Perhaps the new USAToday.com will be the standard for tomorrow’s media websites. To sum up about the personality of the new site:

  1. Interactive.
  2. Social bookmarking/sharing functions.
  3. Personalized.
  4. Innovative navigation.

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Here is the quick guide to the overhauled USAToday.com:

See more big stories in the carousel.

Bigger, better

We know you want to know the biggest story right away. Our new carousel features bigger photos to highlight the biggest news. But we don’t just play one story big. By mousing over the carousel’s thumbnail images, you can quickly see more of the day’s big stories.

Get different takes on the news.

Keeping tabs on the news

Catching up on the news you’ve missed is another reason you come to USATODAY.com. That’s why we’ve created an easy-to-scan column of headlines. Or for more depth, analysis, and a different perspective, you can switch views to read one of our newsroom blogs. You can also keep tabs on what other news organizations are reporting through our “Across the Web” feature of feeds from dozens of other Web sites.


See what others are reading.

What’s everyone talking about?

Interested in what your fellow readers are following? When scanning headlines, you can quickly flip the stories to see which are the most popular. It’s a great way to keep up with the latest water cooler chatter.

Find special reports with ease.

Only on USA TODAY

Our reporters are known for their original cover stories; from data analysis to exclusive reports, USA TODAY always has the stories you want to read. Now you can find them grouped together every day.

Then add your voice to our coverage:

Make your voice heard.

Join the conversation

We’re strong believers that our stories are the beginnings of a conversation, not the last word. That’s why we’re excited to add comments to every story page. Now when you read an article on USATODAY.com, you can see what others are thinking and join the conversation yourself. We feature the most interesting comments at the top of our main pages.



Tell others which stories are worth reading.

Recommended

Sometimes you’ll come across a story that you want others to know about. That’s what our new “Recommend” button is for. A quick click and you can vote for a story you think others should pay attention to. Then as you surf the site, you’ll see which other stories your fellow readers want you to check out. It’s never been easier to see what everyone is reading.


Learn more about other readers.

Personal space

When you become a member, we automatically establish a personal profile page. As you interact with the USA TODAY community, your comments, recommendations and other contributions are automatically appended to your page. Your profile page includes a place for you to upload photos, write a blog, and the ability to send messages to other users. These pages allow readers to get a better sense of the site’s most active contributors.


Put your stamp on every page.

Avatar

Every one of our pages features a spot just for you: up there in the right-hand corner. That’s where you’ll be notified of messages left by other readers. Make yourself at home. Upload a picture of yourself, a funny icon, or choose from our selection of ready-made avatars.


Upload your photos.

Shutter speed

You’re not just a reader of news. You’re also a news observer and a news maker. So we’re going to be asking you to send us your photos. Whether its photos of dazzling thunderstorms or the latest breaking news, you can be part of covering the story.


Keep tabs on the USATODAY.com community.

Community center

As you contribute to USATODAY.com, you’ll also want to know more about how others are contributing. Our new community blog, “Community Center,” will keep you informed of the latest and greatest comments, user-submitted photos, requests for help with stories, and more. Think of it as gossip that won’t get you into trouble.

Continue to explore using new ways to navigate:

Know where you are and where you’re going.

No more asking for directions

It’s never been easier to find the stories you’re looking for. We’ve overhauled the navigation at the top of every page. Flyout menus show you how content is grouped. And breadcrumbs show you how to get back where you came from. We’ve also placed a site index at the bottom of every section front.


Discover similar stories.

Six degrees of separation

They say everyone is connected to everyone else by just six people. Now you can explore similar connections among stories. Using tags, you can jump from story to story by connections like never before. You can even see all the stories written by any given reporter. Once you start clicking tags, you might never stop.


Now you can find what you’re looking for.

Finding a better search

Sometimes the easiest way to find what you’re looking for is simply to search for it. We’ve overhauled search to make it much easier to use. The results are more accurate, the design is clearer, and now we include photos in our search results!