Dear Readers
I appreciate the comments from so many of you who have given us valuable insight and pause for thought.
The page load time yesterday and Wednesday was unacceptable. You are right and it should not have been that slow.
It also took us longer than it should have to solve the problem. Sorry.
You should now find the page loads much faster.
On the design issues and the overwhelming comments on this and the previous entry which criticised the whiter, more widely spaced look, we also recognise that it may not suit everyone and that the space may well be too generous.
We did test this design in the UK and yes, it was influenced by the design direction from other MSN markets but it is significantly different and tailored to be more familiar to users of the page we served you until Tuesday.
This is not a justification but an explanation to reflect and respond openly to your comments.
We will continue working with our designers and engineers to improve the performance and make MSN the most legible, useful, impactful website it can be.
There are more news headlines on the page than there were, bigger images at the top of the page (which I know some of you do not like) and more Video (which our figures show you using at double the rate of a week ago).
More of you than a week ago are also using our Bing search engine which we hope you find useful.
We are listening and if you wish to contact me directly, and get a direct response please email me and my team on:
msnhomepage@live.co.uk
It also took us longer than it should have to solve the problem. Sorry.
You should now find the page loads much faster.
On the design issues and the overwhelming comments on this and the previous entry which criticised the whiter, more widely spaced look, we also recognise that it may not suit everyone and that the space may well be too generous.
We did test this design in the UK and yes, it was influenced by the design direction from other MSN markets but it is significantly different and tailored to be more familiar to users of the page we served you until Tuesday.
This is not a justification but an explanation to reflect and respond openly to your comments.
We will continue working with our designers and engineers to improve the performance and make MSN the most legible, useful, impactful website it can be.
There are more news headlines on the page than there were, bigger images at the top of the page (which I know some of you do not like) and more Video (which our figures show you using at double the rate of a week ago).
More of you than a week ago are also using our Bing search engine which we hope you find useful.
We are listening and if you wish to contact me directly, and get a direct response please email me and my team on:
msnhomepage@live.co.uk
Regards,
Peter Bale, Executive Producer, MSN UK
Homepage team blog 
you used to give footsie 100 prices updates all day but have dropped this, why, it is such a natural thing to have on a home page and just the sort of thing you have the internet for, i know i can get it in a 100 more places but it was so easy with this.
I would like to have been given the chance to keep the old version. I will change my home page now.
Peter Bale as I replied with the hoards last time…I cant believe after receiving so many complaints (about the UGH new home page) that you have been so condiscending in your reply (we as users do not count). The New home page is S..te…I have to use more applications as to where you want to get to (if you can find your way)….I feel there must nearly 90% or more where people gave a negative response to the new home page….yet you still go ahead protecting your stupid changes…qualifying your jobs at MSN UK…Use the adage "if its not broke dont change it"… I feel you have never never ever received any complaints about the home page….Google is looking better everyday (Bing is so intrusive and a load of rubbish)…SACK PETER BALE OF MSN UK….
It is rubbIsh & has made probs with both my private life & professional. Yuo have caused probs so i cannot submit to HMRC….DOH
That is important guys!!!!!
Hate Bing
Hate it…really hate it…go back to what it was…if not broken do not FIX
Hate it. If it\’s not changed PDQ Im looking somewhere else where perhaps users are asked for their opinion prior to change.
HATE IT
I have to concur with the majority of those who have commented before me, go back to the old home page. There was nothing wrong with it. This new page is the MSN equivalent of a child in a sweet shop that didn\’t know when to stop.
i agree with everyone\’s comments i hate it and will not be reading the gossip or celebrity pages on here anymore, and i don\’t use the bing search engine cos it\’s really crappy i use firefox i suggest everyone else does the same.
Why fix what was not broken? Go back to the old page please!!!! Also hate it.
Moving to BBC
Don\’t like the new look home page , don\’t appreciate the BS platitudes about valuable insights or pause for thought, a little more pause before changing the homepage into something less useful to me would have been better. As for BING I have now removed that as a search engine completely and will not be using it again.Don\’t tell me what I want , listen to me then anticipate my needs. Its not rocket science.Give me the chance to shuffle the my more useful features to the top of my page and the less useful to the bottom, its called user preferences and its not a new concept, just an old one you seem to have decided we don\’t need as you clearly know whats better for us ……………. oh wait you don\’t !!!.\’We are listening\’ you say ………………………… well so are we and all we\’ve heard so far is an excuse you labelled an explanation.Say something we want to hear, like we are listening and know that we spent an awful lot of time and money doing this but now realise that we should have just improved the features on the old page rather than just insulting those people who chose to have MSN as their home page.I\’m going to have a look around for a better alternative ……………… shouldn\’t be too difficult.
I HATE IT!!!!!! Admit your mistake and get the previous one back, if you\’re big enough. Doubt that you are, so I\’ll be doing the changing.
I HATE IT.The previous page was far better.If you insisted on changing it, why not maintain the same colour scheme?All this white is hurting my eyes!!!!!!!!It\’s horrible!!!!I\’ve had MSN as my homepage from the start and this is by far the worst design ever.. . . I\’m seriously thinking of changing my homepage for the first time.
Script is rubbish (one article overlapping the over), takes forever to load a page, fails to be any simpler than the last MSN , Bing is a joke that can\’t find half the stuff as google.Total crap! try stopping those annoying adverts in the comments sections and while your at it…..Try reading the English dictionary instead of censoring good English words.Not a happy user..GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER.
Give us a page like the german msn….Got till next week. (monday) Old msn or some drastic changes to this rubbish which is hurting my eyes.Sack those designers as they don\’t have a clue what they are doing. quote"We will continue working with our designers and engineers to improve the performance and make MSN the most legible, useful, impactful website it can be"unquote. Can\’t read messeges as the script shows senders name over the message!!!This must be MSN\’s Vista momment.
BBC website is almost as good as the old MSN website…MSN after searching for possible new homepages I noticed that your new page looks very similar to the yahoo homepage.Is this a coincidence?Is it that the useless designers here (that want to blind every msn user) designed that page as well?Or is it just a case of copying yahoo?
I have to ware sunglasses to read your new home page Please go back to the old home page or I will use another site. It is rubbish sorry.
give it time people, things have to change and i admire msn for trying something different, how fickle people are to look to change after a minor set back, 99% msn have been excellent so show some loyalty and give them a chance. im sticking and not twisting. at least mr bale responded quick time and gave a thorough explaination and aplogised. its like anything new that takes time to get used to but cant believe the over reaction of people. msn are by far the best homepage bar none and clearly are looking to move forward all the time rather than rest on laurels. i am confident they will get it right.
Is there a way of getting the old MSN home page back as I have used MSN for ever,I am old and hat change. And having to ware sunglasses to read on a computer is the end. How stuppid is that PLEASE HELP.
The old page had a nice look, a nice feel & was easy and practical to use.The new page is just bland shash.Put it back to how it was… That\’s an order!!
We all get stuck in our ways and dont like change.But i have tried to get used to this and iam sorry but it just does NOT FLOW the same.Your eyes are all over the place.The old page just pulled you in and was an easy read.PLEASE bring the old page back……………….please.
It wpould seem that you have several misconceptions! Learn from HSBC. This is a global company who recognise that there are marked differences from nation to nation! Muslims do not eat pork, whilst lots of others do! Vietnamese eat dogs others will not!In short, what your researchers are telling you is wrong!!!!!!!!!! All cats are not black in the dark! There is a difference between reasons and excuses! The assumption that more users are USING bing is wrong! They are testing your assertions that bing is good and that your video content is good. Please do not assume they will continue to use this nonsense of a search engine! I can truthfully say that I cannot remember ANY subject on posts and comments which have attracted so many negative comments.Can you please tell us, if you tested this in the UK was the test confines solely and exclusively to designers family and friends or,if not, where and by what gr.oups it was trialled? I do not think this is too sensitive to reveal. I have to say that, after reading these posts religiously for the last week, that well over 99% of posters do not accept your excuses (not reasons) In most walks of life someone who has made such a huge miscalculation of public opinion would "re-consider their position" Please, also, remember that not only disgruntled posters are upset, so are a majority of those who cannot be bothered to post!
I have to agree – its the most horrendous home page in the history of the net. What was it tested on blind bats
The new MSN homepage is absolutely horrendous. Please please please return to the much easier to use old homepage.
100% agree with \’no name below – And, in agreement with nearly all the postings I saw below, I would like the original MSN Front page back. on a similar \’Change for the sake of change\’ note – Today there is a \’map\’ indicating the location of a train de-railment… NOT! it doesn\’t have time to download, before \’revolving\’ on to the next \’headline\’ Get with it, People; IF you want us to keep coming back, make sure we have something to come to here, that is worthy of MSN – A real survey gets people talking – NOT just filling in \’dots\’ on a database that can be interpreted in any way the \’Company\’ wants to use it.I remember when Microsoft surveyed 3000 people (or they lied, in their book about setting up Windows 95) – the result was – Windows 95, which has had to be changed regularly since then… and don\’t get me talking about \’Lending the Software to us under Licence\’! If M.S. were a part of the Car Industry they\’d not be around today…Brian hill
I hate itI hate itI hate itI hate it!!!It isn\’t easy on the eye, too confusing & cluttered. It\’s like some teenager has designed it for a school project! Absolutely the worst version of MSN I have ever encountered. Is there any way of personalising your home-page to the old version like the option we used to have when the site had been "updated"? I cant find a way anywhere and it\’s extremely frustrating.
Both my wife and I took an instant dislike to the new homepage, the old homepage as far as we were concerned was well presented, more colourful, and generally superior to the new page, please return to the old format. J&E Hall
WHY,O WHY ,TRY TO FIX SOMETHING THAT IS NOT BROKEN ??????????
i agree with everyone else,this new page is horrible,the whiteness is glaring on the eye and is difficult to read. bring back the old one.think about vista,it was sussposed to be progress but it just didnt work,just like this doesnt work.
No namewrote: Quote from the suites ("The use of white space and the text spacing and size reflects what our designers believe are the appropriate modern approaches to legibility and other factors such as making contact searchable.") Now you actually know that your designers know nothing – How could they have the afront to tell US what we needed – And now they were proved wrong they should NEVER be allowed to do anything without contacting the customer base first. I have been around during a few face changes to this website over the years and this has provoked the greatest amount of negativity by far.
Peter, Peter, Peter Do you think this whole debuncle will leave you with any sort of positive reputation. Also those in your own company must be observing how badly you are handling this situation, (one of your own making I must add.) Your dear readers message above just abour covers it all. After WELL over a thousand (and still counting) negative posts in total you are STILL telling us what YOU think we need. Have an hour off mate and take a walk in the REAL world.
Quote from Perer Bale ("MSN the most legible, useful, impactful website it can be.") So when are you going to start Peter?
Still not listening after all this time???? Bye Bye……………………………………………………………..
how can i remove that Blxxxy anoying windows live im not intrest I only want to see my emails on hope page ad cant work it out. think the page is messy and large sections I dont want
I would like to say that this is the best homepage i have ever seen – BUT I CAN\’T – IT HAS TO BE THE WORST.
I definitely agree with all the other comments,… bring back the old page…
Kev Humphreys – Yes you are well intentioned and I admire you for it – But I am sure you can see that if the negitive posts did not happen then Peter Bale would NOT change anything – Come on mate it is not rocket science – Think again.
Bring back the old page and the old motoring page
Peter Bale – If your bosses are keeping an eye on this farce then I hope you lose your position over it – Such a short visioned condersending person should NEVER hold your position. I wonder how many people agree with me?
I think you should return to the previous home page which was much more user friendly
I really dislike this new page, too white not nearly colourful enough. I find it a real pain to get intomy e-mails P;ease return to the old page
Bring back the old page
A nice try but bring back old e-mail section
An earlier comment sums up what appears to be everyones thoughts but yours , Peter.IF IT AINT BROKE DONT TRY AND FIX IT!! Stop being selfish and give us what we want and not what you think we want .
i have been online exactly 30minutes this morning.first stop MSN UK homepage to read the headlines. i really arnt interested in anything much else on there. but by the time i had read 3 articles my eyes were aching from the glare. if you must use this horrible page please consider those with eye problems and make the page background a creamy yellow colour PLEASEEEEEEEE. (not a bad idea for anyone doing website design actually.(including hotmail email pages)..no good if people find it difficult to read cos its white.
Peter, NEW is not always better, BRIGHTER is not always better, BIGGER PICTURES are not in themselves always better. Just because YOU AND YOUR TEAM think it looks pretty is no reason to foist it onto your users. Be grown up about it – we will all think better of you if you have the guts to admit you are wrong.V.
Rubbish design, old page much better
I bet you\’re wishing you hadn\’t changed it! Or perhaps you like negative feedback. I\’m inclined to agree with everyone else – I don\’t like it.
I am so disappointed with the changes and I do not enjoy using my e-mail as much as I did with the old format. Looking at alternatives.
The page is not only to bright but it is also to cluttered. Peter if you are listening like you say you are then surely you must realise by all these comments that the new homepage is not what we want. The old design was much better and easier to use.
I know that people take time to get used to all things new and usually recommend waiting and seeing but acually – no! Not a good change. And representative of Them making broad brush decisions on Our behalf….. a trend that isbecoming all to prevelant
I think the new MSN UK home page is RUBBISH, it looks like something from when the internet first came out, looks old and outdated. Ive started using YAHOO home page much more attractive
Peter – Is it not time we had a new update from you? I hope you a thinking you will do it when YOU choose because that would only confirm what many people are now beginning to think about you.
I have said this before and yet my comments still fall upon deaf ears. Why can\’t we have a box where we can tick to what we want to keep, the old one or progress to the new. Why should we have the choice of the person who put this new one together, he may like it but it seems so far your users don\’t. We are English NOT American, and fed up with being dictated to.
The German homepage is modern but colorful – But then again knowing the Germans they would set fire to your office if the new format was forced onto them.
I just find it too blaringly white, not comfortable to read and yes I hate the big images at the top. Dont see much improvement to the last one to be honest, I think I too will be moving over to Yahoo. Give us back the old one.
i taotally agree finding and reading e-mails is now a pain and everything seems so cluttered.We need clear easy to use minimum fuss pages not something fussy and time consuming.
Bring back the old page please please please
I agree with the majority here .. if it wasn\’t bust, why fix it ? I don\’t remember an overwhelming number of subscribers asking for this interference and change. It would be improved if the users could elect to keep or remove elements on the page, so at least we would not be bothered by extraneous tat. And why, when I select weather forecasts, does it only retain Lambeth .. when I want Exmouth and others .. what has Lambeth got to do with me .. or have you decided that is what I want .. this is really a joke at our expense…
Why the new page anyway? Did you have feedback asking for change???????
Dear Peter,QUIT!!!!!!!!!!
dont like the new page at all
I have been away a week and now every time the cursor is over a word I get multiple translations! Is this to do with the new setup and how do I get rid of this annoyance, please?
Obviously in a minority, I like the new page!! It has much cleaner lines and the white background is much more pleasing to the eye. Please remember not all users are in their teens and early twenties! Many thanks
Hi Peter, I just have to agree with everything that has been said I\’m afraid. I don\’t like the front page at all. The weather is not as detailed as it was for future days either. Not happy. Please go back to old front page. Gaynor.
please peter bale will you and your team resign now please
i used to have msn as my home page, but no more !!. same old story…never listen to the people that actually use the service -. p.s. bing , another bad idea- i wouldn\’t use it.
I agree with John, much easier to read than the old page.
I cant see what the problem is with the new screen. I\’ve just come back from a weeks holidays and yes it was a little bit of a shock but after a couple of minutes you find everything. I personally think that the old screen had too much going on with it with the ads and stuff. WELCOME CHANGE!!
I think that the new layout is quite nice actually. I admit it is still taking a little getting used to, but I imagine that it will all make sense in a little while. Moreover, it will likely take less time than the previous to grow accustomed to, as the prior page was a touch on the messy side. Oh, and while i\’m here, could you please get rid of Lorna Cooper? Her pieces are some of the poorest i\’ve ever read. I know this is unrelated, but god is she awful 🙂
Whatever happened to the wishes of the majority? Why has this change been forces upon us? I personally much prefer the old style page, so along with the vast majority of like minded comments, when will it return?
Flip! There are a "couple" of people who like the whiteness. Must be mad imo. I\’ve changed my homepage now MSN. And so have many others. Only going to pop on MSN homepage to keep an eye on what people are saying now. Unless it is changed back to the nicer older format I will not be coming back for any other reason. Whoever thinks this page is easier to read, they must be deluding themselves. Try reading it constantly with the sun being out, it\’s nigh on impossible. My head hurts every time I come on to the page. Anyone who likes plain white backrounds with black writing "all" the time needs to get their eyes checked out tbh.
I agree with anthony hall. What was wrong with the old layout.
How can you design your own MSN home page? I used to have the FTSE 100 on the front page now I have to transfer into the money section. I does seem slower,.especially emails now because the fancy Fonts with phone numbers take longer to download.
Cutting down on all the uglies, from the world of stage and screen, all the c grade celebs, what a waste of space would help, please let us have more upto date news from around the world, We don\’t want to hear about these talentless clothes horse\’s, Mr Cowell should be the first man on Mars, with no return ticket, perhaps he could take all the yeah buts with him, we are fast becoming child like again.We need education on line, not silly TV performers, and wailing women singers who can\’t hold a note or remember more than 10 words.
Why is it still snail slow? The surveys I try to complete time out.
You haven\’t considered DYSLEXICS!!! My daughter is finding your new format with lots of white background extremely difficult and I\’m sure there must be many other dyslexic users who find black on white very tiring and hard to deal with. Please please reconsider – these are some of the worst changes you have ever made.
This is dreadful – takes so long to find anything! Come on!
the new page is a turn off in comparrison to the old. Please reinstate soon.
Quote from Peter Bale ("I appreciate the comments from so many of you who have given us valuable insight and pause for thought.") Then why have you not done anything to prove you are taking notice? By the way You may need "cause" for thought There has been enough "Pause".
Sorry MSN but my personal view is the home page is a disaster, i would hope to think that engineer and designer had better imaginaion than this, it is just so dull and boring, and hard on the eyes. please work alittle hardr and faster to give this page more life. i undertand it will not suit everyones taste, but i guess now many will be OK with it then it comes boring, bit like watching the paint dry.
I think the new msn home page looks better than the last one. Much cleaner and easier on the eye. Not really sure why people are saying its hard to find things. It seems pretty clear and straight forward to me.
When I turned on the PC in the last 2 days I get the US MSN front page coming up. How does that happen!
sorry dont like the new set up and dont like BING BRING BACK THE OLD THANKYOU
Horrible! What was wrong with the old one – \’if it ain\’t broke, don\’t fix it\’! Still taking forever to load anything, almost a week on!
MSN has been my homepage for years, I thought the previous one was about right. Although I like the new logo I find the new lay out has too much whitein between lines and it looks incomplete. I grant you that it is very easy to read. Have you gone for the minimalistic look? I will keep MSN as my homepage but hope that improvements through all the feedback you\’re getting will come on board soon, otherwise I\’ll probably go to the Daily Telegraph as my homepage on MSN browser.
As long as you keep them bloody ducks on the 02 ad off msn home page I will be happy, as it slows my pc down
To much leading in between lines which is then too white and it just looks like you\’re trying to fill a page with not enough text! I\’m sorry but it\’s blooming horrible and if it doesn\’t change back soon I will go to another provider.
Old page 100%, new page 0%. I am off to find a New Homepage
Alan Gibbs writing: I seem unable to find the Environment link (the previous Homepage had it at base), as climate change especially is a hobby interest. I became used to the previous so can adapt to the current, yet think the previous was excellent as it was, & the sky blue background very good . However, slightly too much white now. Yet all Homepages have to avoid being overly cluttered. Will try to submit more later. I\’m not switching away from Microsoft & MSN.
I think we will have to accept that management know best. This page, however awful, is here to stay and we will either have to live with it or move on. If only we could have had the German page, it seems to be little short of perfect. How sad that most of us will be moving away from MSN. I too have used it for years even though most of the articles are recycled many, many times. Change the title or the position on the page and we are supposed to believe it is something new to read. How many times have we been subjected to "Useless Body Parts? It is with regret that I moved on, just came back to check out all this feedback and see if anything had changed, obviously not. Don\’t you find the continued silence from Mr Bale slightly annoying?
I just popped back to see if any of the overwhelming views of MSN users about the "redesign"of the home page had been acknowleged—–obviously not! No pearls of wisdom from the Fuhrer Peter Bale—–or is he deep in his public opinion proof bunker dreaming of millions of surfers flocking to his HQ imposed "baby" or getting orgasmic thoughts about Bing –Bling –Thing(whatever)Obviously not—so I\’m off back to the BBC homepage where I can read intelligent news and comment without causing myself eyestrain and not be distracted by innane videos of nobodys pretending to be somebodies.Bye ByeWill the last person out turn off the lights ( Lets be eco-friendly.)
The new Homepage is DREADFUL!!!!!!! EVERYONE is COMPLAINING ……… so why not bring back the old Homepage and make people happy? So many loyal MSN users are leaving …… Surely you care about your customers???? The new Homepage is cheap and tacky. An insult to your users.
Luckysamba…….As nearly everyone thinks the homepage is terrible……….it just looks childish…give us back to old, please !!!
Policing of SPAM leaves a lot to be desired. I saw the above, from store air on my home page three times and now notice it is here in the previous post.I also find spam regularly turning up on my blog posts and in my inbox, and have turned off comments so get no feedback.