Many technology sites applauded the new look and features of US news giant, USAToday.com. And while I can’t argue that adding all these social media/networking features is a bold move, probably in the right direction, I must say that I find the actual implementation rather poor.

I’d rather have design experts like A List Apart do an expert analysis of the design than me, but I’m going to give it a try anyway:

- the header wastes way too much space for nothing
- the prime news item on the home page, the one with the big picture on the left, sorely lacks a lead
- the “recommend this article” icon is way too small
- the overall design is way too vertical - one must scroll a lot to see today’s important news
- inconsistency - “news notes” becomes “accross the web”, depending on where you are
- just plain bad design: click on “News”, then scroll down beneath the first batch of news on the left. Why are the items below not the same width as the news above? It looks horrible.
- intrusive ads: ads are scattered everywhere and in all formats (text, image, animation) and only add to the overall confusion on the site.

It’s no wonder that 92% of readers don’t like the new USAtoday.com - it’s not the social features they hate; it’s the confusing design and organization of the site.