Thread by @pwthornton

A few things I find fascinating about most news websites is this:

1) Designing good news website is largely a solved problem. Fairly easy problem.

2) Most news websites aren't very good.

This leads me to believe there are fundamental flaws with the product design process at most news organizations. Most likely a lack of rigor and proper processes to figure out what the user problems they are trying to solve and why whenever they redesign their websites.

I've been involved with news website redesigns for 10-15 years at this point, and far too often the editorial focus is on representing various internal organizational structures on homepage and navigation and finding ways to put bylines everywhere.

Neither are user concerns.

The 800 lb. gorilla of bad news design is haphazard advertising. A lot of news websites are so bedazzled in cheap ads that no good user experience could possibly be expected.

This seems like a poor long-term strategy to make money, let alone make users happy.

Most people who work for a news org are big consumers of news content on websites. If you just start with trying to make a news website that you would enjoy using in all the contexts that you use it (home, office, on the go), you are half the way to a good design.

One thing I would challenge every news org to do when redesigning their websites is to ask themselves why do readers like finding news so much on Facebook, Twitter and Reddit?

Really explore that.

The best advice I can give any news org looking to do a website redesign is to always ask yourself, "what user needs are we trying to solve?" with each thing you do.

Follow proper, rigorous user-centered design processes. Involve real users throughout entire process.

@CQnow was the first news organization that I've worked for that has really tried to do user-centered design with news sites. There are still a lot of stakeholders to juggle, but we have given it an honest go.

@rollcall is also undertaking that process now.