Yahoo!'s new avatar

Log on to www.yahoo.com and you are greeted to a very different Yahoo!. There is a marked difference in the colour scheme and presentation, which is far removed from the functionalism that has been its trademark. The hyperlinked text and mundane listings are replaced with a more sleek style. The home page is distinctly divided into two halves with news, shopping and entertainment flowing one below the other on one side and a much-needed visual on the other side. Links below the search option on the upper right hand corner are classified into categories such as shop, find, connect, organise, fun and info, making it easier for users to navigate on the site. The only possible remnant from the past is the website directory listing with its collection of links organised by subject. So what triggered the change in the first place?

Explains a Yahoo! spokesperson, "This is all part of our research and upgradation process. Let me tell you that we have consistently refreshed our homepage, every year till 1999 based on what consumers have been looking for and how Yahoo! evolves its products and services. This one has happened after a gap of two years and the reason for going ahead with it was to showcase some of our services in a more streamlined, integrated and innovative manner."

A closer look at the homepage elucidates what the spokesperson claims. Links to the ‘In the News', ‘Shopping' and ‘Entertainment' modules take consumers directly to those properties and services whereas the ‘New' section highlights the latest product updates on Yahoo!. The Personal Assistant allows direct access to essential services such as mail, calendar, notebook and address book. And the ‘Entertainment' section highlights new movie trailers and clips, besides showcasing music artistes such as Shakira and Britney Spears.

Interestingly, the company has plans to roll out the redesign in a phased manner on to other country-specific sites including India but is tight-lipped when pressed for details. "We are working on it," is all they are willing to say at this point. But the fact that the global network gets 30 million page views from India alone should be reason enough to spur the company into action.

Meanwhile www.yahoo.com has succeeded in generating quite a buzz among users and advertisers alike with its new look. "The redesign of the home page occurred in the first week of July and we have received great feedback from both advertisers and consumers based on the enhancements," says the US-based spokesperson. Some Internet analysts are a bit cautious about the whole affair. "The rationale behind the makeover has more to do with making the site user friendly. I think it is a result of their traffic analysis," says Tushar Vyas, Mumbai head of M-Digital, MindShare's Internet division. Says another Mumbai-based analyst, "At one level, they are trying to inspire a lot of people to come back to the horizontal portal. By executing one dramatic change, they want to arouse curiosity among various interest groups - be it advertisers, planners or users."

The last time, the company went in for a similar exercise of "injecting curiosity" was during the launch of www.yahoo.co.in, almost two years ago, which was aimed at differentiating the global site from the Indian site.

The moot question now is whether the redesign is a precursor to bigger changes - perhaps altering the very nature of the site. Is Yahoo! looking to take some of the free services pay? "We are always talking to consumers and doing research to ensure that we provide the best possible online experience, whenever and wherever it makes sense," proffers the company spokesperson. © 2002 agencyfaqs!