The Miami Hurricane has launched a new and improved website designed to improve the paper’s online visuals and mobile accessibility.
“The photos are really at the forefront, everything looks super crisp and modern,” said Hurricane Editor in Chief Anna Timmons. “Readers can access our articles straight from social media and it will take them to a really beautiful, mobile-friendly platform.”
Online Editor Leah Harper helped manage the revamp with assistance from School of Communication technical analyst Nabeel Sneij, who worked on this during his free time. The Hurricane also received advice from School of Communication lecturer Erin Brown.
Harper said that despite some minor obstacles, partially stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, the April 7 launch went according to plan.
“It’s very exciting, definitely a relief that it all went well… Now I’m just excited for the students to see it,” Harper said.
The website features more space for photos and graphics, as well as full mobile compatibility. While the content is largely the same, Timmons says the website’s new layout is both easier to navigate and a major aesthetic improvement.
“Students will be getting a really great, free source of journalism from our new site that mirrors that of a professional news source,” Timmons said.
Early feedback on the new website has been largely positive, with students saying they find the layout more professional and streamlined.
“I like it, it looks classy, like a professional site, not like something run by students,” said Chase Renninger, a sophomore at UM majoring in Motion Pictures and History.
Others say they noticed the difference between the new layout and former layout immediately.
“It looks a lot more interesting, there’s a lot more eye-grabbing images,” said junior psychology major Will Riddle. “The old site was very, meh. I look at this and I look at student involvement, I look at Pancake’s with Pat, eye-grabbing.”
Timmons says that with a modernized website fully implemented, the next step is building out the paper’s multimedia to take full advantage of the new layout.
“I think the most exciting opportunity for The Hurricane is just expanding coverage and diversifying the coverage that we do,” Timmons said. “This website is super great for displaying videos, podcasts and more dynamic displays of articles.”
Timmons says she is looking forward to next year and the ways in which the incoming staff can continue to enhance The Hurricane’s coverage.
“I think there are a lot of exciting opportunities and I’m excited to see what next year’s staff does with it.”