Dec 08 2006 at 1:14pm
Great websites: NewsTarget.com
I came across this NewsTarget.com when my mom sent me a link to an article on fake avocado dip (seriously. Read it, it’s good). I was really impressed with the NewsTarget site for a couple of reasons. Obviously it’s got lots of great content, written in an informative and engaging way. It’s also got a great design: upbeat, colourful, clean, elegant, and above all, appropriate for the site (although unfortunately table-based).
Update 08/26: The site has changed quite a bit since I posted this review. See it as it was then on archive.org.
One of the things I noticed as I explored the site is that these people know who they are and aren’t afraid to communicate that to visitors. Right at the very top, even above the logo is a link to their “Declaration of Journalistic Independence”. Visitors can immediately see what makes this site different, expressed clearly and concisely in a written statement. I think this is something that a lot of site owners don’t consider and can really make or break a site: Who are you? What makes you different from other sites? Why should someone visit your site and not another one? Write it down, and don’t be afraid to show it.
The site also does a great job of communicating it’s strengths to new visitors. If you haven’t visited a site before, it’s nice to know about their best articles and have some direction in exploring the site. The right sidebar on the home page does this very well. I also liked the NewsTarget Stats at the top (more on that later) and the other interesting tidbits found in the sidebar (although some of that should be moved to the left side so the sidebars aren’t so uneven). I do find the testimonials on the left to be rather self indulgent, especially since they push key navigation down below the fold. On some pages they’ve even got a highlighted intro for people new to the site and a link to another page that explains what this site is all about (not sure if I agree with how that is presented though). Good idea in principle though 
Now, about that NewsTarget Stats section. What I like about this is that they even tell you where they’re getting their revenue. From reading the Declaration of Journalistic Independence it’s obvious that transparency is important to them. This bit also sends a key message to visitors: websites need to get money from somewhere. Gasp! You mean websites aren’t free??? Nope, sorry. At the bottom of each article you’ll also see a line encouraging people to donate using their Amazon.com donation buttons:
Do you find value in articles like this one? NewsTarget needs your support. Click here to learn why or click on “Click to Pay” below
I think that there is a lot of potential in donations as a method of financing websites and I like the way this site has presented them. What I don’t like is the way that Amazon.com has pulled my name into their donation buttons. That’s a little much. The “click to pay” statement is also a little misleading, in that this is a voluntary donation not a payment.
As I browse around the site some more, I also notice blocks on some pages that highlight “Action Items”. This is a great way to get the user to take the next step and become more involved with your site. As evidenced by the growing social networking phenomenon, people want to get involved. They want something to do on your site. Give it to them!
The lessons from this one? First, know who you are. If you’re clear on that all other decisions are easier and the results are much better. Second, consider donations as an alternative to advertising for financing your site. Introduce them in a way that highlights the reasons for doing so and invites the user to contribute. Thirdly, give visitors something to do on your site, and take the opportunity to higlight the options whenever you can.
P.S. I’ve just created a new category called “Great Websites”. I plan to continue writing about good sites I come across and attempting to define what makes them great.
Update 08/26: I Stumbled upon this site again recently and was disappointed to see some not–so–good changes to the site. The right column is now a list of what looks like ads. There’s also a lot of agressive promotion of their email newsletter, which takes up significant screen real estate on the article pages. In fact, there is a lot of junk on the article pages other than the article content, including a lengthy list of testimonials from subscribers. A lot of this was there before but for some reason I’m noticing it a lot more this time.
Jackie December 15th, 2006 at 8:31 pm
Hello Megan, I am Jackie. This is my first time using this site and I thought I would leave you a reply on your lastest entry, great websites: NewsTarget.com. After reading and reviewing what you had to say and what newstarget had posted I have some disagrements and similar feelings as you. I found there site very interesting and im glad that you brought it to my attention. I however disagree with you about the color scheme of NewsTarget.com. To me it was a boring color. It did not catch my eye when I first went to it. I do however agree on how they come out and say what they need to none of that ring a around the rossie stuff ya know? I think thats great. There are many articles involving health topcis that not everyone would know about. They do a great job explaining current issues in health. There writtings seem as if they are written for a average reader. I plan on going back to NewTarget.com at other times to see there lastes post.
Some of my thoughts on your page is that I love how your page has links to all the articles that you found interesting. It made it that much more easier for me to understand what you where talking about. Also that your page is in pink. I think thats a great idea. It pops when a visitor looks at it. Anything that might draw attention in a good way is always a plus! Your page is easy to follow and understand. Another thing i realy enjoyed is that you added pictures it gives the reader an idea on how that author realy is.
Felicia Lemmon December 15th, 2006 at 8:32 pm
To me this website was not very attractive, it seems very bland at first look and I did not want to continue reading. I think putting some type of coloring in the page might do it some good. But on the other hand I was not pushed away by a choice of color that did not mix well so it may be better off to leave it.
The website was very easy to navigate. The introductions to the blurbs help to figure out if it was going to be interesting to me. Also the categories on the side and the top made it much easier to look only in the category I was aiming to look into. It was very easy to follow and would be quite helpful when searching for information.
I think I understood the website; it was just hard to catch my attention on anything.
I would definitely come back to this site if I ever needed information I would think to be on it. There were many different topics in one category search. It was very easy to navigate and there are not too many easy sites out there.
The search bar made it easy to get right to what you are looking for.
Carmella December 15th, 2006 at 8:53 pm
I visited your website and I like the color you chose for the background. It is easy to follow and I like your photos. I went on the website Newstarget.com I think this site is great.I find that the articles are really something that I am interested in. I just don’t know where the information was found I’m sure that there was a lot of research done but it would be nice to know where they obtain this information.This site is very informative and I would visit this site constantly it is an easy site to scan through. I was surprised that they do not get paid for this site and its just operated by donations. They put a lot of effort into this site. I enjoyed it and I will return to it.
dolly December 15th, 2006 at 9:10 pm
I found myself visiting NewsTarget.com as homework for my eCommerce class. When I first open the website I was very impressed of how easy and informative this website is. It has a lot health articles that are helpful for all type of individuals interested in improve their life style and I will visit this website anytime without any hesitation. This website is also very easy to follow and extremely easy to understand, but most of all, when you are going through it make you feel at home. Even though this website doesn’t have a lot of picture, some how I don’t feel it is missing much, because the colors are nice and bright.
Jonathan December 15th, 2006 at 9:12 pm
I read your review about NewsTarget.com and I would like to express my views on it. I found the website to be layed out very nicely. It may be a bit plain but it gets straight to the point. The dual sidebars are a great feature. I read through them quickly and found very random but interesting information.
I like the fact that they don’t accept money to write about a certain product. That seems to be too common especially in magazines, where you would like an objective view. It’s nice how the website isn’t littered with ads and there was not one pop up.
I customize google.com to provide me with weather, news, and random facts such as what is on this website; but I find this website to be way more robust and the little snippets allow me to actually start to understand what they are talking about. On google they only show the title and sometimes they are very misleading.
All in all it is a nice website, layed out well and I would most likely visit it again for information purposes. Thank you for letting us know about your find.
Kelly Mcateer December 15th, 2006 at 9:38 pm
After reviewing this website I will definetly be viewing it again. I was glued to the site. There was a lot of intresting facts that I learned of. Things that you don’t hear of everday either becasue you don’t have the time to to read the paper or watch the news.
The website was definetly easy to use but the colors of the site were not striking but you were so intrested in the readings that the color did not striken you. There was annoying pop ups and the dual toolbars were a nice feature. As for megans website I found it to be very attracting. But only girls will be more intrested to read her critique.
Megan December 17th, 2006 at 12:51 pm
Hi everyone, thanks for your comments! Are you all from a college class or something? It’s sort of strange to see 6 similar comments within such a short time. If so, which school do you go to? I didn’t see any linkbacks coming in from a school or college of any kind.
Anyway, critiquing other website is a really great way to learn about good design. We have a whole forum for that at The Webmaster Forums. I learned a lot from critiquing sites there over the years. One of the things you learn as you get more experienced is that it isn’t just about what the site looks like or what colours they are using and that sort of thing, but how well the site is communicating a message to the visitor. That’s what I was getting at this post
I hope to see you all around again!