CNN.com Site Analysis pt1

CNN.com is my go-to news site! It’s easily accessible and familiar because I also watch the corresponding network television broadcast. I thought it might be interesting to study my favorite news site and see just how affective it is. Like any newscast or site, there are things to improve. I’ll be analyzing these things and suggesting ways to improve them while praising things that I see work well.

Layout and Design

Lets start with the layout! CNN.com is powered by GoogleSites. It has a three-column layout design that I feel allows for maximum features on a page. The banner across the top of the page lets visitors know exactly where they are, which although obvious, is indeed helpful. I also find that The layout has a design similar to an actuall newspaper. For instance, the most interesting or important stories appear “above the fold” or above the scroll in this case. What CNN believes to be the most important things in the news right now are placed at the top of the page before the viewer can scroll down. Also, the big stories are placed in the center column and are slightly larger than the rest of the features on the page. CNN.com does an excellent job of drawing in the focus of their site visitors.

The color-scheme leaves little to be desired. CNN.com keeps a consistent Red, White, Black, and Blue scheme which makes it easier to read. However, different colors could allow CNN.com to further emphasize the more interesting stories and allow the viewers to distinguish between new and older news. Also, the three-column layout is not consistent throughout the site. If a viewer visits a different tab or section of the site, the layout design changes. This could confuse viewers who may be used to reading the home page. I suggest making the layout more consistent and maybe switching up the color scheme from section to section. However, the varying designs will never make a visitor bored!

5 thoughts on “CNN.com Site Analysis pt1

  1. You’re so cool! I don’t think I’ve truly read anything like this before. So nice to discover someone with some genuine thoughts on this subject matter. Really.. many thanks for starting this up. This website is something that is needed on the web, someone with a bit of originality!

  2. After I initially left a comment I seem to have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now each time a comment is added I receive four emails with the exact same comment. Perhaps there is a means you can remove me from that service? Thanks!

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