Update on our new homepage testing

Posted February 13th, 2009 at 8:08 pm by Tapan Bhat, Integrated Consumer Experiences

 63 Comments / Filed in: Behind the Scenes

As many of you know, we started testing new concepts for the Yahoo! homepage last fall, with the goal of helping to simplify the Web for the more than 300 million people around the world who visit the site each month.

We are wrapping up the first phase of our “bucket testing” and have gleaned some great insights from people in the US, UK, France and India who have tried out the new page. We’ve done a number of things to collect input –- from reading your comments here on Yodel to reviewing online feedback forms and customer care inquires to meeting with many of you in person and online. Bottom line is we’re getting closer to the final design, but we’re not quite there yet.

Before I share details around what we’ve learned, I wanted to give a quick recap of some of the functionality we’ve added over the past few months since just a fraction of you have experienced it firsthand.

Back in September, we introduced a new section called “My Apps.” The great part about having apps on your homepage is that you can easily check in and get more done –- from reading and responding to multiple email accounts to browsing local movie listings –- all without leaving the page.

Today, we’ve enhanced that experience and we’re testing more than 25 apps that will keep you updated with whatever you want to know. New additions include apps from eBay, Forbes.com, Wired.com and more top brands. We’ve also beefed up the Sports and Finance apps, for example, providing schedules, team standings, blogs links and more, plus one-click access to your stock portfolios and stock quotes. The best part is that the “My Apps” section is now customizable so you can add and remove apps (check out this screenshot) so your homepage reflects what matters most to you.

Here’s what we’ve heard from our testers:

Positive Feedback

• People are happy with the streamlined look and feel
• There’s lots of love for the applications
• Most testers said they prefer the new homepage over the current homepage

One comment that sums it up nicely:

“Well — I was surprised at first at how little change was introduced, and liked that. Now I’m surprised by how much change actually is packed in, but is more interaction based… Basically it’s deceptively different — looks and feels the same, but much more functionality built in at a new layer.” – Thomas

What We’re Working On
Now that we’ve got a critical mass of input, we’re translating it into updated versions of the page for ongoing testing. Here are some highlights.

• The #1 thing we’re hearing you want is more apps and we’ll be adding many apps in the coming weeks
• Most didn’t like the dark color that we tested initially — see the screenshot below of the new visual treatments we’re testing
• Easier ways to access and preview email and instant messaging accounts are in the works
• It should be easier to get to other Yahoo! services that you’ve come to rely upon

We don’t take changes to your homepage lightly and your input is critical. To help our designers and engineers, tell us what else you think we should consider. Is there a killer app that you’d love to see?

Know that we’re working hard to create a new homepage that you’ll love and we’ll keep you posted as we get closer to launching. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Tapan Bhat
Senior Vice President, Yahoo! Front Doors, Communities and Network Services

Tagged: yahoo! homepage

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63 Comments Add your own

Gary | February 13th, 2009 at 8:41 pm

Can barely wait to use it. Wish it was an opt-in thing like the Yahoo Mail test was. Looks great. Keep up the good work.

guillaumeb | February 14th, 2009 at 6:52 am

Looks great but why no link to My Yahoo and a link to the dead to be brieface?

TheAnand | February 14th, 2009 at 7:29 am

I wish you guys could work on the technical part of things than work on the design element. :(

I moved my email to gmail 2 months back since they gave me better control and easier load times and gadgets and no spam and threaded emails.

I moved my social network to orkut, since all my friends were there.

I moved my calendar to google, as they let me sync with my windows mobile.

I stopped answering on yahoo! answers as it was giving me no benefits.

I quit using yahoo messenger as it was too heavy for my PC

I quit flickr as picasa gave me loads more of space.

I quit mybloglog as it turned out that I am getting no benefits off it except wastage of real estate on my sites.

And don’t get my wrong, I have been a yahoo! fan for as long as I can remember and still am, but it just does not make sense to something that has no functionality due to sentimental values.

Please get your web strategies straightened up before loads more people get laid off and the company sinks.

George Nimeh | February 14th, 2009 at 12:16 pm

How is it that you guys are still using terminology that no one relates to? So unnatural. It is geeky tech speak that so few of your “300 million” visitors will care about.

You’re really calling it “My Apps”? Is that a human term? How many people will understand that? And of those who do, what difference will it make?

So the top right will read:

My Apps
Hi xxx
Sign Out

I’d expect many of those “300 million” to select the third option.

FAIL.

DP81 | February 14th, 2009 at 12:45 pm

Glad to hear you are working on improving the access and preview of email. This is specifically why I chose to revert back to old homepage version. Current email access and preview nearly unusable on test homepage, especially compared to old homepage. I didnt hang around long enough to even check out other improvements because of my frustration with email. Huge Yahoo fan so Im interested to see what you role out once the issues with the test are ironed out.

duillaumeB | February 14th, 2009 at 3:11 pm

@Georges : I see your point but I believe you’re wrong. Plenty of people using “Apps” on Facebook…it’s not the 90s anymore

Coolzrock | February 14th, 2009 at 3:22 pm

I think you should use a simple homepage just like Google’s one. And create an option like iYahoo, or mYahoo! or similar, and opens this page, with applications and stuff.
Just my opinion … :) Nice one btw.

michael gal | February 14th, 2009 at 4:41 pm

What I like and don’t like:

I never click on 90% of the links on the page — I usually click on Mail, Search, News, and Sports. Since I don’t care about Personal or Horoscope, etc. why do you show them to me. I really like Yahoo but when people walk by my desk at work and I am on the yahoo.com homepage they think I am playing when in fact I could actually be looking something for my job — can you tone it down a bit!!
Finally, the last thing I find annoying are the Popular Searches — they are usually kind of dumb and usually things that I am not interested in.

Now to what I like — the apps are cool, but they are so slow and the finance one does not find the stocks well — is you type Walmart it doesn’t return any results.

Best of luck

Scott K | February 15th, 2009 at 1:32 pm

I just wish you’d let me opt-in on the testing. I’d love to play around with it and give feedback.

Pavar | February 16th, 2009 at 8:51 am

I love how the applications are designed, best is sports and ebay…its rocking

George Nimeh | February 16th, 2009 at 10:47 am

@duillaumeB … Just because people use “apps” doesn’t mean that it should be called apps. Yahoo is not an early-adopter business and not everyone owns an iPhone. Yet. ;-)

What’s the difference people are supposed to make between the word “services” and “apps”? To the average backgammon-playing Yahoo! visitor, I’d say that’s a tough question.

In any case, the architecture of the page is still way too crowded, and people will still be overwhelmed by choices.

Matt | February 16th, 2009 at 11:44 am

I wish all the featured videos on the homepage were embedded. I hate the pop up video player, it never works right for me.

Interesting Blog | February 18th, 2009 at 11:20 pm

the new page is looking great. better than the last dark theme.

Matthew Lemon | February 19th, 2009 at 5:58 am

GET RID OF THE STUPID m.yahoo.com. IT SUCKS BIG HAIRY MONKEY BALLS! THE CLASSIC YAHOO HOME PAGE WORKS JUST FINE. LIKE MY DAD ALWAYS SAID, “IF IT AINT BROKE…DON’T FIX IT!!!” IT IS ANNOYING TO HAVE TO DELETE MY BROWSER HISTORY AND ALL THAT STUFF EVERY TIME YOU PEOPLE ATTEMPT TO HIJACK MY COMPUTER WITH THAT STUPID M.YAHOO.COM “NEW AND IMPROVED” (NOT AT ALL) HOMEPAGE. GET RID OF IT!!!

Jim Silverman | February 20th, 2009 at 11:06 pm

From a purely aesthetic point of view, your last preview was much better. This version is looking too bland. The carousels are the main difference, IMO, Where’d the purple tabs go? :(

Janet | February 21st, 2009 at 11:11 pm

I CAN’T WAIT TO FINALLY USE THE NEW HOMEPAGE AND I DID LIKED A LOT THE DARK THEME. THIS LIGHT COLOR LOOKS PLAIN. BUT KEEP THE GOOD WORK ANYWAYS! :)

Matt | February 22nd, 2009 at 3:02 pm

I was wondering if you guys are getting rid of the personal assistant. And if so, will you be putting links to the most used services like mail, weather, calendars, notes, my Yahoo! and others?
I really like the personal assistant, It lets me see the weather (and other information) without having to go to a new page.
Just wondering.

Joseph Romola | February 24th, 2009 at 4:26 pm

I don’t like like the new Yahoo homepage, and can’t get ride of it. What I did do is create a shortcut icon to my yahoo mail, so the new homepage does not even come up anymore.

Chris | March 9th, 2009 at 7:56 pm

I like it, I wish I’d received an invite to try it more.

As echoed by others I have moved a lot of my work to Google apps & mail, BUT only away from Microsoft alternatives – which have taken a HUGE nosedive of late. However my primary personal mailbox is Yahoo premium account, and to me it’s still by far the best desktop app-like experience. Almost as fast as Gmail with a ton more functionality (exceptfor syncing because you stopped cooperating with Plaxo). Hopefully you’ve got some of those devs here.

Axel | March 20th, 2009 at 6:55 pm

I love the new Yahoo homepage, I can hardly wait until it is released. I would like it to an opt-in test program (like the one of the new mail). Anyways…keep up the good work and hurry up to finish the new homepage! :)

David | April 12th, 2009 at 10:18 pm

Thanks for forcing me to the “new” yahoo. If I wanted change, I would seek it out. Maybe some of your users want to be Beta testers. Great, have them sign up to do this for you. Selecting people at random just because we have our email with you is not very scientific. I did not pay for an account with Yahoo to be subjected to internal Yahoo marketing campaigns. Restore my Yahoo to the way you “sold” it to me. Thank you!

Travis | April 14th, 2009 at 1:57 pm

I love the new Yahoo homepage. It is far easier to use than the old page and it is less cluttered. Hopefully they will add more apps.

Bella | April 27th, 2009 at 12:46 pm

I love the NEW look ! It’s seems less cluttered and more functional. But I do wish that the TESTING PHASE would finally be over. I would much rather see it ALL THE TIME rather then have it POP UP from time to time.

Kasi | May 16th, 2009 at 8:44 pm

I really miss the old homepage I dont think i will visit yahoo much anymore because of the so called improvements.
I miss the look and the easy acces to everything.
I used to be a regular yahoo user but now i just wish i could have the old one back and like I said I might not go on yahoo anymore :(

david | June 21st, 2009 at 8:43 am

The website design might be great. Don’t know, don’t care – Why?
Because I’m too ticked off at the forced redirect that took me there. If you want to test a new design – ASK for people to try it. I have to loose all of my cookie info every time you do this – And on top of that then Yahoo.com then does not want to recognize my ID when I attempt to log back in (Which takes 3,4, sometimes 5 attempts).

So quit it already, !!!!!

David

Steve | July 4th, 2009 at 6:32 am

I hate the stupid “m” in the URL. I’m not mobile. I’m at my desk. When I want to type in a new URL, I have to delete and retype the WWW now as well.

The “m” has made me mad enough that I now use http://www.google.com as my home page and I’ve had Yahoo as my homepage since the day Yahoo launched.

I also don’t like the new layout. It is clutter and crap keeps popping up over the screen if my mouse accidentally strays outside the teeny, tiny uncluttered white space you’ve left me.

Good job Yahoo. Lost another loyal user.

Aggieboo 65 | July 15th, 2009 at 10:24 am

I hate the new page!! I like the Yahoo Classic..how do you get it back???????

Mark Montembeau | July 20th, 2009 at 1:53 pm

I don’t like your new homepage. Please E-mail me with directions how to get the other one back.
This new one is too big abd now I have to maximise my screeen to read it. I never had to with the other one.
I DON’T like pages to load automatically just because I accidentaly moved my cursor over them. This is VERY aggrivating. The entire left colume should be deleted.
Your main articles that I used to like reading are either nonexistent or hard to find now.
I like the homepage the way it was. I have used and sent feedback twice now and nobody has written back to me to tell me how to change back to the other homepage style.
PLEASE WRITE BACK. If you don’t I can easily switch to using my Google mail if I have to.

Angry User | July 26th, 2009 at 11:41 pm

Is their anyway to change it back?

Linda | July 29th, 2009 at 11:37 am

Hi,I do not like the new home page. I didnt’ like the changes when they started,and I still now in nearly August HATE the new look. Either give a choice or I will have to go some where else. I am 61 and not a teen or young person,and I like my on line comfort. Please give me back the old or I will find the new. And because not one of my friends wanted to write ,this is basically a letter from 20 of us.Take care.Thank You Linda

Steve Roth | August 3rd, 2009 at 7:41 am

I like how they noted all the positive feedback and omitted the overwhelming majority of users who absolutely hated the new layout. Even better, in spite of the majority opinion they continued with their new and improved design.

The icing on the cake for me was how many users clearly stated they were going to Google if they had to use the new page. All that and they still kept on with the new homepage that the majority hates. Wow.

Google pwns Yahoo so hard it is ridiculous and if I was the one making decisions at yahoo, anything that users hated so much that they told me they would go to Google instead I would kill it immediately.

But hey, that’s just my opinion.

splattered | August 19th, 2009 at 1:03 am

one word – sucks

splattered | August 19th, 2009 at 1:05 am

another few words – i’m going to google

splattered | August 19th, 2009 at 1:17 am

and some more words – you just won google some more customers…

Claudine Selden | August 30th, 2009 at 5:15 am

I prefer at this time to keep my Yahoo Home Page (which I am not getting not and wonder why, when I click on Internet Explorer, it goes straight to mail without Home page..Anyway, ask me later if I want to switch, right now I do not, so please switch me back to my Old Yahoo and all

Martha | September 1st, 2009 at 4:39 pm

I HATE IT!!!!! I don’t see one thing I like about it. It does not load right and the “page options” doesn’t work. I was the Classic, Old–what ever you want to call it back. I am ready to find me a new home page and will if it stays like it is now.

Martha | September 1st, 2009 at 4:41 pm

In my previous comment it should have been “I want” not “I was”. That just shows how upset I am about the change. Change is not necessarily good and in this case is DEFINITELY not good.

street lighting | September 11th, 2009 at 6:28 pm

Thanks for sharing informations.Looking forward to more stuff.

Nasty page | September 14th, 2009 at 12:00 am

I hate this new m.yahoo.com page a lot, Im so tired of clearing out my cookies for yahoo to get back to the normal page I NOW WILL NO LONGER GO TO YAHOO.COM!

permanent magnets | September 14th, 2009 at 12:21 am

ok, I will use it.I believe with you.

Paver | September 14th, 2009 at 11:24 am

Get rid of this stupid M.Yahoo business and go back to the classic page. I am going to change my homepage to a more “friendly” page. Don’t try to reinvent the wheel and if it isn’t broken….don’t mess with it!

Berry | September 14th, 2009 at 4:48 pm

I don’t care for the m.yahoo redirect either, the page is too full of junk which of course slows it down. Yahoo should know that it’s better to give people a choice than force change, some will like it some won’t. Anyway, if you want the classic old page set your browser to start page http://209.131.36.158 instead of http://www.yahoo.com.

Magnetic Separator | September 16th, 2009 at 12:29 am

I’m going to google

Michael mLIQUID | September 16th, 2009 at 6:28 am

I must say I’ve been using yahoo since I freed myself from dial-up some 9 years ago. Your homepage has been rock steady and mail as well. Not until recently have you shaken my confidence and made me start to venture elsewhere. WHY? Well, your insistant 2 time a day hijack of my homepage. If you want to ask me to participate great. I may decline as I don’t particulary care for most things beta, especially when it concerns mail. At the same time I understand you’re attempting to develop new and better things… WWWWWWWWWWWWWWEEEEELLLL if you truely want to improve yahoo you will take all these neat little “apps” and liberate them from spam. Take “Hot Jobs” for instance. One real posting and 25 “work at home for $195-495″ for every city in my county. This holds true with mail and everything else. Every app on yahoo is completely ladden with spam.
But… I love you. Just don’t hijack my ****.

Bill | September 16th, 2009 at 7:40 am

I hate it. I too am tired of having to clear the cookies and cache to only have the new home page return shortly. A lot of balls just taking over your computer

KL | September 17th, 2009 at 5:08 am

I hate the look of the new Yahoo, and I’m frustrated beyond belief to have to delete all my temp internet files multiple times a day just to keep from continually being redirected to m.yahoo.com. I don’t like being forced to redirect to this page without my consent, and I want an ability to permanently opt-out of this testing homepage until you decent to go with this horrible new design or not.

stella quintero | September 18th, 2009 at 5:10 am

I hate it unable/to get into yahoo

Kevin S. Blaksley | September 19th, 2009 at 10:26 am

I am usually open minded but find the new yahoo page so aggravating. If Yahoo feels the change is needed than I have no choice but to convert to a Google. I don’t like automated high bandwidth web sites. Please Yahoo don’t do it!

fittting | September 24th, 2009 at 7:00 pm

As we all know a good website must have many knowledge and more update.This is a good method.

John Hatton | September 24th, 2009 at 8:03 pm

One of my must used computers was hi-jacked to use m.yahoo.com. We don’t like it. I have spent hours trying to switch back to the classic look that we are use to and that works for us. Hours of wasted time! Hey, its my computer and no one but me has the right to change it.

Now I can not make it switch back to classic yahoo. The option is no longer on the home page and if I type in yahoo.com I am redirected. I have done restores on my computer, reinstalled browsers, etc. and still Yahoo does this dirty trick.

Finally I just gave up and switched to a different home page and now avoid yahoo. Sorry, Yahoo, but its YOUR fault. At least give your users the respect they deserve and let them decide how their own computer will work.

inverters | September 26th, 2009 at 1:58 am

Thanks for your article.

valves manufacturer | October 2nd, 2009 at 11:48 pm

Yahoo is very strong, I like this website.One day I must design one web like yahoo.

Dave Nichols | October 4th, 2009 at 6:10 pm

Please leave the old yahoo homepage on . I dislike the new one. I would like to opt out of the testing . Its more of an aggravation than a help. Thanks

m | October 5th, 2009 at 3:29 pm

I left a detailed comment yesterday about keeping the Classic Yahoo link available for those of us who prefer it— it does appear you have conveniently chosen to ‘edit out’ if not ‘censor’ my comments — ….hmmm, so much for free speech…a response, at least might have been appropriate. What is the point in having a comments forum…if you are going to ‘hear’ what you want any way ——Really????? So —–about that Classic Yahoo! option eh????????????????? I just wonder —-
Have the ‘listening ears’ been attached yet? Are we getting the Classic Yahoo! link back or am I moving to Google? Hmmmm. Thanks.

flocculants | October 19th, 2009 at 1:57 am

Just a footprint

argos_reed | October 23rd, 2009 at 9:07 am

I DO NOT WANT THE “NEW” m.yahoo. I WANT THE ORIGINAL YAHOO. yes I yelled. sorry.

Bhavna Shukla | October 29th, 2009 at 9:13 am

Please remove this stupid m.yahoo.com…. It is not really useful as well as attractive… I LOVE MY OLD YAHOO.COM. People can always have choice to select Yahoo.com or m.yahoo.com. Those who like m.yahoo.com can link that URL in their favorites. BUT PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE GET ME MY OLD http://WWW.YAHOO.COM AVAILABLE ASAP.

m | November 2nd, 2009 at 6:02 am

new home page sucks

T | November 2nd, 2009 at 10:24 am

Please give me back the CLASSIC yahoo homepage. This new version is terrible! Why won’t you listen to the people. It’s all over the web…NOBODY like the new homepage. I’m sure that all your advertisers are very happy with all the negative feedback.

This is just like when they came out with ‘New Coke’. Learn your lesson yahoo, give us back our classic homepage, because you new version SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jahbless | November 4th, 2009 at 7:25 am

Not really big on complaining about what a company does with a free e-mail and search engine, but now I make an exception…

GET RID OF http://WWW.M.YAHOO.COM

Please return the original look and feel. Keep it simple…Who wants to shift their eyes all over a page at randomness?

Jah Bless

SU | November 11th, 2009 at 1:37 pm

If you don’t like the new Yahoo homepage, complain about it to Yahoo. (see below) Then use Google for your homepage & search, bookmark Yahoo mail or Finance or whatever else you need. I like Google for news and in the SF Bay Area, SFgate is good.

http://feedback.help.yahoo.com/feedback.php?.src=FP&.from=101&.done=http://www.yahoo.com

danny titsworth | December 24th, 2009 at 10:49 am

ok

danny titsworth | December 24th, 2009 at 10:50 am

ok for yahoo