Amid widespread criticism, U. delays debut of Web site

The reformatted and updated page, called PennWeb 3.0, was highly unpopular among students and faculty, according to Sandy Smith, a staff member in Penn's Office of Communications and one of the designers of the Web site. The site was originally scheduled to debut September 27, but now, "no firm date has been set for the official launch" of the new site, Smith said, noting that the University has received "a significant volume" of complaints and comments about a preview version of the new site, located at http://www-preview.upenn.edu. "The bulk of the comments had to do with the appearance of the 'front door,'" Smith said, referring to the introductory page that most users would see first. "Some people thought that it was a little blander." Despite the negative commentary on the new site's design -- which was based partly on the responses of a University survey conducted last fall -- Smith said the design team did receive several compliments on the site's exclusive new features. The new site includes an enhanced calendar of University events, a "news feed," reorganized categories of information, faster loading times for the first page and a scrolling calendar marquee of the current day's events. Engineering junior Theo LeCompte, chairperson of the Undergraduate Assembly's Communications Committee, was among those who had concerns about the new site's design. LeCompte said that while he "liked the idea of reorganizing" the site and thought some new features will be useful, he found the appearance of the old site more appealing and specifically disliked the white background of the new version. "I'm pleased that they're actually going to go back and listen to students," LeCompte said. "We'd obviously like to see students involved in every step of the process." UA Treasurer Michael Bassik also contacted University officials to make them aware of complaints he had heard from other students. Bassik, a College junior, said he thought the new Web site was unattractive and that the UA has a "tentative plan" to set up a terminal on Locust Walk at which students could view the new site and offer feedback. Bassik said he felt there was a lack of student input in the design process for the new site and hoped to have the UA offer suggestions to administrators for a site that "will attract people to the University." Smith said that the Web design team has "been in contact with several representatives of student organizations." In addition to the aesthetic concerns of many users, Smith said the design team was working to fix glitches which have prevented the new site from being viewed properly by several Web browser programs. He also said the design team will consult with students and faculty members in coming weeks to find out exactly what people would like to see changed on the new Web site. "The exact details of the process we have yet to work out," he said. But, he added, "We don't want this to drag out."