What you've told us,
and what we're doing about it ...
Posted Jun 11th 2007 10:12PM by Lisa Edwards
You've provided us with a lot of feedback on the new AOL.com homepage design since we launched the first beta test back in April. We want you to know that we've reviewed it all: the good, the bad and the ugly. Now that our blog is up and running, we wanted to highlight the major feedback themes and issues you told us about in the Feedback Survey and let you know what we're doing about them.
So without further delay, here are the major feedback themes:
- I can't customize the page. The majority of comments in this bucket focused on the ability to add/remove modules, the ability to move modules around on the page and a few comments on wanting the ability to increase/decrease the amount of content within modules.
We couldn't agree more! AOL.com is your homepage and you should have the ability to make it your own. We will provide several customization options in the next round of beta updates to be rolled out the week of June 18th. Features include the ability to add and remove modules in the Preview Panel area that currently features Mail, Weather, Radio and Horoscopes. You'll be able to change the color of your homepage and will even be able to choose a narrow version of AOL.com to be your home page.
- I can't change the color of my home page. This could have grouped this with "I can't customize the page" but due to the sheer volume of feedback on this topic, we chose to break it out separately.
Again, we couldn't agree more! As mentioned above, we will provide you with the ability to change the color of your home page in our next round of updates (week of June 18th). Our design team has cooked up five color options, in addition to the standard color, that we think you'll really like. And we hope to introduce even more over time.
- I don't like the color of the new home page.
It's hard to please everyone when it comes to color. But we are providing the ability to change the color of your home page in our next home page update, including the option of a more "traditional AOL Blue" if you prefer that. So we think we'll be in a good place in addressing this one, but if you're not satisfied with any of the new color options, let us know.
- The new page is too wide / too crowded.
We are introducing a narrow (two column) version of the homepage in our next update. The standard view of the new page is definitely wider than the current version of AOL.com. But the majority of you, AOL.com users, have higher screen resolutions, and we decided to go wide to take advantage of the extra screen real estate. The wider page lets us get more content above the fold line (less scrolling for you). A lot of Web sites have migrated to wide body page layouts. But bigger clearly is not better for everyone. So, you will be able to choose the the narrow version to be displayed on subsequent visits to AOL.com.
- What happened to the AIM button?
We're sorry! Please forgive us. We are bringing back the AIM button in our next update. So you will once again have direct access to AIM Express from AOL.com.
- The New Page Looks Exactly Like Yahoo!
We received more feedback on this topic than any other since we launched the Beta test. So we're glad to have an opportunity to address the issue, and to share the history and thought process that led us to the first Beta design. When we're done, you may still not agree with the approach, and that's OK. But most importantly, you will understand how we got here.
So how did we arrive at the new Beta design? We started designing the new AOL.com over a year ago. We spent months in the concept phase, conducting focus group and lab tests to create the next generation AOL.com homepage design. We looked at data, studied our competition and talked to users. We produced numerous home page concepts, at least three or four of which were radically different, both from a design and feature perspective, from other home pages (ours, Yahoo!, MSN etc.).
What we realized going through this exercise, however, was that there are a number of standards and "best practices" that have emerged in how good home pages are designed. Looking back at what we had done in previous home page designs and what Yahoo!, MSN and other leading sites had done over the last several years, it became clear that we had been borrowing good ideas from each other for many years. In fact, many of the elements of our new home page that might remind you of Yahoo!, like the "channel strip" with its colorful icons, are in fact elements that we have used successfully on our homepages for years.
That said, Yahoo! is a Web site that a vast number of people use on a regular basis, and they built a great site. Of course we've looked at what they've done and tried to learn from it to make our product better. In some ways you can look at the AOL.com Beta design that you see today as a competitive benchmarking exercise against Yahoo! (all good companies do this). We've been testing it out with a small group of our users (you), and we've learned which elements work and which don't. The important takeaway, however, is that this design was and is a starting point for us. We are making changes to the experience and introducing new features based on your feedback. And you will see these changes roll out in the coming weeks.
So, will there still be similarities with Yahoo! after the beta test is over? Absolutely! There will also be similarities with MSN. All home pages must deliver a basic set of features and functionality (e-mail, search, news, Weather, navigation) to meet users' needs and expectations, and we all learn from each other in how we best deliver these. As the home page space continues to mature, design standards have and will continue to emerge that we will all adopt: left hand navigation, ad banner sizes, search treatment and placement etc. So standardization of fundamental page elements is not a bad thing (much like you have certain basic expectations of how a Web e-mail or instant messaging application will be laid out).
But having said this, we do spend our days in the office working on ways to truly differentiate the new AOL.com in areas that matter the most to you:
- Making the home page faster: We know you don't like to wait (neither do we).
- Ease of use
- Highlighting the great content you care about
- Useful functionality: We want to make AOL.com a place where you can get things done and not just find things.
- Personalization
- Local functionality like Events, Traffic, Gas Prices and more
We will continue to work on ways we can make the AOL.com home page better in all of these areas, and we look to you for feedback and ideas on how we can do that.
Lisa
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About The Team
My Name is Lisa and I'm the Product Lead for AOL.COM. In short, I lead the team that designs, builds the new versions of AOL.com and make sure that current experience run smoothly. My mission (the team's mission) is to build the best home page for you and everyone that visits AOL.com. This is definitely NOT a one person operation. It takes a village! And I'll be introducing you to the team behind the scenes in the coming weeks.
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Reader Comments (Page 5 of 13)
81. I Like the new version,once you bring back Aim,(Question),WHEN WILL NEW VERSION START?PLEASE respond to my my E-MAIL ADDRESS AT (marcus967@aol.com),ASAP,Thank you,Mario Sparago!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted at 11:42PM on Jul 7th 2007 by marcus967
82. I like new version,when will it upgraded?Mario Sparago,Please Respond,when new version will be upgraded???????????
Posted at 11:47PM on Jul 7th 2007 by marcus967
83. HI I THINK THIS WHOLE NEW HOME PAGE SUCKS!!! UP IN TILL TODAY I HAD THE OPTION TO CLICK BACK TO MY ORIGINAL PAGE AND I THINK ME AND ANY BODY ELSE THAT LIKE'S THE OLD ONE SHOULD BE ABLE TO USE THE OLD ONE IF YOUR GOING TO CHANGE EVERY TIME I GET USED TO USING A PAGE I WILL CANCEL AOL.
Posted at 12:21AM on Jul 9th 2007 by Cin2Ada
84. I like the old homepage this new home page is crowed and to bright could u give me back my old homepage.
Posted at 6:36AM on Jul 9th 2007 by theold98
85. I find your new webpage " FANTASTIC " , a beauty and there is so much to read on this single page that there is no need going to any trouble to find the info what you want.
Congrat's
Posted at 11:00PM on Jul 9th 2007 by czyberx
86. Not happy anymore, what happened to :IF it isnt broke DONT fix it????? What was wrong with the previous version? Nothing. Now I have email contact list saying it is loading and it never does?
Also, I have done but with errors on page????What the heck is that all about? Leave it the way it was since I appear to not be the only person that is seriously pissed off with the new version of AOL that I didnt have a say so about...The ad's do show up though!!!!Please either change it back to what is was before or I have no other choice but to go else where. This is horrific to say the least.
Posted at 11:13PM on Jul 10th 2007 by Laurie
87. Every time you guys make an "improvement", accessing my mail, or even the AOL home page takes longer and longer, and is more and more "iffy".
Current issue - still not resolved after weeks - When accessing AOL Webmail from my FireFox 2 browser, I generally get a message saying that I'm no longer logged in to AOL (I just filled in my userid and password) and when you click OK, you go around in a loop. My workaround, open AOL (www.aol.com) again, log in again, and read my mail. Or, Just recently discovered, open AOL Mail in a "New Tab" and it works like a charm. This is a pain....
I beta tested AOL software for over 15 years and the current AOL browser is horrible and your WebMail is barely useable. And on top of all this, for everyone else, it's free! What do I get for the fee I still pay every month? The same ads and slow response that everyone else gets.
Posted at 5:49AM on Jul 11th 2007 by allpa
88. new learner to computers..luv old AOL Homepage but somehow now
I feel lost! My print is very dull and nothing stands out like the other homepage. Can I please have the old one back. Thank you
Posted at 5:32PM on Jul 11th 2007 by Jeanne Hartranft
89. Unfortunately, I find your new page too crowded and very hard to decipher at first glance. It seems like overload to me. I also do not like the way you have the e-mails covered up when I first go to them and then I have to click to close the slide down page. There's way too much on the screen. The colors are too pale. This is not new and improved to me.
Posted at 7:27PM on Jul 11th 2007 by keitelklan
90. HOW SAD! I sit here reading the comments and so far nobody seems to be having any more fun than I am..which is NONE!
WHY OH WHY did you take away the FOLDERS SECTION ON MAIL???
My goodness that was a great feature and I sure don't see it anywhere in any place or as any answer you may have given to someone else~!
I'd really really rather keep my folders..SO convenient!
For shame AOL< If it isn't broke.. don't BREAK IT!
Posted at 7:33PM on Jul 11th 2007 by bigpink
91. I don't like to new AOL. It doesn't even look upgraded. The new email is difficult. Please change it back to the way they were before or make it way better.
Posted at 10:40PM on Jul 11th 2007 by sweetlovegirl
92. I have dial up where I work and can no longer access my email there because the new pages are so image intensive they won't load. It's also much slower to load on DSL and cable. I wish you hadn't changed it.
Posted at 5:36PM on Jul 12th 2007 by hisstah
93. Hate the new look. As said before, it looks just like Yahoo. Hate the setup so much, I no longer use Yahoo and I am about to dump AOL for the same reason.
Posted at 7:16PM on Jul 12th 2007 by linda jean
94. How can I transfer the "bookmarks" I have on Netscape over to AOL>
Posted at 5:50AM on Jul 13th 2007 by RichardeL
95. I think it is fascinating that you deliberately omit the real issues many of us have with the new homepage format. I want to be able to eliminate many of the categories on the page. I realize that AOL receives $ for these but I resent them being forced upon me...just as bad as pop-ups. I want to remove; Your AOL, Products & Services, Marketplace, Top-Clicked Events, Shopping, What's Hot on AOL, and most importantly...ADS. I would rather download pictures of my family into these spaces.(MY HOMEPAGE!)We have had AOL for many years and have chosen to remain loyal.
The key to AOL's future success is innovation!
Posted at 3:01PM on Jul 13th 2007 by cmduke1
96. I disagree completely that all home pages have similar elements so they copy off each other, if I understood correctly.
The new AOL.com design is a blatant rip-off of Yahoo!. It's like you guys took their template, changed a thing or two, and called it your own. Google.com, Yahoo.com, and MSN.com and even Ask.com all look completely different, so why does AOL also look different. They may have borrowed elements from each other, but the implementation was completely different and therefore they pages I just mentioned look nothing alike.
Posted at 8:31PM on Jul 13th 2007 by Max
97. all my favorites did not show up. WHY? Where did they go???
Posted at 9:55PM on Jul 14th 2007 by lvsblhlr
98. This version of AOL is extremely slow and much more like a PC than a Mac. In other words everything is more difficult..and in today's market it really should not be.
Posted at 9:25AM on Jul 15th 2007 by Happyrock
99. i love the new aol but i have my computor that relly needs a rest i let people use it and she is a little tired so does aol have a program were they can let the aol members buy computors on time thank you god bless peace
Posted at 9:37AM on Jul 15th 2007 by toni
100. Like most AOL users, I am appalled at the changes that have been made to this service. The inconvenience is overbearing, and if this does not change in the nearest future, AOL is losing another customer. It is obvious I won't be the only one to switch to a faster service.
Despite using a high-speed connection, the time it takes me to log in to AOL mail has quadrupled. Just to GET to the email is nerve-wrecking as is, with that pointless smiley face hanging in space of the blank screen, making it all-the-more obvious that the page had been loading for an eternity. And once you actually get to the page, it freezes up on you and you sit there, staring at the monitor and trying your hardest to abstain from causing serious damage to your PC. Why were such badly-informed changes made in the first place? And why, please do tell, after such an overwhelming flood of negative feedback on the new and "improved" AOL, have there been absolutely no attempt to clean up this mess?!!?
It would be in YOUR best interest to return to the way AOL had been operating previous to the "Hiroshima" of all changes ever made to this server. Let us all hope that AOL does not take forever to smarten up regarding this issue.
Posted at 11:33AM on Jul 15th 2007 by ildnsil