Our strategy at Quartz is pretty simple: Make good stuff that people want to share. In designing the site, we’ve tried to stay true to that mission by getting out of your way and letting the stories shine. Ads, meanwhile, aren’t shunted to the side in small boxes but included in our stream, where you might actually enjoy them.
We also know that news sites are not like newspapers, in that web readers don’t usually care about sections. You come for a specific story—often following a link you found in social media—and, if we’re lucky, stick around for more. Data show us that most of you read more simply by scrolling into the next article.
So we had all that in mind when we turned toward improving the site’s navigation. Earlier this month, we redesigned the mobile experience of Quartz, and today we’re rolling out some changes on tablets and personal computers:
- The header at the top of Quartz is now smaller, more efficient, and clearly labeled. Many of you told us that the previous header was distracting, so this new one is usually collapsed and out of your way. But tap or click to expand it, and you’ll quickly see how to navigate around the site.
- Obsessions are now more prominent. We eschew most traditional sections at Quartz. Instead, we have specific subjects we’re obsessed with and hope you will be, too. Those obsessions are now clearly labeled in the navigation.
- Everything is in one place. The black bar that used to grace the left side of Quartz is gone, which we hope makes the design even cleaner. But all of its features remain: You can view top, latest, popular, and starred stories by choosing any of those options in the new header. Search is there, too.
Today’s update is among the more visible changes we’ve made since launching seven months ago, but we’re actually making improvements all the time. The Quartz engineering team has made 73 code pushes since launch, many of which are documented in our public version history. And there’s much more to come this year as we respond to your feedback, study data about usage of the site, and build some very exciting new features.
We hope you like the changes and encourage you to send us feedback at hi@qz.com.