Introducing NEW Beta Features
to Make AOL.com Your Own!
Posted Jun 18th 2007 10:43AM by Lisa Edwards
We are excited to introduce a new set of features that we released to Beta earlier this morning. Today's release addresses the majority of feedback that we received from you, our users, since our first Beta launch back in April, mainly the demand for greater customization of the homepage. The new set of features, now available for you to try, includes:
- Color Options. We know, based on your feedback, that the default homepage color does not appeal to everyone. And now you've got options! We designed new five color options, in addition to the default, for you to choose from including the familiar "AOL Blue". To change the color of your homepage, go to the color picker in the top right corner of the page and click on the color "chicklet" of choice. You're done!
- Wide / Narrow Page Layout. Think the wide body(default) layout is too cluttered? We created a narrow (two column) layout to provide an alternative homepage option for your viewing pleasure. To change your homepage layout, just click on the page icon at the top right corner (next to the color picker).
- Preview Panel Customization. Bored with the current set of Preview Panel options (Weather, Radio or Horoscopes)? Now you can choose the set of Preview Panels that you want displayed on your homepage. Just click on the arrow in the upper right corner of the Weather, Radio or Horoscopes buttons and make your selection from the dropdown menu of options. The new set of Preview Panel options include Games, Sports and AIM. And there are more to come in the near future.
- Navigation Enhancements. The AIM button is back by popular demand to provide one click access to AIM Express. We also grouped navigation to core products like Mail, myAOL and AIM with the Directory listings in the left column. Now you have one click access to the most popular and most used AOL features in one convenient location.
- Snaggable Top Stories Content ('SNAG'). The 'Snag' feature let's you add AOL Top Stories content to a personalized homepage or Feed Reader. Just click on the 'SNAG' button located in the top right corner of the rotating Top Stories module to display the following options:
- 'Add this Module to:...' Let's you add the AOL Top Stories module to a personalized homepage. Just click on the appropriate button and the Top Stories module will be added to our personalized homepage of choice (myAOL, iGoogle, Netvibes, Pageflakes) so you can stay in tune with what's happening even when you're not on the AOL Homepage.
- 'Subscribe to Feed:' Let's you subscribe to an RSS or XHTML Feed of the Top Stories module. Just copy and paste the appropriate URL into your Feed Reader of choice .
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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 1 of 6)
1. I use AOL through Internet Explorer. Since I have switched to the new AOL, Internet Explorer hangs up daily. I wish I could switch back to the previous version where I had no problems. How can I get back to the previous version?
Posted at 12:22PM on Jun 20th 2007 by Steffi Bierig
2. Steffi,
Sorry you're having problems. Can you elaborate more on your problem? For example, what version of Internet Explorer are you using? When you say that the Homepage hangs, is it the entire homepage that hangs or are there certain areas of the page that hang? Any additional information you can provide will help us troubleshoot.
Thanks for your patience!
Lisa
AOL.com Product Manager
Posted at 4:47PM on Jun 22nd 2007 by Lisa Edwards
3. very nice.
Posted at 5:18PM on Jun 25th 2007 by pattykey4u
4. I have had AOL for years (over 5) and this month I have been without this service for probably a total of 5 days. And today is another one of them. I have never had this kind of problem before. This service is "not available". Error Code COFE 1801. At least today I get some kind of error code but what do I do with it? I pay $25.90 a month and I feel like you guys are untouchable. Good luck responding to this.
Posted at 3:42PM on Jun 26th 2007 by dak0911
5. I like the old one better, the new one looks too much like yahoo, and if I wanted yahoo I would have went there
Posted at 12:29AM on Jun 27th 2007 by loweske
6. The old way you did the mail was much better than the new way; the new style (at least for the moment) is much too cluttered. I can sense that you want mure click on enhancements to the page formats so in the long run the AOL product is better but for the moment the new way is going backwards.
Posted at 1:08AM on Jun 27th 2007 by Stanley Griffiths
7. I like it.
Posted at 8:22AM on Jun 27th 2007 by mrscobiee
8. This new format stinks. It freezes up about 75% of the time. There is no pattern to the freezes as it has occurred doing various tasks. Too many ads. I pay to use AOL so I shouldn't have to wait for ads to load. Make a page just for email and cut out all the ads & news.
Posted at 1:04PM on Jun 27th 2007 by weimyaries
9. Your updated Mail is awfull the spell check is worthless it move sentences and words requiring me to re position and redo my paragraphs.
I have been with AOL since 1986 and through many updates this is the worst .
Posted at 1:05PM on Jun 27th 2007 by James R Piotrowski
10. I log onto AOL thu IE 7. I love the new lay out but would it be possible to add a favorites button to that would import favoriies from my old stand alone AOL
Posted at 1:19PM on Jun 27th 2007 by kwshiner
11. Can you PLEASE take that news pop-up out of our e-mail screen? We already see the news on the front page. If we want to read it, we can go there. It's a very annoying, useless feature.
Posted at 1:25PM on Jun 27th 2007 by streamingviolet
12. I hate, hate, hate that e-mail does not come up in it's own window! Most e-mails have too much in them for that little bitty window! Yes, you can make it big, but you can't shift to the next e-mail while in the larger screen.
Posted at 5:58PM on Jun 27th 2007 by crharv
13. I really like the homepage. The only problem I have is when you read your email, you cant make it bigger so its really hard to read it. I like to be able to read my email all together then have to keep moving the bars side ways and up and down.
Posted at 6:12PM on Jun 27th 2007 by patrlavig
14. My home page shrunk, and the print is so small I cannot read what it says. It is terrible for me. I can hardly see any print.
Posted at 7:40PM on Jun 27th 2007 by elaine pompa
15. I HATE the e-mail page!!!!!!!!!!!! And now I HATE the homepage!!! I have been with AOL for many years, and have always used the AOL homepage. Not anymore if you don't clean things up!!!!! Extremely aggravating to have pop-ups, clutter, and more clutter on both the e-mail and homepage..........
Do you go to Yahoo to get your ideas for the homepage??? Lord knows where the e-mail idea came from.......it is horrible!!!!
Posted at 8:05PM on Jun 27th 2007 by cornucopia11
16. The new format is AWEFUL! It's more difficult to navigate and it constantly freezes for no apparent reason.
Posted at 9:23PM on Jun 27th 2007 by kjmello
17. Aol.com Mail is absolutely HORRIBLE. It doesn't work 50% of the time when I try and load e-mails. One of two things occur when this happens:
1) The mail screen comes up and says 'Loading' for over 5-10 minutes, or until I close it and try again.
2) Mail screen won't pop up.
The loading time to get into Aol.com's mail is also horrible, the old system was fine, and had hardly any issues, this system currently has so many issues, I'd almost switch to a new e-mail if it weren't for the fact that I've had my primary e-mail on aol.com for over 5 years.
These new 'options' are also annoying, and aren't anything I had any interest in. I just wanted to be able to go in, get through my mail, and move on. This new system doesn't allow that.
I am a Firefox user, on the current updated version.
Posted at 11:38PM on Jun 27th 2007 by GotIYCM
18. Simply put the old version was better. Why change something that was already working.
Posted at 12:54AM on Jun 28th 2007 by psgregdevil
19. I have had problems with AIM every night. I get knocked off around 3 or 4 in the morning. Tonight, AIM starts to load and just never quite makes it.
Posted at 1:33AM on Jun 28th 2007 by shooshoo56
20. After many years of having AOL, I am very disappointed. It's not user friendly when you want to get to your email quickly. For some reason I can't locate my 'favorites' tab...I totally relied on this feature to bring me into bill paying for various companies. I hope you reconsider this format.
Posted at 6:51AM on Jun 28th 2007 by wheels1902