REDMOND, Wash., Nov. 9, 1999 — MSN.com is rolling out a whole new look — a redesign based on input from the millions of people who visit the Web site each month.
Building on Microsoft’s promise to deliver the “Everyday Web,” the new MSN.com home page provides timely headlines, powerful personalization, fast access to core services including the new MSN Search and MSN eShop, and a notification center for online communication, including Hotmail, the MSN Messenger Service and MSN Web Communities.
Imagine comparing prices on televisions, chatting with friends, greeting new people, reading the newspaper, paying bills and buying groceries in less time than it now takes you to complete just one of these everyday tasks. Now imagine the power of doing it all from your computer screen.
“As part of delivering the Everyday Web to consumers, we have revamped MSN.com to be better organized and more efficient,” said Yusuf Mehdi, director of marketing for Microsoft’s Consumer and Commerce Group. “Now people have a single place on the Web where they can connect to information, people and key services.”
New with the redesign is the Message Center. This feature greets consumers as they log on by letting them know how many unread MSN Hotmail messages they have, which of their MSN Messenger contacts are currently online, which MSN Web Communities are being showcased and what’s coming up on MSN Chats. The message center provides one place on MSN.com where people can access their communications services and stay in touch with others.
In addition, task-oriented quick links make it easy for people to find air tickets, free games, maps and stock quotes. MSN.com channels, from Autos to WomenCentral, are listed on the left. Tabs across the top of the page provide access to key everyday features such as Hotmail, Search, Shopping, Money and People & Chat.
At the center of the redesigned home page is its “everyday content.” Here, people get instant access to the news of the day as well as current features from MSN.com’s network of sites. Consumers can add local news, weather and entertainment highlights. The news is updated several times throughout the day so people may keep up with the information most vital to them, at work, at home or while traveling. They can also change the color and layout of the home page, plus add their choice of more than 100 content modules with various types of information.
“Through best-of-breed communication services and a more tightly integrated user interface, we are working to make the online experience efficient enough for people to instinctively turn to it as part of their everyday lives,” Mehdi said. “The new MSN.com does this by tying together important communication services and content at a one-stop location.”
