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"NPR is embarking on its first major homepage redesign since 2009, introducing a cleaner, simpler layout on Wednesday the organization believes will increase reader engagement and better suit its storytelling style.\nThe previous homepage of NPR.org was box-like and overwhelming in the way that most news websites are \u2014 with lots of links (more than 100, in fact). This created a \"paradox of choice\" for readers, as NPR explained in a video overview shared with Mashable.\nSEE ALSO: 'The Atlantic' Makes Big Push Into Video\nThe new, responsively designed site is much simpler and, in my opinion, more engaging. At the top of the screen, visitors can play their local NPR station's livestream or already-aired programs while browsing the page's headlines (see screenshot below). It is a way to \"inject a lot more of the national/local feel that's been so important for public radio all these years,\" Zach Brand, vice president of digital media at NPR, and Scott Montgomery, NPR's managing editor of digital news, observed in a phone interview with Mashable on Tuesday.\n\nBelow and on the left, a large thumbnail showcases the most important stories of the moment. On the right sits a reverse-chronological column of the latest headlines, followed by a short collection of trending topics. Readers can choose from between 20 and 25 stories at any given time.\n\nScroll beneath the fold to view a large display ad unit. That's followed by a single column of additional headlines accompanied by thumbnails. When visitors hit the bottom, they will be prompted to load more stories from news, arts and life, books or music (see below). A topics menu is also available in the upper left hand corner of the page.\n\nThe homepage is an important traffic-driver for NPR stories, accounting for nearly half of visits on any given article, according to Brand and Montgomery.\nBy simplifying the amount of choices (i.e. links) presented to visitors, the pair is confident that site engagement will go up. They have already seen an increase in clicks and traffic since simplifying NPR's article and blog pages in the last year. Plus, Brand says, \"given NPR's approach to news, to provide more context and explanation \u2014 not just a hurried report on a zillion different things \u2014 it's very much in keeping to have a homepage that makes better choices about what we present.\"\nFor now, visitors who opt to play audio from the homepage will have to reload their station when they click elsewhere on the site, but NPR is planning to introduce a better audio player that will allow continuous streaming while visitors navigate the site. \nImages: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images and NPR"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2013/08/14/npr-web-redesign/>