9 Ways
9 (actually 10) Ways for Newspapers to Improve Their Websites:
- Start Using Tags
- Provide Full Text RSS Feeds
- Work with External “Social” Websites
- Link to Relevant Blog Entries
- Get Rid of All Registration
- Partner with Local Bloggers
- Offer Alternative Views of Your Content
- Modernize Your Site’s Graphic Design
- Learn from Craigslist
- Make your content work on cell phones and PDAs
I’d even add #11: Flip the relationship of the paper to the website. I went in-depth on this before, but it basically involves publishing stories to the web first, then making the morning paper a print version of the website, rather than the website being an electronic version of the paper. In this day and age, there’s no reason to “hold stories” until “press time”.
Also I’d add #12: Focus More on Local News.
Filed under The Computer Vet Weblog
I agree. And I hope local newspaper editors and their Web page editors are reading this. Why don’t they link to your site? Why don’t they have a list of Northern Nevada blogs?
Also, I’ve tried to read through newspaper classifieds online, but I don’t have the patience and usually give up. Craigslist is the way to go!
Your top 10 list is a decent “starter list” for high-level work, but there’s ALOT more to building a good web site than what you’ve listed.
It’s not meant to be a “starter list”, it’s a list of what people leave out when they’re building a site and need to go back and add in. Especially the online offerings from a lot of newspapers. The point being that bloggers do all of this on zero budget; why can’t newspapers throw a few extra dollars at their sites to make them more friendly and usable?