We pushed a new TechCrunch site tonight with a very different look and feel (see below). Everything wonderful about the new design is because of the awesome Rachel Cunliffe, my designer. Everything wrong with it is my fault for overrulling some of her ideas.
I loved the old TechCrunch, which Frederico Oliveira designed last summer, but it’s time for a change. In particular I wanted to expand the text are from 455 pixels to 570 to allow for much larger screenshots. We’ve also made some changes to allow for more advertising, in a more logical way (ads were all over the place until today).
I’m really excited about the “TechCrunch Sponsors” area of the site in the top right. This is an area where people can purchase a permanent presence on TechCrunch and gain access to our audience. We’re going to be very selective about the brands we allow there - we’re not just putting their logos up, we’re saying that we believe in the product as well.
Great feedback is coming in already, please keep it coming. Ouriel Ohayon, who writes TechCrunch France, has a poll up on his personal site for direct feedback on the new TechCrunch.
And if you’re wondering about the green theme, there’s a reason for it (hint - it keeps me focused on my goals). It has nothing to do with a ValleyWag post talking about HulkCrunch. 
Yo Mike, love the new look on your site and that you are keeping the swicki, and it looks very hot in green. Big blogs (with swickis) = search traffic = advertising = equal click share revenue. Smart man, Mike.
Rock on.
Your new site design is really nice and clean, and I like that you have so much white space, that’s what adds to the clean look.
Good job!
Dunno maybe the green shade is too strong. My .02 Otherwise said any change is to the good
Politely, saying agreed here, i think the green shade could be toned down a bit.
I love the green. I LOVE it. It stays. Everything else is up for discussion.
Is this the Mike from TC? Well, I guess no argument here. Thanks for your opinion and genuine thought into this (and NZ of course - we are R&D NZ company too).
Damn.. I loved the old layout! But hey, it’s looks really cool and much easy to read (when I’ll get use to it).
Listen, it’s great that you make changes but actually it’s not that matter cause when I’m reading your Blog it’s not because of the great layout, it’s because of what you’re writing and the way that you’re doing it so just keep up the good work.
Anyway, the ones that won’t like the new design, can always learn French
What I really think you should add is the ability to preview and adding comments.
BTW.. I have to agree on the green color.. Tone it down a little… (JUST A LITTLE)
I have to disagree on your new design Mike.
The sidebar’s too thick, the green is too strong, the links list is missing and the amount of ads clustered on the top makes techCrush looks like a sell out. Or a spam blog, which ever you fancy.
Just my 2 cents, and sorry if I sounded too strong.
Ahhh the green. The old design was a showcase of how great a website can look, this just looks plain mediocer. It’s just not as easy to read as the other one. I never used rss for your site cause I just liked the design too much
The design is just way too green. I’m fond of green money, but not of websites
Seems to be a bit adinfected as well. But then again you need to make money.
PS do you honestly like this design?
http://www.cre8d-design.com/blog/
Mmm, not my cup of tea I guess… I think the contrast between the white and green is a bit too strong. The other design was much ’smoother’ for the eyes and had a more neutral feel which helped to focus on the content. This one is a bit more of a screemer, content, design and ads are fighting for attention.
I guess it is just a matter of time to get used to the new look
(In the meanwhile you could maybe lower the black/white text contrast to ease my eyes a bit by using a grey font color instead of black)
Whoa, I reloaded a few minutes ago and everything is different.
I liked the old design a lot, not sure how I feel about this one. It feels like a Weblogs, Inc. blog, which I am not so fond of. Bigger screenshots are good, though.
green will be fashionable this summer for sure with all that soccer hype over here, as well as the huge comeback of golf and tennis reference on shirts and stuff
the layout is fine and makes up a good screen estate. too bad all your rss readers wont get it. please fix at least the favicon for those
I really liked the old design and feel it was superior to the new design. That said, the new design allows more ad space and was obviously created with more utilitarian concerns in mind. What is really bugging me though is the fact that the old design had content in the center of the page, and the new site has the content aligned on the left. My eyes have been trained when I visit TechCrunch to focus my attention to the middle of the page, and the new design is driving me nuts by messing with that. Hopefully I will get used to it.
I like it. I think it works for this site. No green isn’t my favourite colour but I don’t visit because the site is green.
As I said over at the lovely Rachel’s site, I’d change the width of the bottom border under the post headings - they ‘break’ the flow too much and you lose the visual link between them and the post content beneath.
But hey, I’m guessing YOU decided that.. right?
Ohh and I LIKE the fact the adverts are all bunched up in one area… I can ignore them all the easier!
fresh and green - no more grey and bigger screen - I like it!
Bring back the old!
Wow, that’s a LOT of advertising!
Mike
I am not sure about the ‘green’ theme.
Maybe I was just used to the sparse/lean previous look.
I like the wider posts though.
As far as the advertising goes, I feel that the ‘animated’ ones are distracting.
Too bad I cannot make it to ‘Wine Camp’
Have a good day
Serge
Biz:
http://www.njconcierges.com
Blog:
http://www.sergetheconcierge.com
What a crap site redesign, TechCrunch layout was better before this new junk, please turn back. I can only see advertise now, that’s really bad for a guy who knows about community.
WOW, that is very green, but I like green so I like it. I am more of a moss or light green lover but hulk green is cool too. It is different.
What a change. For a minute I did not even realize I was on a TechCrunch blog. The old design rocked so given that any change will get lots of users to be a bit sceptical.
Congrats on being able to monetize your site but you definitely stepped on the accelerator as it comes to ad space. I think the top 4 sponsored ads are great but all the other ads and banners might be a bit much, especially when it all comes at once.
However, as long as you keep the content as good as it has been I will be sure to check back for every one of your posts!
design=good.. colour scheme = oh my god my eyes it burns its horrid.. just my 2$
No offense, but I think the fresh layout lacks a sense of professionalism that I felt the last layout comprised. I think the current layout, content positioning, and color(s) make TechCrunch a little more casual blogger-esque. The top rounded corners on the sidebar modules look out of place with all the hard corners of the rest of the layout.
The only downside I saw with the previous was that the comments looked as though they didn’t receive as much attention as the rest of the layout.
I’m sure this one will eventually grow on me. TechCrunch is all about content anyway which I’m in no position to poke at
There’s just so much of everything! Much green, many ads, many links. The contrast between the green and the white is, as others have pointed out, too prominent in the design. The ads take away much focus on the content, and when you follow them down the sidebar there’s just more ads. It feels crowded.
The green is loud but grows on you - it adds some flair.
It’s just not grabbing me like the old site. The content used to be primary (i.e. what your eye immediately went to) but now it’s the ads. Overall, it seems a little out of balance but I don’t know how to put it in words. (Still love what you write though but it might have to be thru RSS now
I remember the good ol’ days when Mike asked his readers what they would think if he placed some ads on the site (I’m looking for a link to that story but the “archives” link is showing an “error 404″). There’s absolutely nothing wrong with monetizing Techcrunch but if it comes at the cost of making the site uglier, then maybe it’s not worth it. Just as a note, I thought that your previous design was among the best designed blogs in the sphere. Not so sure about the current design though…
i like where you are going with this, but the green is too strong…you should have just kept one of the greens from the previous design and applied it to the new layout…that way you maintain brand recognition
I’m sorry but I think I will only read the feed from now on. Green is okay… but not that much green. You pay off Shaun Inman for the rights to use green? haha.
I think you should meet with your designer again and pay attention to this article on design: http://www.thinkvitamin.com/features/design/how-crap-is-your-site-design
Hey Mike-
Anyways I think, I agree with most of the people here…Green is a little too strong.., but I guess I’ll get used to it..
You said green is something that keeps you focussed….what is it? I couldnt think of anything…green tea? pot? hmm I guess i’m getting too creative here
Tweaking the old site would have been smarter. Also, it’s a little heavy on the sponsoships in a minor league baseball stadium way.
Mike:
For the past 8 months, TechCrunch has become my first destination every morning - I guess you could say I’m somewhat addicted.
However, this new web-design $#@@!
Perhaps this is due to (1) the fact that I’ve really gotten used to the original design and this is so radically different or (2) the fact that I just need to get acclamated to this new design … but for what it is worth, my first impression made me want to “throw-up.”
Well, with that said, continue keeping the info coming, I love it
I’m not digging the new look at all. The old one was much more friendly and easier to read.
That being said, the content is what is important, so keep up the good writing.
I was just thinking the other day how much I love the dotted line for outbound links…and now it’s gone! I can get over the new redesign (not crazy about it just yet) but please bring back the old link look. It can be green, I won’t complain.
Old design was good, atleast a lot better than this. Dark green hurts my eyes, and the navigation isn’t great too.
Mike,
One word Unsubscribed.
25% of the page for ads? It seems a bit much and does take away from the content.
1) there’s something wrong with the logo, it’s blurry
2) no more “tracking web 2.0″?
3) the comments are annoying to read.. white, grey, green, grey, white, green, white, green.. 3 colors are too much!
4) both the swicki and regular search boxes show up too big in safari and don’t fit in to their green boxes
5) green boxes!
other than that. it’s quite alright!
I’d say try another rev. The previous version had some character; this one looks a little more average.
I’d try:
1. more left margin
2. a horizontal AdSense group within the text block, after the topmost post
3. give the right-col nav blocks the whole right column
4. a 2nd adsense group below the right-col nav blocks
5. img button for the email subscribe form
6. move the subscribe link & form to top of right column
If that was helpful at all, I’d be delighted for a little link love for my blog
The new design is growing on me… the more space is good… As is the light background…. I quite like the green…
The BIG plus for me is that the new site seems to load alot faster than the old one. Is that because this one has not got so many ‘test’ javascript plugins? The speed on the old site was a bit of an issue!
Hey Mike,
Jus gotta say the ad thing is cool, especially if when you are saying 100% ‘These Products are Hot’!
The new site is too distracting, its all over the place. My first reaction - wth!? I love the old site, it was clean. You know where the important stuff was ie. Straight Down the middle!!
That said, if you keep the content coming then I’ll keep reading
of course I maybe wondering across to Mobilecrunch/Techcrunch FR a bit more often 
Way too many ads!
All I can say is YUCK! You used to be one of the better blogs, this look is so… pedestrian. Surely you could have better integrated above the fold advertising in the old design rather than this abortion….
This design isn’t that bad, but the old design was much more easy on the eyes. I know that a certain amount of it can be attributed to people’s fear of change, but even when I tried to be objective, I could not bring myself to like the new design. I will likely use RSS more now. Please don’t change mobilecrunch.
This is inferior to the previous site. The green is gaudy and obnoxious. The blue-gray thing you had going before was inviting and easy on the eyes. Also, whenever I roll over one of your links some strange google-looking ads flicker on and off (Firefox 1.0.7). Michael - I’m still a fan of the site, but no good on the overhaul.
Well..I need some time. I really like the old design. Maybe this one will grow on me.
I guess its time to learn French! - At least until it changes to resemble the color of money.
TechCrunch is one of my favorite web2.0 sites, together with the GigaOm man. Keep up the good work Mike!
About the color green: A tad too bright on my iMac, but my eyes will survive!
One more thing…I just tried loading the site on my smartphone and the content ends up WAAYYYYYY at the bottom so you have to scroll down forever. The ads show first, then lots o’ blank space, then the postings. It’s hard to make something that is already so good even better but good luck with rev 2!
I really think the two columns of adds should go. Why not get rid of that javascript tag cloud thingy (its pretty useless) and integrate the search box at the top (along with the links to crunchnotes etc)… You could then make the 2×2 paid ads 4×1 and have loads more room in the middle!
Very interesting design, quite interesting, I must say. Though initially some of the inertia made me say “Yuck!”, I think the design is a great piece of work. However, my own 2 cents is that it doesn’t suit Techcrunch at all. The font is good but perhaps you should consider changing the the stuff that surrounds the title. The 2 horizontal lines make it look a bit too unproffesional.
My own review and thoughts are here.
Change does take a lot of time to get adjusted. My own experience with various design changes highlights this. Initially people like the old one, but then again it is simple physics - Inertia.
Personally blue might have suited TC better…. But I guess he wanted the deja vu factor.
Given the obvious popularity of TC (I love it
you might consider handling your ads more like The Deck (http://www.coudal.com/deck/) and charge more to have a single ad on the page at any one time… I really think it would be a win-win: you get money (advertisers will also like the exclusivity)… and we don’t have to see more ads…
Otherwise everything’s nice!
I loved the old design and will miss it.
The new design just doesn’t speak the same way to me nor have that indescribable something that attracts me to a design.
Also, the ads were a lot less intrusive in the last design. Now they are ripping at my eyeballs, pulling them away from the content.
Never the less, you can’t please everyone with each design. Every switch will have its critics, and every design its fans.
Now the content, that is the true gem here.
Keep up the good work with the content and I’ll be happy.
Thanks for everything.
you need to fire whoever done that redesign and hire the old guy.
you appear to have taken a step backwards.
the old design was one of my favourite looking sites, this is just.. ugh.. too white and too green.
No offense but I took TechCrunch off of my RSS feeds.. I cant support a site looking like utter crap.
I loved the old design. but I love the new desgin also. with the new design, it’s easier to navigate through the website. and the colors look better
The old one was MUCH MUCH better…the colours and overall layout are very basic in my opinion. Those advertising costs, geez…i guess only the big corporates would b able to afford that right?
I’m unsubscribing. Too many ads, too much exploitation of the reader. And the green is just butt nasty.
Mike,
I’ll refrain from voicing a comment for or against the new design, since I mainly read the content via RSS. I will point out, though, that since
1) lots of people seem to have strong feelings about it,
2) you had the sense to do this in xhtml/css, and
3) offering alternate stylesheets is relatively trivial (http://www.csszengarden.com/),
you might consider offering a link to the old format, with the option of setting it as a preference.
You could tweak the old layout just enough to include the ads, so your sponsors get the placement they’re paying for, and viewers who want them can get the old layout and color scheme. Metrics of how many viewers choose to revert to the old scheme would serve as useful input for future redesigns, and offering those new designs initially as an alternate stylesheet would let people comment beforehand.
Actually, one thing that does bug about both the new and old layouts: why is the community search field above the site search?
There were several times I went looking for a particular TechCrunch post, only to wind up on another site. Disconcerting at best, irritating at worst, and counterintuitive either way. Stuff directly related to the site should be higher on the page, not the other way around.
What the…?
Okay, so I posted two comments, and the first one disappeared. Here they both are, in case the second disappers when I post this one. Sorry if I’m redundant.
—————–
Mike,
I’ll refrain from voicing a comment for or against the new design, since I mainly read the content via RSS. I will point out, though, that since 1) lots of people seem to have strong feelings about it, 2) you had the sense to do this in xhtml/css, and 3) offering alternate stylesheets is relatively trivial (http://www.csszengarden.com/), you might consider offering a link to the old format, with the option of setting it as a preference.
You could tweak the old layout just enough to include the ads, so your sponsors get the placement they’re paying for, and viewers who want them can get the old layout and color scheme. Metrics of how many viewers choose to revert to the old scheme would serve as useful input for future redesigns, and offering those new designs initially as an alternate stylesheet would let people comment beforehand.
Actually, one thing that does bug about both the new and old layouts: why is the community search field above the site search?
There were several times I went looking for a particular TechCrunch post, only to wind up on another site. Disconcerting at best, irritating at worst, and counterintuitive either way. Stuff directly related to the site should be higher on the page, not the other way around.
This is horrible. I’m no longer going to read your blog. This is one of the worst tragedies in web design history. TechCrunch was the BEST! But you have now fallen into a gutter of slime.
Hulk like the green …
The old design was much more user friendly and legible. This one is very cluttered with ads and all the horizontal lines between posts.
My opinion is the new look has degraded the value of the site.
The search functions at TechCrunch don’t appear to work anymore. Search for Ajax and you get 5 hits — all in the month of May 2006.
thank god for RSS.
the new one definitely looks much better
I’m speaking as a designer and a (very!) casual tech crunch reader.
It must be horrifying to read all these (mostly negative) comments about the new design.
Good points about the ‘design’
- it it somewhat memorable: I say I was a casual reader as I think I have read one article recently, and I remembered it was from tech-cruch purely because of the green and the header. I’m not sure if I would have remembered the site from the original design
- People always judge colour upon what they ‘like’ or ‘dislike’. The shade of green is so brave, optimistic and strong - which may be characteristics you want to portray?
However it does
- lacks style and subtlety
- imagination and personality (however that’s common for 2.0)
- have layout issues
- looks amateurish / seriously nerdy, take your pick
The best thing about the old design was that the content was the dominant element. Here it is the green even on overbearing elements that should really recede a little (search boxes on the right)
Most problematic is that you have built up tech crunch and have gone for a drastic change in colour and style. That is rarely done for brands in the real world. Imagine how the fans would feel if Emily the Strange turned pink and yellow and was like, happy!?
i like the new one …
Wow. Very impressive.
the design is really very good.
but on this site there are many spam, it´s will be better, if you delete them.
greets
ali
I am interested in the topics discussed but have been feeling a little intimidated by the thought of the work
I was half expecting an announcement somewhere on TC, but trying to “search” for Crunchbase leads you no where. And this is in small part because searching for something only gives you a small number of queries (five) without any links to any prior entries (you can get around this by adding “&paged=x” where x is the number of pages back you want to go, however).
This sure looks great; wondering how the sponsers will work out; what do you charge?