Starting a News Site. Just not sure about the design

So my buddy and I got really interested in news and how to better stay informed. We decided to start building site for topics we're interested in.

http://celeb.rawsignal.com/

We're pretty technical, and that's part of the fun of the project honestly. However, we're not sure if the design and layout is any good. We were going for a clean look that focuses on the news at hand.

Our old design looked like a link farm and was awful. We're hoping this is better, but not sure. What do you all think? Also, are there any examples of sites and layouts that have a better and more usable design look and feel?

Thanks for helping some n00bs

People always forget that research is their best friend (when designing). Take a look at some of the major news sites and study their format (CNN.com, MSNBC.com -- do NOT add FOXNews to this list :P). They spend money both designing and on the psychology of laying out their websites, so you can gain a lot by just taking a look at other sites (especially ones with deep pockets!).

Good luck!

Originally Posted by Influx People always forget that research is their best friend (when designing). Take a look at some of the major news sites and study their format (CNN.com, MSNBC.com -- do NOT add FOXNews to this list :P). They spend money both designing and on the psychology of laying out their websites, so you can gain a lot by just taking a look at other sites (especially ones with deep pockets!). Good luck!

Yeah I hear CNN a lot. Do you actually like CNN's look and feel. Maybe I've been looking at our site too long, but I feel like once you realize we're not a parked page, the usability is killer.

A lot of people get home and landing page confused.

Most smart companies optimize their landing pages and that may mean they neglect their home page. I wonder if that's the case with CNN. I think most of their page is awful!

Ok, after discussing with the gf, she thinks I should break up each cluster better.

I have a good amount of white space, do you think it is enough?

Also, I added gray borders when you hover to help a user focus on the cluster. She loves it, so does my other friend. Is it a good design? Also, even though it highlights, you still have to click on the title to navigate to the page. Is that confusing?

Try it here:
http://tech.rawsignal.com/

Hey Guys -

I added some email and permalink buttons. I need to create a way to let people share, but I get the feeling things may be getting a little crowded.

Is it crowded or not?
http://celeb.rawsignal.com/

If it is any tips on how to uncrowd? Much appreciated.

Originally Posted by MysteryLeo Hey Guys - I added some email and permalink buttons. I need to create a way to let people share, but I get the feeling things may be getting a little crowded. Is it crowded or not? http://celeb.rawsignal.com/ If it is any tips on how to uncrowd? Much appreciated.

Have a look at news sites like awesomer.com etc
News sites esp celeb sites are mostly about attracting the people via images. change some layout a bit, get the pictures to go bigger.

That is what i would sya