December 2008
Taking the HGTV tagline "Start at Home" to heart, HGTV.com today unveils a significantly redesigned, revamped and really user-friendly Web site design with intuitive, state-of-the-art capabilities.
HGTV.com first premiered on the Web in 1996 and has been a trusted leader in home content online ever since.
Site users will find the new design allows them to immediately see new site content, easily search and explore to find the full depth and breadth of relevant information, quickly access video and popular social features as well as personalize their experience with the all-new "My HGTV" feature.
"The new HGTV.com is designed to deliver inspiration, ideas and entertainment," explained Jillian St. Charles, vice president and site director of HGTV.com.
"Whether a user digs in and experiences all that the site has to offer, including watching video, contributing their own content and creating a personal profile, or does nothing more than simply visit the home page and check out the latest visuals, they will have a fulfilling design experience when they visit HGTV.com."
The new HGTV.com design will not only create an enhanced user experience, but also allow the site to have a new immediacy with features refreshed daily, hourly, even by the minute thanks to behind-the-scenes improvements and new "self-serve" tools and templates provided to the site's editors.
This includes three new home page features that will be updated daily - "Before and After" featuring popular project reveals, "Daily Tip" with timely home design and decorating information, and an "Editors Pick" of new products on the market, recent blog posts or opportunities to be on an HGTV show or enter an HGTV sweepstakes.
"With the economy causing many homeowners to want to do more with the home they already have, HGTV.com is there with advice on the best, easiest and most effective home decorating and design, now even easier to navigate and explore," continued St. Charles.
"Of course HGTV.com also features ideas to help a home stand out from the crowd when looking to sell in today's tough market."
Popular site feature Rate My Space, which allows users to upload photos of their own spaces for design input from the HGTV community, now also has a prominent placement on the home page so that users can easily access the latest room uploads and more quickly jump in to swap design advice.
Real Estate is one of the top navigation tabs allowing users to more easily find and utilize advice from HGTV's real estate and design experts.
HGTV.com's search function has also been enhanced to help users more quickly get to the information they want by offering type ahead and guided navigation that refines and sorts search results, exploring topics of interest.
Additionally, the site has increased its assistance to users interested in finding and purchasing products that will help them complete home projects and achieve design dreams.
"We've put together a truly talented team at Scripps Networks Digital including top notch product designers, front-end developers and back-end engineers," said Deanna Brown, president of Scripps Networks Digital.
"Having these functions in-house allows us to cut our time to market and to truly design with the user at the forefront, as everyone is working with this content and these users everyday."
"We also have the most talented and knowledgeable editorial team and now they will be able to more efficiently update HGTV.com to bring users the latest in home design trends and tips."
The new HGTV.com is utilizing an upgraded video player and continues to grow its library of custom Web originals and how-to design video along with offering more full episodes of popular HGTV shows.
There will be more video offered online to accompany popular HGTV programming and events, like the current HGTV Dream Home Giveaway which offers online users exponentially more video than ever before.
Over the past year video viewing on the site has doubled and growth in online video consumption continues.
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