The StamfordAdvocate.com you see today probably looks a bit different than the one you saw yesterday.
Make that a lot different.
The site you see today is the work of countless hours of work, both locally here in Connecticut and across Hearst Corporation.
There are so many new features that you might not notice them all at first. So we’ve put together a nice list of the big ones:
• A new, cleaner look. Our old site was, in a word, cluttered. We think you’ll love our new look. We’ve shed a lot of the excess to get back to the core mission of the site: To provide our readers with everything they need to know about their world, from Stamford and beyond.
• No more anonymous comments. We heard you. While we obviously encourage discussion, anonymous comments rarely add anything meaningful. On our new site, users are required to provide an e-mail address when they register. Once we verify its authenticity, readers are encouraged to leave comments on stories, photos, videos and blog posts.
• An easier way to purchase reprinted photos. See a picture we’ve taken of you or a loved one that you just have to own a copy of? Just click the “Buy This Photo” link below the picture. It’s that easy.
• Way better search. Search isn’t just limited to articles anymore. Now, a search for, say, “Pavia” will return all of our articles about Michael Pavia, but also all of our pictures, videos and blog posts about the mayor as well.
• Better multimedia. More slideshows. More videos. Our users click through our slideshows by the thousands every day, and our new site will give them bigger and better slideshows to explore.
Keep in mind that the site is still in “beta” mode, so you may see some weirdness here and there. If you do, please send us some feedback so we can take a look at it.
So click around! Explore the new site. I think you’re going to find it’s vastly better than our old one.
I’m glad to see that the comment function is back! I missed reading the comments, and I missed being able to post comments. And I applaud the end to complete anonymity. There will be fewer comments, and on average, better ones.
Comment by LVTfan — December 29th, 2009 @ 10:19 am
Where are the RSS feeds? I use live bookmarks in firefox and while the names of the stories are there, the links are dead when you click on them. Please fix. Thank you.
Comment by Derek — December 29th, 2009 @ 11:41 am
The comments aren’t sticking. I post it, it shows, but then is gone next time I visit.
Comment by David — December 29th, 2009 @ 2:08 pm
I was trying to find the Letter to the editor of December 27, 2009 titled “Fix the bill” by Brian A. Petronella. Failure. Only one letter was accessible for that date. Generally letters have been very poorly accessible and this has not been remedied as yet. More progress needed on your Beta version and eventually you should get there.
I also tried to access your Advocate editorial of December 29 without success.
To post this comment, I tried right where it said post— and finally scrolled down. Where you say post add “scroll down to post.
On this form change “mail” to “email” or “e-mail”. People may try their actual mail address which you did not mean.
Comment by Howard Halpern — December 29th, 2009 @ 6:31 pm
When will the new Advocate website have RSS enabled?
I am subscribed to the old Local News RSS feed @ http://rss.stamfordadvocate.com/mngi/rss/CustomRssServlet/7/200591.xml – and it still updates with new stories, but all the links are broken, so I can’t actually click on a headline and read the article.
Comment by UnsatisfiedMind — December 29th, 2009 @ 9:45 pm
Thanks for your feedback, David. I will pass this along.
Comment by Keith Whamond — December 30th, 2009 @ 8:03 am
We’re working to fix our RSS feeds soon. Thanks for your feedback.
Comment by Keith Whamond — December 30th, 2009 @ 8:03 am
What happened to NorwalkAdvocate.com?
Comment by KB — December 30th, 2009 @ 9:42 am
I appreciate the work that went into this new site, but I’m not a fan of the new look. Headings are too small. Info is too smooshed together.
Comment by Michelle — December 30th, 2009 @ 10:07 am
I don’t like this at all. It has too much NON-Stamford stuff. Most of these things are available all over the net and don’t need to be here – by the time you go to this destination, you’ve already gotten all this stuff on your main page. WHERE ARE THE COLUMNISTS AND THAT SUZI COSTAREGNI???
Comment by Joan — December 30th, 2009 @ 1:00 pm
I have to agree with Michelle above. The image links at the top of the page, where headlines are expected, don’t really call out the major stories, which are down to the left, in relatively small print. The eye hits the page and doesn’t really know where to go to spot the stories that the editors feel are the most important ones to read. The result is a feeling of clutter and confusion about what to look at first.
Comment by Jeff — December 30th, 2009 @ 6:45 pm
You can read our stories about Norwalk here:
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/norwalk
Comment by Keith Whamond — December 31st, 2009 @ 10:18 am
Well this is definitely not the Stamford Advocate Newspaper.That was thrown out along with the employees almost a year ago.It is a nice local type website though.
Comment by darren — December 31st, 2009 @ 9:30 pm
I could not find the movie schedules anywhere? I left the site and googled for the information but it would be nice if it were under entertainment. Maybe I missed it???
Comment by smile — January 1st, 2010 @ 8:52 pm
Yes it is easier to read and navigate however is it still the Stamford Advocate?
What is the new logo all about? Is the print edition changing as well? Another example of hiring a web firm that focuses on implementation and doesn’t understanding branding.
Comment by bad branding — January 2nd, 2010 @ 9:58 am
Tough to read, but it seems to have mostly old news. Put the old stuff in an archive section and keep the website filled with daily news, after all, it is a daily newspaper.
Comment by marilyn — January 2nd, 2010 @ 10:12 am