SALT LAKE CITY — This week you will have the chance to preview the beta version of the new KSL.com homepage. Please take some time to click around and give us your feedback.

You'll notice the option at the top of the page to switch from the current homepage to a new, responsive design — meaning the design adjusts itself based on the size of the screen, making the experience smoother and more unified on mobile and tablet devices.

For now, only the home page will have the new look; article pages will still display the old design. To introduce the beta version, we’ve put together this comprehensive guide.

How will my news experience change?

The news stories you’ve grown to expect will be the same, but its presentation will be different. We’ve cleaned up the design, simplified the navigation and optimized the site for faster loading.

Mobile browser users will find the site easier to use than the previous version, since the responsive page design will adjust to your screen rather than serving a separate mobile page.

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The navigation bar is still at the top of the page, but we have added TV, radio and live stream links and moved Page Two, U.S., World, Business, Pics & Flix, Outdoors and KSL Latino under the Home button. Marketplace, search and your account access buttons are all available on the navigation bar. The anchored navigation bar will stay pinned to the top of the screen you as you scroll through the story queue, making it easier to navigate the site, no matter where you are on the page.

In the story queue, thumbnail images will be larger than in the past, providing a better visual experience. We’ve also removed some of the less frequently used features on the homepage.

“We’ve tried to remove a lot of the clutter,” said Steve Bergen, mobile and user interface project manager. “Based on our statistics and user profiling (we responded to) what users are interested in and what they look at, (to) make it more easily digestible and not to have as many distracting things.”

Additionally, the queue will no longer be pagified. Instead, users can click on the “Load More Stories” button at the bottom, which will load 10 additional stories per click.

Why are the ads in the story queue now?

You may notice that advertisements have moved from the right rail to the story queue. This simplifies the site, makes ads a more natural part of the design and user experience, and keeps content free for our readers. Ads fund our content so readers don’t have to pay a subscription fee or deal with a paywall. As always, we will not display pop-up ads or make you interact with our advertisements in order to access news stories.

“I’m excited about some of the ad formats we’ve never had before,” said Todd Handy, vice president of advertising strategy and products. “The larger, more immersive ads, they’re not interruptive … (These are) large formats that are engaging in the content stream, but don’t take you out of what you’re doing.”

Our advertisements support not only our site, but also local businesses. The new ad types and placement is, in part, to help create relevant advertisements for our readers and a quality advertising experience for small and local businesses.

“The thing that I love about this process the most is that we’re trying to optimize the experience for our users,” said Director of Sales, Jadon Andersen. “But at the same time, we have two clienteles: our users and our advertisers. And both have to have a synergistic experience.”

What else will change?

Later this year, the entire site will change over to the new design, integrating your feedback to help improve the site.

“We want to get feedback so when we come out with the final product, people are comfortable with it and enjoy it,” said Brett Atkinson, general manager of KSL.com.

Eventually, the responsive design will replace the current design entirely.

“I’m excited just because it’s been a while since it’s been redesigned and we’re able to make use of newer technology to make a better user experience,” Bergen said.

Throughout this whole process, we will be looking for user comments. If you are particularly excited about a feature, if something isn’t working quite right or if you have other comments on the new design, let us know by accessing the feedback form. You can also comment on this article directly.

Known bugs

• Android 2.x browsers - Page scroll locks
• iOS and Android browsers - URL bar in browser does not autohide
• Internet Explorer 8 and 9 - Weather icon and temperature does not appear
• iOS - "Scroll to top" shortcut in browser does not work

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