This past summer I had a change to intern at The Lowell Sun newspaper in Lowell, Ma. I've always had a lot of respect for the paper, but I hated the website. It was crowded, clunky, and disorganized. The newspaper changed its interface over the summer that looked more like a front page of a newspaper. It was cleaner, things were spaced out, and it was so much easier to navigate.
But for some reason the readers were not happy. As the intern, one of my duties was to listen to readers reaction voice messages, and so many of them thought the interface was terrible; some even said they stopped going to the website. That can't happen. A news outlet's website and user interface have to look good or else some readers will abandon it. And now that people have smart phones and tablets, news outlets need to make sure their website's format looks good on a smaller screen.
I did some searching on the Internet and found some news sites that have excellent page layouts:
Polygon
Polygon.com is a great gaming site. It has awesome news reports, well-written articles, and above all else, a great website. It's biggest and newest stories are on top, and the res of the articles are lined up in rows of three. It's very clean and easy to navigate; it reminds me of an online magazine. It also looks fantastic on tables and smart phones.
Mashable
Mashable is very similar to BuzzFeed in the sense that it reports on a lot of pop culture, but its articles focus more on writing. Posts are neatly displayed in the right in a zig-zag type of pattern and a small bar to left showcases newer posts. Mashable also has a fantastic app that seamlessly transitions from post to home page by simply scrolling down the bottom of the post.
The Lowell Sun
The Sun's readers may have not liked the website, but I think it looks great. It look like the front page of a newspaper, and the white background looks clean. When the page loads there is a giant ad on top, but it disappears to make room for the articles.
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