SeattlePI.com got a major facelift today nearly five months after the Seattle newspaper shut down its print publication and moved entirely to the Web. The new look is supposed to highlight staff and reader bloggers as well as showcase content found on other sites, writes Executive Producer Michelle Nicolosi in a blog post explaining the redesign. The new site also tries to make it easier for readers to share links to social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
Obviously, redesigns are tough to pull off since you're always bound to alienate some readers who no longer can find what they are looking for.
The P-I is certainly getting a fair share of negative comments from people who don't like what they see -- including too much white space, not enough news and a large rollover ad from the Seattle Seahawks that covers much of the home page.
"HATE IT, HATE IT, HATE IT. You are so concerned over BLOGS! Whatever happened to journalism and actual NEWS?," wrote one reader.
"I want to sue the Seattle P-I and get an injunction forcing them to bring back their old look," wrote another.
There are a few defenders some of whom said the redesign was necessary given the new mission of the P-I.
"This design allows you the freedom to move to an online news source and away from the ties and tangles of half online/half paper," wrote one.
Obviously, we've spent a lot of time on the P-I site over the years, and we're still trying to digest the layout and look.
But we'd be curious what the Web site designers among us think?
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