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WRAL.com Creates Express Version For Viewers |
WRAL.com has taken on a different look since Internet Broadcasting Systems (IBS) took over the management of WRAL-TV’s web presence. Now the site has added a new facet, WRAL Express, a faster-loading version of the full-graphics WRAL.com site.
WRAL Express contains all of the information on WRAL.com but uses more white space, fewer graphics and fewer headlines on the front page. Stripped of the heavy graphics, WRAL Express loads faster which is more convenient for web surfers who are working from dial-up modems at home.
CBC Senior Vice President of Broadcasting Tom Allen came up with the idea for the secondary site in response to requests from visitors to WRAL.com. Then IBS set out to design WRAL Express, basing its format on the old WRAL OnLine homepage. The solution answered viewers having trouble downloading the heavier site.
Another convenience of the secondary site, if you select Express version, then a cookie is placed on your hard drive. Therefore, your browser will always go back to the version you selected until you choose the heavier graphics version.
“We’ve gotten overwhelming positive response,” said Allen. Many viewers have sent their compliments for the change to the WRAL staff.
“I love it. It loads so much faster and doesn’t have so much to confuse the eye,” wrote Roy Vestal of Kenansville. “This WRAL Express is great!”
Tony Smith, a teacher the Wayne County Public School system, agreed. “Most of us in rural NC still have modems, and coupled with aging phone lines, the speed of our connections is excruciatingly slow. It’s not going to get any better for us in the near future. But you have taken a great step in remembering those of us unable to get broadband (whether by geography or sheer cost), and thus have to sit through minutes of page loading. A faster loading site is just what I’ve wanted since you abandoned the ‘wral-tv.com’ site a few months back and went to the ‘wral.com’ site.”
