Yahoo gets user-centred treatment

Yahoo has given its front page a makeover in an attempt to consolidate its position as the main portal to the web. "We want to be at the centre of people's lives online," said Yahoo's consumer experiences head Tapan Bhat. "There is a destination for everything you are about in just a click or two. Now we are looking at Yahoo holistically, all centred around the user," Mr Bhat told reporters. Users are now able to personalise the page and customise links to Yahoo and other services they use the most from news to social networks to email to movies. There are over 60 applications, with more expected, and consumers can add their own. Yahoo has described the overhaul as the most "radical" and "fundamental" make-over of the site since it began more than a decade ago. Yahoo's front page is seen as vital to the company's future and is regarded as prime real estate because it serves as an entry point for users, and as a result commands premium advertisement prices. Users who want to take advantage of the new home page will have to opt-in and click on a link to select the new design. Source: BBC, 21 July 2009. tinyurl.com/lysf8g