Times Live gets a revamp

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Comments Reuben Goldberg (@RubyGold), Times Live news editor, "Times Live has grown, developed and changed in leaps and bounds according to its consumers' needs. [It] will continue to be the controversial and punchy website it has always been; just a sexier model."

The news site, which was launched in 2009, receives around 600 000 local unique visitors per month.

Many features of the new design are intended to create a far more visually rich experience for readers, eg, the home page layout carries more images, a dynamic menu has been introduced featuring top stories per section and a new Editor's Choice bar has been added to section pages.

Additional value-added advertising space has been opened up on high-traffic pages within the website.

Comments

As this is a new design on a new version of the content management system (CMS), readers will have to register again, even if they've registered before - but will be able to login using using their Facebook, Google or MSN profiles. This will enable readers to comment, report any abusive comments they want removed, and sign up for the Times Live newsletter.

However, comments are now being invited only on selected breaking news stories, and there will be a greater involvement by the Times Live team in the community conversation around those stories. The aim here is to improve the site's commenting functionality, as well as spurring more meaningful and relevant debate between readers around pertinent daily topics.

iLive page for more lengthy contributions

According to the editorial team, "Our iLive page will continue the interaction by publishing your more lengthy and considered contributions, or any interesting opinions or snippets of news, photos or videos you would like to have published on the site. There's also our Times Live Facebook page and our twitter.com/TimesLIVE Twitter stream to keep you in the conversation and up to the moment with the news."

The existing multimedia platform will continue to function as the central hub for all multimedia content on the website. The multimedia content is also now fully integrated within the site to enable easy viewing of videos, photos galleries and audio inside an article.

Feedback on the new site's functionality is welcomed at az.oc.evilsemit@kcabdeef.