Two news websites revamped

The Halifax Chronicle Herald and The Toronto Star have both made some cosmetic changes to their news websites recently. And both ran front-page explanatory notes to readers about the changes.

Rick Conrad, editor of thechronicleherald.ca, said the changes are “not an overhaul. It’s just a little tune-up with some extra features, which we hope to continue to add over the next few months.”

Some of these changes include a beefed up menu bar, which includes the Community Herald section as well as the site’s WheelsPress and JobsPress sites.
In addition, the Chronicle-Herald‘s former community site,
myconnect.ca, has been renamed and given a new URL (communityherald.ca).

As well, Conrad says blogs and discussion forums have been “cleaned up” and given a “more consistent look.” Read Conrad’s letter to readers to find out more about the specific changes at thechronicleherald.ca

Meanwhile, thestar.com has made some changes to its front page, with the aim of making it “more attractive and easier to use.” Neil Sanderson, assistant managing editor at the Star, wrote a note to readers that ran on September 30 and highlighted some of the big changes and explained the reasoning behind them.

A few of the big changes include: the top story is now given a little more space, there are more links to related stories and the lower section of the page has been “decluttered” and more cleanly organized by section. In addition, financial market data is now housed in the business section and is not on the front page. Read Sanderson’s letter to readers to find out about the other changes.