A regional daily has relaunched its website after listening to feedback from readers.
The new responsive Bristol Post site features bigger pictures, faster loading pages and an upgraded video player.
The changes bring the site into line with fellow Trinity Mirror-owned titles such as the Birmingham Mail and Manchester Evening News.
The Post joins fellow former Local World-owned title the Cambridge News in switching to the new look.
The new-look Bristol Post homepage
Marc Cooper, head of digital at the Post, said: “We are excited to launch our new look Bristol Post site, providing readers with faster loading times, bigger pictures, and more adaptive content.
“The upgrade has been made in response to user feedback, and I’m sure they’re going to enjoy reading the same news and views they’re used to in a fantastic new format.”
An announcement on the site reads: “The Bristol Post has undergone a spring clean as we present a new look to our website.
“You’ll still find all the same great content, news stories and local information, but we’re bringing it to you in an even better format.”
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Perhaps JP could follow suit and update its abysmal offerings.
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“The upgrade has been made in response to user feedback”
Allow me to translate…
The decision has been made by TM advertising execs with absolutely no involvement of anyone from editorial, other than a cursory ‘by the way, this is the new-look website’ a couple of weeks before launch. The public hated the old website so any changes will be welcome but we got a couple of local business leaders in for a few vol au vents and a quick sales pitch so we’re good to go!
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Oliver has pretty much summed up my own experience of the tail wagging the dog, rather than develop a user friendly site to present to the business communities, some ad rep will have told one of his many managers he can sell x y and z onto it but they want this that and the other and before you know it the sites been changed to accommodate their wishes in the belief that long gone digital revenues will result.
Change it if you must but just be up front about why you’ve done it
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Hi Oliver,
No, none at all. Apart from the eight editorial trainers we’ve had sat with the Bristol editorial team each week since mid-February doing training and running the old and new sites side-by-side ahead of the switch on, and who will be in the newsroom for the two weeks post go-live. And the weeks of prep work by Marc and the editorial and commercial teams in Bristol to ensure the new site switched over.
The new site also gives the Bristol editorial team access to far better tools to display their stories online, and handle multimedia content too (pics, videos, timelines, related content). So it’s a change to the site editorial have been driving for.
Hope that translates for you.
Ed Walker
Head of Digital Publishing, Trinity Mirror Regionals
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Hi Ed,
Yes, it translates perfectly. Eight people have been sent by head office to tell the editorial staff of the Bristol Post ‘this is what you’re doing wrong and this is how you will do things in future’.
Mr Cooper is the ‘piggy in the middle’ who has had to show some empathy towards any perfectly valid issues or concerns raised, while having to ignore them on behalf of head office. The next restructure will probably ‘help’ clear up any bigger issues though.
Poor Mr Cooper has then been attributed as the provider of this cut and paste corporate quote about the ‘excitement, bigger and better content’ and, of course, how it’s ‘all the users’ fault’.. sorry, ‘made in response to user feedback’!
IMHO, it’s only one step away from the first set of changes Mr Montgomery made on the back of fag packet when it was under Local World. And, by one step, I mean it uses Open Sans instead of Arial Bold.
I can’t believe anyone from editorial is happy with this. Have you tried to actually read an article?
It seems appropriate that we take a look at ‘poo transplants’ http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/health/doctors-think-theyve-discovered-new-13669
Poor on the meaningful URL front to start with, but that’s another issue.
On desktop, I get headline and bait-type teaser text followed by a large ‘news by postcode’ plug then another massive picture. I then get just four paragraphs (the point at which the majority of your audience will stop reading) before another massive picture.
I then get one paragraph, a read more plug, a pull out fact, another read more plug, two paragraphs, another read more plug, two paragraphs, a MASSIVE eight item read more plug, one paragraph, an advert and then the final three paragraphs.
On mobile, it’s the same but with additional video adverts separating the first four paragraphs as well as the last two!!!
It’s simply not possible to read any stories easily on any device and is clearly evidence that no one from editorial has a say on the quality of the digital side of things.
I’m sorry to be harsh about this Ed but, if you think that this is good balance between editorial and advertising, then there’s something wrong with your job title.
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