Recently it seems that a few websites have been rolling out updates and new versions of their websites. Reddit is the latest culprit, and not the first to lose me as a visitor, although this time not just because of the layout. If you like the programming section of Reddit then you’ll absolutely love DZone!

I’d be lying if I hadn’t thought about updating my Blog and Portfolio layout to something that’s a bit more flashy and unique, even though I had originally taken a liking to this creation of mine. In the end it led me off on a complete tangent that I’d like to share with you now.

Throughout the recent history of the Internet there have been very few websites that have needed to change. Sure, the BBC looks a lot nicer with its new, web 2.0 style layout compared to the 90’s standards-breaking layout they’d sported before, but there weren’t any pressing issues with what they had. Social Networks like Digg and Reddit change their layouts for a pastime, yet never really need to.

When, and how often, should we be changing the layout of our websites?

MSNBC is an interesting example, and possibly the first time a website had been in dire need of a makeover. The American News venture co-promoted by MSN and NBC had lagged behind the community efforts of its rivals around the world, so they decided to buy out a small start-up named Newsvine. Whilst as a news website and social network Newsvine is very limited and dull it adds the perfect sense of community to a well-established network like MSNBC. Now the American users of Newsvine have an extra reason to stick to their News website instead of sticking to the far more popular choices.

With the acquisition of Newsvine, the design team at MSNBC worked hard on what I would claim to be the best layout for any news website I have ever seen. As far as looks and usability go I rate it a modest 8.5. The design paid off, and I’m sure that MSNBC are riding high on the waves of success with their acqusition and new layout attracting millions of users around the world.

Web Usability guru Jakob Nielsen recently had this to say in his annual report (Source: BBC).

“I do not think sites appreciate that yet,” he added. “They still feel that their site is interesting and special and people will be happy about what they are throwing at them.”

In many ways the Internet is constantly moving and changing, and the entire purpose of changing a layout/website design is to keep up with the times, and to keep users wanting to come back for more. I must admit that I visit the BBC News and Football sections a lot more now that the new layout has been implemented. To answer the original question, I would have to say that a layout should be changed every year unless it’s very bleeding-edge and original. If you’re working within a large team then you can probably go for a lot longer, and will have extensive analytics reports to come to a designated time when a design will benefit the website the most.