WSJ’s web redesign will move away from text-heavy look

Abigail Edge of Journalism.co.uk writes about the redesign of the Wall Street Journal website, which will appear early next week.

Edge writes, “The refurbished WSJ.com is set to go live on April 21, signposting a move away from the Journal’s text-heavy look with a less cluttered navigation and a responsive design optimised for desktop, smartphones and tablets.

“‘The way we think of it is it’s not just a redesign, it’s a new platform on which we’ll build,’ Almar Latour, executive editor at the Journal, told Journalism.co.uk.

“‘This is not about flipping a switch and then, ‘OK, we’re done’.’

“While competitors such as the New York Times and the Washington Post launched responsive sites some time ago, the Journal appears to be taking steps to ensure it can move more quickly for future digital developments and trends.

“Capital New York reports that a memo circulated to Journal staff last Friday (April 10) by editor in chief Gerry Baker announced that the newsroom would be joined by ‘web designers, mobile coders and digital developers’ from May 2015.

“Though the Journal’s news and development teams worked ‘side by side’ on the new site design, Latour noted the siloed nature of having teams located on separate floors and with separate reporting structures meant progress was perhaps not as fast as it might have been.”

Read more here.