dumber on the web than it would be on page one. Mix it up. Change it. Make it reflect the news. Don't be afraid to take a lighter approach. Create some buzz. Really. You can do this!

Curt Chandler is the editor for online innovation at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and www.post-gazette.com. He collaborates with Creative Circle Media Consulting (www.creativecirclemedia.com), which advises papers on print and web design, content and management. He can be contacted at cchandler@post-gazette.com.

Bill Ostendorf is president of Creative Circle and has led more than 200 print and web redesigns and more than 400 industry seminars on a wide range of topics. He has also developed software to provide newspapers with effective web-based classifieds and user-contributed content (see www.adqic.com). He can be reached at bill@creativecirclemedia.com.