The new-look CNN site presents readers with a better idea of the range of content available on the site upfront, and organises it (especially video) better around individual stories.

The greater emphasis on the visual components was highlighted before the redesign was launched; the top part of the pages are now crammed with pictures and almost no text.  This is virtually a universal template for the main and section pages.

Here’s the older version:

The earlier site design had, in comparison, space only for  fewer headlines in a smaller number of categories - but the question is how successful this redesign will be in getting readers to click on more story links and spend more time on the site?

More headlines and links to stories could help, but it is just one strategy which has to be complemented with several others to get the readers to drill down deeper into a site.

Providing better access to video content centred around individual stories and related themes or topics is one other way of attracting readers, and interestingly, videos are embedded right in the body text of stories. They automatically zoom in and occupy more screen space when clicked and start playing. And related videos are displayed too at the same time.

And there’s something about the choice of top stories on the main page - what is played up more than the ‘routine’ top story of the day is generally an off-beat story. On a day when Baghdad experienced the worst bomb explosions in about two years, the story that  was really positioned to grab one’s attention was about the flourishing wildlife in Korea’s demilitarized zone.  That’s apparently has to do with the shift in focus away from hard news that the CNN folks talked about while announcing the redesign.

Here’s what an official press release had to say about it: The new CNN.com showcases CNN Worldwide’s extensive video capabilities by featuring video and photography as the centerpiece of the homepage. The new visually captivating homepage offers all of the best stories, video, interactive features above the fold – complemented by the ability for users to customize their news settings.

And this is what a CNN release had to say about the previous redesign in 2007: This goes beyond the next level of online news and jumps straight into a fully integrated experience in which articles, videos, images and user-generated content all come together to give users a more enriching, immediate interaction with the news content and information they need and want.”

Tells you much about the continuity in the approach to redesigning the site.