Study Guide for the Book Homepage Usability: 50 Websites Deconstructed

Solution to Exercise 1: Evaluate the redesigned www.bbc.co.uk homepage

This document contains the authors' commentary on BBC's redesigned homepage and is intended for reading after you have completed Study Guide Exercise 1.

If you have not completed the exercise yet, please do not read any further.

The numbers refer to the red "bubbles" in the analysis of the old www.bbc.co.uk homepage in Homepage Usability, which begins on page 82 in the English edition.

BBC's new homepage fixed 50% of the problems we pointed out in the original review and retained 88% of the positive aspects we mentioned. Overall, we find this new design an improvement. The new categories reveal more content on the homepage, and there are some good areas for quickly accessing top-priority content, such as program schedules. The new design looks fairly clean; however, we're concerned that it's difficult to tell what is and isn't clickable on this page.

Positive comments

Window Title

	1 point	Still begins with "BBC."

Numbered Red Bubbles

1 1 point Kept in new design.

8 1 point Still have featured content in the main body of the page.

9 1 point Still have good news headlines.

17 1 point Same search box design.

19 1 point This is even better in the new design, since these sites are grouped with the "Where I live" category.

23 0 points No more icons.

24 1 point BBC company information in "About the BBC."

1	1 point	Kept in new design.
8	1 point	Still have featured content in the main body of the page.
9	1 point	Still have good news headlines.
17	1 point	Same search box design.
19	1 point	This is even better in the new design, since these sites are grouped with the "Where I live" category.
23	0 points	No more icons.
24	1 point	BBC company information in "About the BBC."

Negative comments

Window Title

	0 points	The design is different, but worse, not better than before. The "BBCi" looks confusing and redundant and isn't adequately explained.

Tag Line

0 points Still not fixed—like the old tagline, it conveys a little bit about its number-one status, but doesn't explain the site at all.

	0 points	Still not fixed—like the old tagline, it conveys a little bit about its number-one status, but doesn't explain the site at all.

Numbered Red Bubbles

2 1 point Fixed by simplifying the search interface. Users might have problems seeing this search box, however. Although it's in the recommended upper-right corner, the banner area below it separates this top navigation area from the rest of the UI.

3 0 points Not fixed.

4 0 points Not fixed.

5 0.5 point The new link to TV and radio offers user more control over the content they will get, but it's still confusing to have two links (now in different places) to the same information. If BBC wants to keep a page for compiled TV and radio listings, the heading "TV and Radio" above the programme dropdown should link to it, instead of the current separate links to TV and Radio, which already exist below the programme.

6 0.5 point While it's good that they got rid of the graphical headings, the new headings don't give much indication that they are clickable.

0 points Although the current design uses more consistent formatting for heading levels than the previous one, there are still inconsistent capitalization styles under the "Where I Live" section. For example, "BBC World Service" and "World news."

7 1 point Fixed. Although the new design doesn't give these categories greater prominence, they don't need it, since the special areas for these three in the upper right get enough prominence.

8 0 points Still no links to archives for past features.

10 0.5 point Although there are no longer any icons here, and thus no problem with inconsistent behavior or animation, the new text links still don't let users choose an individual clip to listen to or watch. Also, because audio and video icons are quickly becoming a standard on news sites, the icons conveyed the message that there were audio and video clips better than the current text links do.

11 1 point Fixed -- no more category names for featured news items.

12 1 point Fixed—doesn't exist anymore.

13 1 point The site now features chat and other live content, such as the vote on whether plastic surgery vouchers make good Christmas gifts.

14 0 points Still can't get the current weather. The "Latest" link goes to the forecast, just as the city name used to in the old design.

15 0 points Photos of people still don't have captions. Some don't even have ALT text.

16 1 point Fixed.

18 0.5 point This new design makes the feature a bit clearer, because it shows more of the content on the homepage. The slight name change (from "Where you live" to "Where I live") doesn't help to clarify—if anything, the "I" is more confusing, because users won't expect the homepage to refer to them in first person. Also, this new design would be better if it let users choose their local station from the homepage, by postcode or name, rather than forcing them to go to another page.

20 1 point The new design doesn't list the categories with the features.

21 1 point It is much better to show one of the program choices in the dropdown selection list, ("EastEnders" in this case), which makes it clearer that these are BBC programs, as well as to include the explanatory text above the list.

22 0 points The links to the radio stations still don't tell what's playing.

23 0.5 point Because there isn't an icon anymore, it's not confusing, but it also isn't clear that these go to live radio broadcasts. It would be better to use the icons, as we suggested in the original review.

24 1 point "About the BBC" is a clearer name for corporate information than was the previous name.

25 0 points Not fixed.

26 0 points Not fixed.

27 1 point No longer in the design.

28 0.5 point It's good that the new design consolidates the job postings and renames them in the more scannable form, "Jobs at the BBC." However, other links in the design now begin with "BBC," although they didn't in the previous design. For example, "BBC News" and "BBC Sport."

29 1 point No more Bruce the Spider in this homepage design.

2	1 point	Fixed by simplifying the search interface. Users might have problems seeing this search box, however. Although it's in the recommended upper-right corner, the banner area below it separates this top navigation area from the rest of the UI.
3	0 points	Not fixed.
4	0 points	Not fixed.
5	0.5 point	The new link to TV and radio offers user more control over the content they will get, but it's still confusing to have two links (now in different places) to the same information. If BBC wants to keep a page for compiled TV and radio listings, the heading "TV and Radio" above the programme dropdown should link to it, instead of the current separate links to TV and Radio, which already exist below the programme.
6	0.5 point	While it's good that they got rid of the graphical headings, the new headings don't give much indication that they are clickable.
	0 points	Although the current design uses more consistent formatting for heading levels than the previous one, there are still inconsistent capitalization styles under the "Where I Live" section. For example, "BBC World Service" and "World news."
7	1 point	Fixed. Although the new design doesn't give these categories greater prominence, they don't need it, since the special areas for these three in the upper right get enough prominence.
8	0 points	Still no links to archives for past features.
10	0.5 point	Although there are no longer any icons here, and thus no problem with inconsistent behavior or animation, the new text links still don't let users choose an individual clip to listen to or watch. Also, because audio and video icons are quickly becoming a standard on news sites, the icons conveyed the message that there were audio and video clips better than the current text links do.
11	1 point	Fixed -- no more category names for featured news items.
12	1 point	Fixed—doesn't exist anymore.
13	1 point	The site now features chat and other live content, such as the vote on whether plastic surgery vouchers make good Christmas gifts.
14	0 points	Still can't get the current weather. The "Latest" link goes to the forecast, just as the city name used to in the old design.
15	0 points	Photos of people still don't have captions. Some don't even have ALT text.
16	1 point	Fixed.
18	0.5 point	This new design makes the feature a bit clearer, because it shows more of the content on the homepage. The slight name change (from "Where you live" to "Where I live") doesn't help to clarify—if anything, the "I" is more confusing, because users won't expect the homepage to refer to them in first person. Also, this new design would be better if it let users choose their local station from the homepage, by postcode or name, rather than forcing them to go to another page.
20	1 point	The new design doesn't list the categories with the features.
21	1 point	It is much better to show one of the program choices in the dropdown selection list, ("EastEnders" in this case), which makes it clearer that these are BBC programs, as well as to include the explanatory text above the list.
22	0 points	The links to the radio stations still don't tell what's playing.
23	0.5 point	Because there isn't an icon anymore, it's not confusing, but it also isn't clear that these go to live radio broadcasts. It would be better to use the icons, as we suggested in the original review.
24	1 point	"About the BBC" is a clearer name for corporate information than was the previous name.
25	0 points	Not fixed.
26	0 points	Not fixed.
27	1 point	No longer in the design.
28	0.5 point	It's good that the new design consolidates the job postings and renames them in the more scannable form, "Jobs at the BBC." However, other links in the design now begin with "BBC," although they didn't in the previous design. For example, "BBC News" and "BBC Sport."
29	1 point	No more Bruce the Spider in this homepage design.