Personalised AJAX Homepages: Roundup and Review
Personal homepages are making a comeback after being out of vogue for the last couple of years. Several of the established portals have teams working on developing new personalised homepage offerings as well as several new entrants hoping to gatecrash the sector. This week I’ve been playing with some of the latest offerings available, and below is what I think of the various sites.
In the early days of the internet setting up a personal homepage was a smart move. Internet connections were so slow that it was impossible, well painful at least, to surf lots of sites to find the interesting content to read. Personal homepages helped to save time by allowing users to have links to good quality content only one click away. Many portals fought quite hard to get users to set their offering as a user’s homepage.
Then came along broadband which made surfing the net fun rather than a chore for home users, doing away with the need for having good content close to hand. The emphasis for portals like Yahoo! and MSN moved away from delivering content to users and more towards helping them find their own content via search engines.
In the last year or so, there has been a noticeable shift in the way that users use the internet. No longer do users just sit-back and read content, they interact with it through music, photos and blogging. There has also been an explosion in the amount of content available. These changes have re-created the need for a new generation of homepages and portals that support these needs.
In reviewing each homepage I have looked at the following factors:
- Appearance and Usability: How well laid out is the page? Is the design clean and uncluttered? Does it look out of place on my PC? How customisable is the experience?
- Content Modules: Does the site provide popular modules that can be added to the homepage? How easy is it to add my own modules?
- News Reader/RSS: Does the site allow RSS feeds to be added? Can it handle a number of feeds comfortably or just a few? Does it offer any extra features to help manage feeds?
Traditional Portals
Google IG utilises AJAX and allows the addition of content as well as a handful of Google services.Appearance and Usability - 8
The layout is very clean and simple. Several modules are provided which can moved into a 2 or 3 column layout simply by dragging and dropping. Each module has an edit button which drops down to display additional options, without opening a new page. These options allow each module to be customised to show more/fewer items, customise locations etc.
Only one colour theme is supplied which is a shame as this is such a quick-win feature.
Content Modules- 8
There are a number of modules which can be added including headlines from major sites like The BBC and Reuters, but also share prices and weather. Two modules which I particularly like are the Search History module which shows up to the last 20 searches I’ve made using Google, and also the Gmail module which shows a preview of the last 9 emails received.
News Reader/RSS - 4
Google IG’s RSS support is very poor. Individual feeds can be added either by directly entering the feed url or by searching by topic, but there is no support for importing OPML files. Feeds also have to be displayed all the time on the homepage taking up valuable real-estate. This obviously limits how many feeds can be added to Google IG.
For each individual feed the number of items that are displayed can be customised. However, Google IG doesn’t display a count of how many items are unread.
Overall - 6
Google IG’s poor RSS support is the only thing that lets it down. Hopefully in the future the RSS features will be beefed up, probably by importing some of the features from the excellent Google Reader.
Microsoft
Microsoft are trying to create a buzz around Live.com, which is the public face of Start.com which has been in beta for about the last 6 months, and it seems to be working.
Appearance and Usability - 9
A lot of work went into the various iterations of Start.com, and Live.com has clearly benefited. The site is very well laid out and never looks cluttered.
Like other Ajax pages, content can be moved by simply dragging and dropping, but where I think Live.com excels is how each module can be customised. Modules can be easily hidden or revealed, and each module, or gadget as they are called on the site, provides an unmatched level of interaction.
Different colours can be used throughout the site and up to 4 columns.
Content Modules- 9
Several gadgets are provided including Mail (hotmail only), stock quotes and weather. Live.com also allows users to create their own custom modules using javascript, XML and CSS which are then hosted through Live.com.
More features are promised including a new instant messenger client embedded into the site that will also allow you to make outbound VOIP calls.
The search engine doesn’t keep track of recent searches which is a shame, although it does allow switching between searching the web, news sources and RSS feeds quite easily.
News Reader/RSS - 7
Live.com provides good support for RSS feeds which can be added to separate folders for better management. Feeds can be managed from these folders in the sidebar, or by dragging onto the main homepage. Unfortunately, Live.com doesn’t flag if there are any unread stories so each feed has to be checked manually to see if there are any new stories.
OPML import/export is supported which could come in handy for many users. Feeds can be added by searching by topic or by directly entering the feed url.
Overall - 8
Microsoft are devoting a lot of time and energy to Live.com and it’s working. The site is uncluttered unlike Microsoft’s other offerings and I really hope that it stays that way, and that the commercial bods don’t start plastering it with banners and adverts.
New Entrants
eskobo
Blink twice or you could think you are looking at Live.com from Microsoft. Eskobo is still in beta, although it is so buggy it feels more like an alpha. Nevertheless, it does include some innovative features.Appearance and Usability - 8
Eskobo makes good use of the page. It has a nice feature which allows the font size to be increased or decreased - ideal if you are using a laptop etc. Once again modules can be moved around the screen quite easily and also the colour theme can be changed.
The site includes some unique neat touches. Each module has its own refresh button to check for updates. Also, extracts from any story can be displayed just by hovering the mouse pointer over the titles.
Content Modules- 5
Only two modules are supplied with the beta, a Notes module and a Weather module, and custom modules can be created.
The search engine wasn’t working when I checked out the site (along with many other links)
News Reader/RSS - 5
There were several bugs in the feeds management section. Individual feeds can be added by directly entering the feed url or by searching by topic, although the search engine wasn’t working. The OPML import option also wasn’t working.
Eskobo does manage to keep track of how many stories haven’t been read within each feed, and displays this number next to the feed title
Overall - 6
Overall Eskobo shows a lot of promise and could do very well if the bugs are ironed out. It may suffer from a lack of modules, but this can be fixed if they open up the API so that users can create and share their own.
Netvibes
Like Eskobo, Netvibes is another Live.com clone. However, it does do a number of things well and is definitely one to watch in 2006.
Appearance and Usability - 7
Netvibes default template is very dull, and the developers are clearly trying to ensure all the functionality works before sexing up the site. Once again modules can be dragged and dropped, and each module can be manually refreshed.
Content Modules- 8
Several modules are included which include integration with Gmail and Flickr. Writely integration is also provided out of the box. Netvibes’ search module offers Google, Yahoo, IceRocket and Wikipedia searches. Currently custom modules can’t be created and hopefully this will change in the future.
News Reader/RSS - 8
Out of all the sites, Netvibes provides the best RSS support. Feeds can be added by url or by searching by topic, and OPML support is included. Tags can be added to feeds for better management. Feeds can be managed from these folders in the sidebar, or by dragging onto the main homepage. A counter is displayed for each feed to indicate how many stories haven’t been read.
Overall - 8
Netvibes is a clear rival to the big boys and it will be interesting to see how it develops over the next couple of months. It already has all of the necessary functionality to be a success. All it needs now is sexing up otherwise no-one will use it.
Conclusion
Netvibes currently is getting the vote on my homepage.
Although, all of the sites are clearly ‘borrowing’ features from each other, Netvibes provides a few key features that in my view separates it from the crowd:
- Multiple search engine integration
- Good RSS support including unread counters.
It will be hard for Netvibes to match the resources of Google and MSN, but I really hope that they keep up the hard work into the new year.
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