- Question: What’s happening on Feb. 7?
- Q: Why change?
- Q: Am I going to get used to this only to have you change it again?
- Q: I am not seeing the new design on some pages. What is happening?
- Q: Will I need to register again?
- Q: Where is the best place to find breaking news?
- Q: Where are the obituaries?
- Q. What are the primary sections of this redesigned site?
- Q: I have my favorite sections or pages on your site bookmarked. Will those bookmarks still work?
- Q: Where did my favorite blog go?
- Q: How do I find what other people are reading?
- Q: Where can I find crime news or community news?
- Q: I love your photo galleries. Where do I find them now?
- Q. I can’t get enough of Boise State football. Where do I find those stories?
- Q. I am having trouble finding things to do in the Treasure Valley. What do I do?
- Q: What happened to the poll question?
- Q: I can't find what I am looking for, what do I do?
- Q: I am an advertiser. What will the new site do for me?
- Q: I can click a Facebook "like" button on other sites, what about here?
- Q: Can I still comment on articles?
- Q: I'm using an older browser. Will that make a difference in what the site looks like to me?
- Q: How do I make a suggestion, offer a comment or ask a question about the new site?
- Answer: We’re launching a major redesign of our website, IdahoStatesman.com, early in the morning.
- A: We’ve consistently been ranked as Idaho’s best news website, but we think we can make it even better. We haven’t had a major redesign of IdahoStatesman.com in several years and we’ve listened as you have told us that you would like a website with a little less clutter, that’s easier and faster to use and find the stories and topics you care about. That’s been our main goal: a faster, easier to use and less cluttered site with a better search engine and a simpler navigation system, while still providing all the breaking news, photo galleries, things to do and other information you expect to find. You should immediately notice that the speed of the site has improved. Over time, the design will give us the flexibility to respond well to major breaking news stories or indepth watchdog stories with lots of different, complex elements.
- A: This is version 1.0 of our new site and we do expect to add several features and enhancements over the next several weeks and months. But the look and feel of the site will basically remain the same. Any future improvements – just like the redesign -- will be based on feedback we get from our users and advertisers. Frankly, that’s one of the coolest things about the redesign – the ability to easily make enhancements moving forward.
- A: You might need to clear your cache on your Internet browser to see the new design on all pages.
- A: No. Your existing username and password have been carried over to the new site.
- A: Check to the left of the main photo and story on the home page for latest news. You can also find news from your favorite section by going to that section.
- A: You can find a link to" Obituaries" in the navigation bar near the top of the site.
- A. As listed in the blue bar near the top, our primary sections are News, Sports, Obituaries, Business, Entertainment, Opinion and Local Deals.
- A: Yes, they should. We did pare down some redundant sections, so if you have a problem finding something, please check our Site Map, linked from the bottom of all the pages.
- A: They are all still here. You’ll find a roundup of recent blog posts on the homepage just as you used to. In addition, you’ll find links to blogs off their topics pages – Chadd Cripe and Brian Murphy will be on Sports and Boise State Football sections; Kevin Richert will be on the Opinion page, for example.
- A: A list of the most read stories of the day can be found on the right side of most pages on the site. It’s labeled “Most Popular Pages.”
- A: Just click on News in the blue bar near the top of the site and then click on Boise, Meridian, Nampa, Crime, or other topics. News for Garden City and Mountain Home will be found on the Boise page. News from Kuna, Star and Eagle will be found on the Meridian page. And news from Caldwell will be found on the Nampa page.
- A. You’ll find the most recent photo galleries about where you find it now – below the main photo and list of stories. You’ll see photo galleries for the topics on each of the section fronts as well. Boise State football photo galleries can be found on the Boise State football page, for example. In addition, you can click on the “View All Photos” link in the “Recent Photos” box to see all the photo galleries. We’ve invested a lot of effort in providing photo galleries because we’ve seen how popular they are.
- A. You’ll still find many of the latest stories on the homepage just as before. You can also click BSU FB link from the Sports digest of stories on the homepage. That gets you to the Boise State page with news, Chadd Cripe’s Bronco Beat and Brian Murphy’s Murph’s Turf blogs, photos, videos, schedules, scores and more.
- A: You can find a redesigned events calendar on the right hand side of the homepage. Just click on the category you want – movies, restaurants, etc. You can also add your public event from the calendar link. You can click on the Entertainment link in the blue bar to find dining reviews, movie showtimes and more. You can search by topic or day.
- A: We appreciate that you liked our poll tool. As part of our design change, we are transitioning to a new solution. Once it is ready, we’ll put it back on our website for you to use.
- A: You can go to the search box at the top of the site and type in a name or description for what you're trying to find. We think one of the improvements on the new site is an improved search function. You can also click on the "Site Map" in the line of links at the bottom of each page. The site map is a listing of sections and pages on the site.
- A: We have created fewer, but more prominent ad positions. Advertisers in the two McClatchy markets where this redesign has already launched have been extremely happy with how their ads are being noticed by users.
- A: Yes. When you are on a story page a Facebook "like" button is located just beneath the time stamp on the story. You can click there to "like" the story. If you wish to post the story to your Facebook page, you can click the Facebook icon at the bottom of the story itself, in the bar that says "Share this story."
- A: Yes. Please remember to follow our guidelines that are listed with the commenting box.
- A: Yes, the best experience for you will be to use Firefox 3.6 or above, Internet Explorer 7 or 8 or above or Chrome.
- A: Please go to http://www.idahostatesman.com/customer-service/ and give us your feedback using the form we have posted there. You can get there directly by clicking on the “Customer Service” link on any page, right above the Search box on the top right side. We really want to track all the feedback well and by using this one form we will be able to respond quickly to your questions and concerns. Please include your e-mail address if you'd like a response from the editor. We've turned off comments on this FAQ and the editor's column only so that we can have all the feedback on the redesign in one place.
