Thursday, June 3, 2010

WWE.com facelift

So WWE.com got a slight makeover earlier today, and the reaction, as best as I can tell, has been mixed. And rightfully so, because I'm not even sure what to make of it. Again, relatively speaking, the changes were minor, the most significant of which was getting rid of the side navigation bar and making their top navigation bar a bit more user friendly. This was a wise move, in my opinion, because about a year ago they altered their side navigation bar and I couldn't stand that change.

Why? Because it wasn't the least bit more efficient. I used to be able to check each of the three Superstar roster pages. But when they reshuffled their side navigation bar, there wasn't a direct link anymore. If I wanted to check out, say, the Raw Superstar page, I'd either have to go to the Raw TV Show page and hit the Superstars link, or I'd have to hit the general Superstars link to then go to the Raw page.

Anyway, this more efficient top side bar basically allows you to directly check out any section you want. That's a HUGE improvement. And WWE.com has also publicly embraced the social media world, now offering icons for their Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube pages on their front page like every other website in the world does (including this one). Actually, WWE.com now even has a Social Media section of their site! So that is pretty cool.

But there are some things I don't like as well. I feel like that top bar is way too big, and the advertisement banner below it is rather large as well. So I feel like the actual content of the site doesn't begin until halfway down the screen. And it seems like they've merely replaced the side navigation bar with bigger ad banners on the opposite side of the page. So, as a result, there's A LOT of empty white space. And it's really awkward looking.

And, again, there's the directness. Let's say I go to CM Punk's Superstar page. With the side navigation bar, I could easily check his Bio, Photos, or Videos at any time. Now that the side navigation is gone, I have to return to his main page to check out another part. That can get annoying.

Overall I'd say it's a slight improvement, but a lot more would could be done.

What do you think of the new WWE.com???


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