New look and latest features for Herald website

The home page will have a cleaner, more contemporary design. Photo / Thinkstock

The New Zealand Herald's website home page is to be revamped as part of a range of innovative new digital plans announced today.

The Herald is to launch a new social reader for Facebook and the revamped home page to coincide with the launch of the newspaper's new compact format in September.

The home page will have a cleaner, more contemporary design, and new features to showcase digital storytelling. It will "go live" on Monday, September 10, the same day the Herald newspaper changes from a broadsheet to compact format.

The Facebook social reader is a first in the New Zealand market and allows readers to engage with Herald stories without leaving Facebook. It allows users to view stories based on their interests or content popular with friends.

Readers will be able to prioritise, share and rate news.

The Herald's mobile and tablet applications will also be improved to give readers ways to interact with the newspaper. Using their smartphones and tablets, readers will be able to scan newspaper articles to open digital content like video, photo galleries and polls.

APN Digital general manager Spencer Bailey said the publisher had to continually evolve to match demand for news across newspapers, web, mobile phones and tablets.

"It is essential that our evolution takes all of these platforms into consideration to ensure the best, integrated approach to delivering news.

"We have actively sought feedback from the community through hundreds of hours of in-depth consumer interviews and product testing, to ensure all our new offerings further enhance our readers' experience."

Keep up to date

The Herald has launched a new micro-website to keep readers and advertisers fully informed of the upcoming changes. Please visit nzherald.co.nz/themoreyouknow.