Mashable.com, the social media guide that I often write for, has released a redesign of its site today. The new design features a tweaked header with new navigation that is categorized in way that makes it easier to find specific topics. The homepage also gives more prominence to the trending story before a reader gets to see the most recent story.

A new sidebar feature highlights columnists like myself and recent stories they have written and updates in font styles make front-page posts more eye-friendly with a cleaner design. The preview of posts have been reworked, and the author image is posted below and we now can see how long ago the article was posted. It isn’t a huge redesign in layout, and I expected a bit more of a magazine-style layout, but the improvements are a nice update.

What do you think? What other changes would you make? (I will use feedback and send it along to those in charge of the redesign).

My biggest critique is that I think the “above the fold” space could still be utilized better to feature more content, though the site does a great job of featuring ways to connect with the site very prominently (something I cannot preach enough).

• ESPN

  http://lavrusik.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/ESPN.jpg

• NiemanLab

  http://lavrusik.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/NiemanLab.jpg

• skynews

  http://lavrusik.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/skynews.jpg

• Reuters

  http://lavrusik.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Reuters.jpg

• Atlantic Wire

  http://lavrusik.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Atlantic-Wire.jpg

• DNAinfo

  http://lavrusik.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/DNAinfo1.jpg

• CNN

  http://lavrusik.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/CNN.jpg

CNN recently redesigned its website and went with a richer, brighter red for its header. It had some red before (after all it’s their brand), but now the header pops bright. Reuters released its redesign today with a rich red for its logo in the header. And even the NYC-based hyper local start-up DNAinfo.com went with a red too.

Not sure if this is a trend, and my Web designer and entrepreneur friend Shane Snow tells me that blue has always been the popular choice and red has typically been the second favorite. There are plenty of news sites out there that incorporate a blue palette like the Miami Herald. But maybe red is on the rise in news Web design? Maybe it’s the power-tie in Web design. Just something to ponder.

Cody Brown, the founder of NYU Local and Kommons, pointed out on Twitter another example of the Atlantic Wire using bright red and thinks it is becoming somewhat a trend.

Craig Kanalley, the traffic and trends editor at the Huffington Post, also posted an example on Twitter of Breaking News, which uses red. Then there’s also Skynews.com, but as Kanalley points out, they used a lot of black to offset the bright red.

Also, there is Newsweek and NiemanLab.

What are some other examples you’ve seen out there? Let me know, and i’ll include them in the gallery.

Update: Just came across Washington Post’s Post Alert, which popups on the bottom of the browser for big stories.

Today I went to the NYPost.com and noticed that their top-of-the-page toolbar moved as you scrolled down (or rather stays in the foreground, as Greg Linch pointed out). I think this was an interesting idea and implementation for a news site and asked my Twitter friends what they thought of it. Below is some of the feedback that took place, along with someone pointing out MSNBC’s toolbar, which rests at the bottom of the page.

Check out both of the implementations above and let me know what you think in the poll below or comments. I think that overall it is a good idea as long as it doesn’t ruin or distract the reader in their experience of navigating the site. It should be a useful tool.

I tweeted a couple days ago about a critique I was working on of MiamiHerald.com. Below is a breakdown of key things that stood out to me while browsing through the website. I didn’t spend a lot of time on this critique and I am sure there are plenty of other things that you folks could find. I looked at design, which includes placement, usability and features. I organized it by the header, top fold and the rest. Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.