"NME.com is the most valuable tool we ever created. This magazine could not now come out without NME.com," says Robinson. "There are pages every week that are dedicated to the research done and the information given to us via the readership of NME.com. We get fantastic insights and it fits the brand strategy, which is about connecting with music fans. NME is much more than just this magazine."
From this article: http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/music/features/story.jsp?story=545027
I just don't understand how nme.com can be so popular, I visit it on the odd occasion, I used to go there quite a bit but have found it to be just as badly written as the Print NME, the news on there is usually to be found somewhere else on the net a good few hours beforehand, and their reviews section seems to be updated once every month or so.
― actionjackson, Wednesday, 28 July 2004 15:08 (twenty-one years ago)
eleven months pass...
two years pass...
New look NME.COM, what’s going on?
Why have we done it?
Through years of adding new features and responding to new designs, NME.COM had become something of a monster. A monster that needed reigning in. All the feedback we were getting told us that it was getting more and more difficult to find exactly what you wanted - and no one likes to spend ages to find things.
Plus all the journalists working here were frustrated that the news stories and reviews couldn’t be found by search engines.
We had to get this right.
Why have we done only news, reviews and photos?
We were doing so well forging ahead with these sections and they were so much easier to get around that we couldn’t wait to get them out. We felt that the improvements we’d made to these sections outweighed the shock in moving from one look to another.
What are the changes?
Most of the main changes are ‘under the bonnet’. The code on the pages (I’m told) after much splendid boffinery is better structured and you may notice it’s a little faster.
Some of the things you’ll notice are:
1. Overall clarity has been improved – we’ve simplified the indexes and pages so they’re easier to get around
2. You can jump from one news story to another using the right hand list of latest news
3. We’ve increased the text size so it’s easier to read on a small screen or a mobile device
4. It’s easier to find news, reviews and media on your favourite bands from news or reviews stories
5. Easier main navigation – it lights up when you put your mouse on it, so you can be sure on what you’re about to click
6. A second level of navigation on news and reviews. So you can get straight to the sections (‘Blogs’, ‘Tour news’ or ‘Album reviews’ say) much quicker than before
7. We’ve made it easier to add comments to news stories and your own reviews - the best will appear below the articles
8. We’ve added a MyNME widget on these pages – this is so you can keep track of comments and reviews, add photos and videos, make friends and add tour dates
We think we’ve done OK, and we hope you like it. However we have some questions that you can help us with. Either e-mail me mynmeb✧✧✧@ipcme✧✧✧.c✧✧ with your answers or use the comment form below. We’ll be putting everything back into the next stage of the redesign.
1 Is the navigation bar easier, harder or the same to use? Why?
2 Is the second tier of navigation on news and reviews useful? How?
3 Is it easier or harder to find news stories and reviews you want to read? Why?
4 Is it easier or harder to read news stories and reviews? Why?
5 How often do you think you would add comments to news stories?
6 Would you comment on news/reviews only about artists you’re interested in, or would you like to have your say on major news stories, releases or tours?
7 How do you feel about the best of the comments being including in NME the magazine?
8 What things should we do to MyNME to improve it?
9 What things outside of news, reviews and photos could we do to improve it?
10 How jarring is the change from one look to another, is it too uneven?
http://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=10&p=3067&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
― James Mitchell, Friday, 14 December 2007 09:38 (eighteen years ago)