C-SPAN is kicking the tires on a beta version of a Web site redesign that literally looks at the "big picture."
The redesign is scheduled for "the near future."
That is according to an e-mail alert the cable-funded public affairs network sent Thursday to its "Alert" subscribers asking them for input, which could determine how "near" that future is depending on what kind of tweaking C-SPAN may or may not do.
The site, which can be viewed at beta.c-span.org (for comparison, current site is at cspan.org), includes a rotating block of big pictures/stories--currently The Capitol, March for Life, Chris Christie--that emphasize its core focus on Congress and the White House.
The new site also consolidates C-SPAN.org with what has been a separate video library site for its archived material.
The site is also billed as easier to navigate, including via mobile devices. and its information easier to share.
For those testing the site, C-SPAN advises that not all features will be functional. But it wants to hear how folks like the ones that are.
C-SPAN VP Peter Kiley said the redesign is about giving the site a more contemporary look and feel, and making it more user friendly on mobile devices.
He confirms that a major upgrade is combining the video library and Cspan.org sites for one-stop video searches. Currently, cspan.org has relatively recent videos, while a surfer has to move to the library site for the historical record. Now the two have been combined, again with user-friendliness in mind.
