KC Star Web site enters 21st century, doesn't break

I want to extend kudos to the Web staff of the Kansas City Star for the good looking facelift it recently gave to the paper's site, kansascity.com.

It was a long time coming. In fact, this is the first real significant improvement to the site since I started reading the Star online...in 1999. That year, I went to college and missed my hometown dearly. And with this Internet thing, I was able to stay up-to-date with the goings-on in KC.

Problem was, the Star's site didn't change after that. Sure, there was a tweak here and there, but what resulted was a jumble of content, with breaking news in a corner, surrounded by ads, links, headlines, ads, press releases, pop up ads and even ads that scrolled across the screen. Sections were hard to find, hidden on a sidebar that was difficult to navigate. The day's main headlines were way below the fold, about 3/4 of the way down the page.

They're still there, but with the Star's new layout, you can easily maneuver the site, thanks to section tabs at the top of the page. The Star has also done a nice job in growing its blog farm, with Sam Mellinger's Royals blog at the top of my list. Still, the Chiefs are king in Kansas City (despite their record), and the Star has a nice Chiefs blog (wish I could say more, but my interest in the Chiefs slowed after Elvis Grbac left. For real), Joe Posnanski's gospel, a cool metro blog, and even a community for pet owners. There are many more, as well.

I think its Varsity Zone blog is really cool. It gives stats, scores, photos and news for high schools in the area. It even allows readers to keep their own blogs about high school sports.

The Star's site is getting better. There's still work to do. There's just so much darn content on the front page. Personally, and I might be biased, but I enjoy a nice clean front page.

Also, a big thumbs up to the University Daily Kansan, which, despite the gripes I had with the paper as a student, has a sweet Web site, and just upgraded an already good product.

Web site face lift

I've grown very disenchanted with Yahoo Small Business and the way it hosts (or doesn't host) my resume Web site. So I've moved to WordPress. It's not as fancy as my Yahoo site, at least not yet. But I've got my main points there. It's sleek and to the point; people can read my clips; my greatest hits, and visit my Multimedia Corner (catchy, no?). It's a start. And it's free! Though I did print up 300 or so business cards with my other URL. D'oh.