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Yahoo! Gets First Makeover Under New CEO — What Has Changed?

Feb. 20, 2013 6:05pm Liz Klimas

Yahoo! Gets first redesign in four years — also the first under its new CEO Marissa Mayer.
Home page incorporates “infinite scroll” of news stories, which are customizable to a user’s taste.
Customizable utilities on the home page will feature weather, finance, sports, friends’ birthdays, video clips and Yahoo’s Flickr site.
Redesign maintains functional search bar at the top — even with infinite scroll — and easy-to-access links to Yahoo!’s other services.
“We think this will be the new foundation for Yahoo.”

Yahoo Gets Redesign for the First Time in Four Years

(Image: Yahoo’s blog)

SAN FRANCISCO (TheBlaze/AP) — Yahoo is renovating the main entry into its website in an effort to get people to visit more frequently and stay longer.

The long-awaited makeover of Yahoo.com’s home page is the most notable change to the website since the Internet company hired Marissa Mayer as its CEO seven months ago. The new look debuted Wednesday in the U.S., although it could take a few more days before everyone starts to see it.

It’s the first time Yahoo has redesigned the page in four years. In that time, the company has seen its annual revenue drop by about 30 percent from $7.2 billion in 2008 to $5 billion last year as more online advertising flowed to rivals such as Internet search leader Google Inc. and social networking leader Facebook Inc.

Mayer, who spent 13 years helping to build Google into the Internet’s most powerful company, has vowed to revive Yahoo Inc.’s revenue growth by establishing more of the company’s services as daily habits that “delight and inspire” their users.

Watch the redesigns unveiling on the Today show:

Yahoo.com’s revamped home page figures to play a key role in determining whether Mayer, 37, realizes her ambition.

“We think this will be the new foundation for Yahoo,” said Mike Kerns, the company’s vice president of product.

Despite the company’s recent financial malaise, Yahoo’s home page has remained one of the Internet’s top destinations. The page attracted 392 million worldwide visitors last month, a 7 percent increase from 365 million at the same time last year, according to research firm comScore Inc. By comparison, Microsoft Corp.’s msn.com drew a crowd of 334 million, up 4 percent from last year.

This image released by NBC shows host Savannah Guthrie, left, with Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer on NBC News’ “Today” show, Wednesday. (Photo: AP/NBC Peter Kramer/NBC/NBC NewsWire)

But visitors haven’t been spending as much time at Yahoo.com when they check in. They also haven’t been making as many return visits each month. That’s been a problem for many other websites, too, as Facebook and other online hangouts capture more of people’s online time.

Yahoo’s revamped home page isn’t a radical new look, but there are enough changes that could make the website more addictive. In a blog post, Mayer wrote that she is trying to infuse Yahoo’s home page with a “more modern experience”:

Designed to be more intuitive and personal, the new Yahoo! experience is all about your interests and preferences. Since streams of information have become the paradigm of choice on the web, we’re introducing a newsfeed with infinite scroll, letting you experience a virtually endless feed of news articles. Whether you are a sports fanatic or entertainment buff, you can easily customize your newsfeed to your interests.

[...]

The new Yahoo! experience works well on the go — we’ve optimized it for smartphones and tablets. And, thanks to some under-the-hood improvements, Yahoo! is also faster.

The biggest switch will be in how Yahoo determines which stories to show each visitor on the home page and how the information is displayed.

Kerns says Yahoo has developed more sophisticated formulas to determine which topics are most likely to appeal to different people so the news feed can be fine-tuned to cater to different tastes.

Yahoo, which is based in Sunnyvale, Calif., already knows a lot about people who have been coming to its website for years, particularly if they logged in while visiting. People willing to connect Yahoo with their social circles on Facebook also are more apt to see stories that appeal to them. That access will enable Yahoo to pick out stories about subjects tied to a person’s interests on Facebook, either directly or through their online friendships. More tools will empower users to designate their areas of interest, too.

The news feed also has been retooled so it is constantly refreshed with more material as a person scrolls down the page. The ability to endlessly peruse stories is ideally suited for viewing on smartphones and tablet computers controlled by touch, although the feature also works on desktop machines operated with a mouse or keyboard.

Yahoo’s new home page also shows snippets of text from each story, borrowing a page from the Google playbook that Mayer helped write. Those summaries may be especially handy on the smaller screens of mobile devices, a growing market that Mayer has said Yahoo must do a better job reaching if the company hopes to bounce back.

(Image: Yahoo! screenshot)

To minimize the chances that its story selections will irritate users, Yahoo is also adding controls that make it easy to inform the website about which topics aren’t of interest.

The right side of the new home page will be devoted to a stack of capsules that Yahoo calls “utilities.”

A look at a few Yahoo! utilities. (Image: Yahoo! screenshot)

The capsules are devoted to weather, finance, sports, friends’ birthdays, video clips and Yahoo’s Flickr site for photos. Each one can be programmed to automatically show what a user wants to see, such as the weather in a specific city, information about a certain sports teams or the stocks in an individual’s investment portfolio. Any of the utilities can be scrapped.

The left side of the page will list various Yahoo services, although slightly fewer than in the old setup.

Yahoo is planning to display just two ads on the home page. It’s an implicit bet that the price that the company can charge for those slots will steadily rise if people become more immersed in the rest of the content on the page.

All these changes, Mayer wrote in the blog post, are “just the beginning” of continued improvements for the coming months.

Investors have been betting Mayer will deliver the turnaround that eluded the three other full-time CEOs that preceded her in the past five years. Yahoo’s stock dipped 4 cents to $21.23 in early afternoon trading Wednesday. It has increased 36 percent since Mayer’s arrival.

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Comments (32)

sURFNmADNESS
Posted on February 21, 2013 at 9:34pm
Yahoo just has to much clutter on their first page.

Declutter yahoo and you might have a chance.

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Disgusted_in_CT
Posted on February 21, 2013 at 4:43pm
yahoo is dead now, that’s all I have to say on it.

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flyingcar28
Posted on February 21, 2013 at 11:52am
It feels too cluttered.

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- Jim in Houston
  Posted on February 21, 2013 at 12:14pm
  It’s still way to liberal.
  
  Report this comment
Livia
Posted on February 21, 2013 at 10:05am
I wondered wth was going on when I went into Yahoo to check mail. The page came on like a blaring radio and it’s UGLY! I don’t like it one bit and will have to start looking around for another email place. I don’t care about the news, weather, sports, etc. If I want that, all I have to do is look at the TV. I have been using Yahoo for14 years now, and they have made a couple more changes I didn’t like over the years. But this one is going a little too far for me. Maybe it’s because I’m getting older, but I don’t take shocking changes that well anymore.

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True American66
Posted on February 21, 2013 at 9:57am
If you’re using Yahoo, you might as well be using Google…soon, the only difference will be the name.

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jscottu
Posted on February 21, 2013 at 8:40am
I have accounts at all the “big four” hotmail, AOL, google. But Yahoo has the best email setup.

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lylejk
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 10:10pm
Yahoo’s been my main (pretty much only) portal since 1997. I’ve seen a lot of changes over the years. I still remember the Site of the Day click that I had much joy at that time as I recall. lol

Yahoo’s suffered some over the years. Not sure if it’s because they haven’t found a good niche or they refuse to accept the ever changing paradigms that is part and parcel with respect to the Internet. Still, I like Yahoo much more then Google (never trusted Google and my gut definitely was right about this outfit). :)

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Mr.Fitnah
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 9:36pm
Yahoo is pro Islam anti free speech . Most places are anymore..

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Mr.Fitnah
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 9:30pm
Meet the new yahoo, same as the old yahoo.

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modelmax
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 9:27pm
I dumped them for an email account through Reagan.com that costs $40. a year but the don’t sell my info or scan my email. At least so they say.

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Valuable
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 9:15pm
I’ve used yahoo for my main email address since 1999 and I hate the new email format that changed about two months ago. There were tons and tons of complaints posted to the site as well as other places online. It won’t be changing back…. Sigh….

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proantisocialist
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 8:27pm
I’ll give it a week,but at first look i don’t care for it..

I wish the blaze would do a similar format to yahoo with notifications when someone comments or give’s a thumbs up on your post..

i would bet posting would increase and readers..

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OBUMAURMAMA
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 7:51pm
Big propaganda company that is totally against conservatism for the average Joe Schmuck, but as typical–Not for them.

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michaelmoron
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 7:35pm
I had a Yahoo E-Mail for many years, up until about 2 months ago.

lol. They had the audacity to demand my phone number to access my account.

Go F#ck yourselves YAHOO !!!!

That goes to anyone else who does not respect my right to privacy.

Want to provide a Quality Product at a fair price? I am Interested.

Want me to sign a contract or join some club? Not a Chance in H#!!.

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- TRUTHandFREEDOM
  Posted on February 20, 2013 at 7:42pm
  I just tell them to remind me later or whatever the option is. EVeryone wants our personal info. That’s why I haven’t bought Roku. They make you add a cc# before it works! I’m buying the box, not a service!
  
  Report this comment
- michaelmoron
  Posted on February 20, 2013 at 8:05pm
  @TRUTHandFREEDOM
  
  That worked for a while. I can not access my E-Mail unless I give them a Phone #.
  
  I haven’t even tried in 2 months. I am done with YAHOO and anything or anyone affiliated with them.
  
  I will not give ANYONE my personal information anymore unless I decide to do so.
  
  NO CREDIT CARDS.
  
  NO HIGHWAY Smartpasses (Electronic toll device)
  
  NO Grocery store Memberships !!!!!
  
  NO Surveys or Polls !!!!!
  
  Hit the road running, control freaks and scammers !!!!
  
  Report this comment
- TRUTHandFREEDOM
  Posted on February 20, 2013 at 8:27pm
  We think alike on that!
  
  Report this comment
TRUTHandFREEDOM
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 7:32pm
I’ve been frequenting Yahoo quite a bit in the last 6 months, reading & debating Progressive propagandists. The biggest change I’ve noticed?

REPEATED PREDICTABLE READER COMMENT CENSORSHIP!

More later.

I don’t set preferences & don’t always follow a pattern. I want to see what stories they do ( & DON’T) report. I don’t want story type preference filtering that! I notice that they post the same story from different angles increasing the odds that it will be read. Yesterday, they had numerous Obama/immigration stories.

I usually read, respond correct misinformation, the big hole in the story or slander against patriots.

A short, general info comment stays. Make a case in detail in the space allowed? It often disappears.
When stories are similar, I re-use the core of my comment … cut, paste, modify to the specifics & add historical quotes to show original intent & how twisted & opposite the current rhetoric or premise is. Rhetoric/premise side by side with founders’ comments makes the case. I also add accurate history to make my case.
When I go to other stories, a notice on top of the page says I received 8 thumbs up. When I click to view the page, I see my comment, then click to view all comments & mine is GONE! It Happens OFTEN! Censored! Like BOOK BURNING! The NEW YAHOO!

Wasn’t like that a couple of months ago. Yahoo controls the debate worse than Candy Crowley moderates debates! They SHUT YOU DOWN (but they have new layout!)

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- TRUTHandFREEDOM
  Posted on February 20, 2013 at 7:45pm
  line correction;
  I usually read, respond, correct misinformation, (fill in) the big hole in the story or (correct the incorrect) slander against patriots.
  
  Report this comment
kenSt
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 6:58pm
i hope they change there obvious left leaning so called news. the so called reporters dont investigate by any means they copy the articles just as they did there homework from when in high school from the encyclopedia

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wilbstal
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 6:50pm
I didnt see anything about violating the 1st amendemnt when yahoo Deletes a post that is against their Black Wonder Leader Obama. So I go else where I dont deal with Commie rats like yahoo

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DisgustedinUSA
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 6:37pm
YAHOO! SUCKS!! They’ve lost So many people in the years, that they’ll never get them back no matter what stupid things they try to do. Everytime I complain to them about something, for some “odd” reason, my yahoo acts up for a couple of days. I think they should just give it up and move on.

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RightThinking1
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 6:36pm
Now, if only they would drop Reuters and AP as ‘news’ sources…

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MKIA
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 6:28pm
Yahoo homepage is horrible. Can’t configure it, not even to change the color or layout.

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gyro
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 6:15pm
Waves at the CEO Marissa Mayer MY FRIEND LIKE THE BLAZE
:)

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Nuclear Bumpkin
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 6:10pm
People still use Yahoo? I haven’t seen it since 56k. Let me use Google to find out if Ask Jeeves is still around.

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- gyro
  Posted on February 20, 2013 at 6:18pm
  Ask Jeeves is still around and for some searches better~
  http://www.ask.com/web
  
  Report this comment
- chips1
  Posted on February 20, 2013 at 6:31pm
  I thought Yahoos were like Cheetoes.
  
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- N37BU6
  Posted on February 20, 2013 at 6:36pm
  Hey, don’t knock Yahoo… ever seen Yahoo Answers? It’s revolutionary! Why simply Google something and find out instantly when you can have it answered within 3 days by a diverse and very helpful crowd of intellectuals?
  
  You may be thinking your questions are being answered by eleventeen year old idiots who can’t spell or formulate rational thoughts, but you’re wrong. You may also think that they get most of their answers for you by simply Googling for themselves, but again you’d be wrong. They are highly trained specialists.
  
  Report this comment
- Fubared
  Posted on February 20, 2013 at 6:50pm
  It isn’t a chocolate flavored drink?
  
  Report this comment
- Anonymous T. Irrelevant
  Posted on February 20, 2013 at 7:28pm
  I have and still use my Yahoo mail account for the past 14 years, but as for the rest of Yahoo, there’s nothing there to keep me there. All their news stories slant toward the Left, as do the bloggers.
  I don’t think Mayer will change that.
  
  Report this comment

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