Welcome to the new Wired News.
For the past two weeks we've previewed a "beta" look on the homepage to some very frank reader reviews.
Now we're rolling out a slightly revised redesign (thanks for the feedback!) throughout most of Wired.com and launching some great new features that we think will make the site an even better source of news and opinion. To rate how we did, check out how Wired.com has evolved through the ages in this terrific 10 year image gallery compiled by Wired News staff writer Mike Calore.
Some things you'll notice right away are bigger photos and headlines on the front door than ever before, followed by a "river" of headlines tracking real time updates from our blogs. (Note: Credit goes to Dave Winer for his river of news concept, which inspired this section; and also for his recent work creating a Wired news river here.)
Why are the new top headlines so big? Because we believe design is a direct reflection of editorial point of view. Big headlines give us the chance, rarely used online, to change emphasis dramatically in real time, based on the events of the day. When big news hits, we'll play it big, so you'll be in no doubt about what we think is really important.
Other new features on the home page include tabs for most e-mailed stories and real time updates to the web's hottest links, as chosen by readers, provided by our CondeNet-owned partner, Reddit, one of the pioneers of social news filtering.
We hope you find the new design makes the site more relevant, and encourages you to check Wired.com more frequently through the day for news as it happens.
The use of bigger photos reflects our close affiliation with Wired magazine, and the belief that great photojournalism is an important part of understanding the news.
While we remain Wired News, the site is now just plain Wired. We've got a new site logo -- the same one introduced in Wired magazine's extensive print redesign in issue 15.02. Check back for further updates next month on the Wired pages, which will be converted to the new design shortly.
The new logo underscores the new relationship between Wired News and Wired magazine after last July's acquisition by CondeNet, the online arm of Conde Nast. Wired News and Wired magazine have different editorial staff and corporate structures. But our mission is in most respects the same and we're collaborating more closely than ever.
The Wired magazine pages currently live on a separate publishing system and will be converted to the new design shortly. Check back for further updates next month.
Wired magazine editors and contributors are now joining our expanding blogging efforts (see Epicenter, Wired Science, Underwire and Geekdad).
Last fall, we quietly launched a joint online-print gadget review team. (See our daily hands-on reviews on Gadget Lab.)
We've simplified navigation. You'll find magazine subscription information under a rollover tab to the left, followed by topic sections, blogs, the magazine pages and our mobile options.
We've also changed the topic sections to be less general. Looking for "Technology"? We felt that was redundant, given Wired's mission as a technology news site. Instead you'll find more specific areas we hope you'll find more useful, such as Gadgets, Games and Science.
Cars 2.0? Is that really Wired? We think so. Look for beefed-up coverage here of cool new vehicles as well as green energy tech from fuel cells to ethanol from our news reporters and on the Autopia blog.
One thing you can't see directly in the visual design is the big boost in editorial resources that CondeNet is putting behind the site. In the past few months we've hired new editors, reporters, production and business staff. That will help us report even more of the important news stories you've come to expect from Wired News -- and that you won't find anywhere else.
We've heard a lot of feedback so far and we've adjusted the site to address some of the loudest complaints. We've got a lot more changes and improvements in the pipeline, so keep your comments coming.
