Weather you read Sports or you do not, Sports illustrated has done a nice job in their recent update of their site. Nothing major has changed, meaning everything is pretty much where it was prior to the new look and feel. This is good since there are so many navigation options, the continuity definitely keeps users from feeling lost.

The good: There is a lot of good to point out! The Brand now POPS where in the previous version it was a little more subdued. The site Header feels more useful and better organized. The content now feels more focused. The overall feel of the site is a nice change but done maintains the brand.

The bad: I am not a fan of the “tab” look for the content headers, this is not bad just over done and that is because it works ( I know, I am being nit picky ). The ads, They seem to be much more prominent but that is to be expected on all sites with sister publication. The current state of the publishing business as a revenue generator is in turmoil like never before so web advertising is going to be pushed like never before.

All in all I give it an A-The last incarnation was not bad in fact I liked it. But the new look and feel of the 2009 site is a nice way to keep the site fresh with the audience as well as advertisers.

SI is proud of their progress and has posted a visual historyThe SI Evolution
This is a pretty good reminder of where we have come on the internet since 1997.