Wikipedia Puts Usability on Top around the World

May 18, 2010

Wikipedia is a popular site whether you want to admit it or not. Sure, the content is user-generated and often flawed, but it is a handy place to get quick tidbits of information. Personally, I find the links in the Resources section of articles to be a quick and easy way to verify facts and gather more information. Again, it’s quick and easy, but we all know you need to do some additional research before you rely on anything you read on Wikipedia.

With that said, we’re all familiar with the boring, plain, text-heavy pages on Wikipedia as well as the iconic Wikipedia globe logo. When you land on a Wikipedia Web page, you know where you are before you even have to scroll.

Despite that recognition, Wikipedia spent the past year researching the usability of its Web site, and last week launched a prototype new Wikipedia site design that is being beta tested with nearly 700,000 users. The new look is shown below (you can get a better look here) and offers more color, a ‘boxy’ look that puts more content above the fold in a more organized design, and what looks like easier navigation.

Additionally, the new Wikipedia logo — an updated 3-D globe — has been launched, which is described on the Wikimedia blog as representing, “a new chapter in the history of the logo … as volunteers examined languages and scripts that were not represented in the previous iteration of the puzzle globe.”

Users are even invited to create local versions of the Wikipedia logo to make it more relevant to local cultures. I have to give Wikipedia credit for investing the time and money into making these changes. Regardless of how you feel about the content on Wikipedia, this branding effort and usability initiative are both strong positives for the company and site overall.

What do you think?

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Susan Gunelius

President & CEO at KeySplash Creative, Inc.

Susan Gunelius is the author of multiple marketing, social media, branding, copywriting, and blogging books, and she is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She also owns Women on Business, a leading blog for business women. She is a featured columnist for Entrepreneur.com, a featured writer for Forbes.com, and the Guide to Blogging for About.com. Additionally, her marketing-related articles have appeared on websites such as MSNBC.com, FoxBusiness.com, WashingtonPost.com, TheStreet.com, SmartMoney.com, TodayShow.com, BusinessWeek.com, Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo! Small Business, and more. She has nearly 20 years of experience in the marketing field having spent the first decade of her career directing marketing programs for some of the largest companies in the world, including divisions of AT&T and HSBC. Susan also appears at in-person and virtual events where she speaks about marketing, branding, social media, and more (visit www.SusanGunelius.com for more information). You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn.