Scheduled for official launch in June, access to the new sites will cost £1 for one-day access or £2 for a week's subscription - across both sites. Seven-day subscribers to the Times and Sunday Times in print will also be given digital access to the websites at their new addresses www.thetimes.co.uk and www.thesundaytimes.co.uk.
The sites will be open to trial subscribers for free later this month. Ahead of this, assistant editor for online at the Times, Tom Whitwell shared some exclusive images of the new site with Journalism.co.uk and his followers on Twitter. The new and existing sites are currently running side-by-side, he told Journalism.co.uk.
Homepage (click for larger image)
The new-look homepage features the newspaper's masthead and is streamlined with fewer news items competing for attention as top stories; a larger space for a leading news story image; and higher prominence for the title's opinion and comment sections, as well as its multimedia channels:
Navigation
A new dropdown navigation bar with a streamlined selection of topics:
Article commenting
Commenters on articles will now ask for and feature real names rather than user names:
In-article galleries
More multimedia features embedded in articles with these large in-article galleries:
"TheTimes.co.uk will make the most of moving images, dynamic infographics, interactive comment and personalised news feeds. The coming editions of The Times on phones, e-readers, tablets and mobile devices will tell the most important and interesting stories in the newest ways. Our aim is to keep delivering The Times, but better," said editor James Harding in March.
Amidst reports this week that the two papers must cut 80 staff between them and their editorial budgets by 10 per cent to sever losses of around £240,000, Sunday Times editor John Witherow has also announced plans for an iPhone app for the title.
The new site addresses currently redirect to the Times+ website, the papers' membership club, which says the new Times site will feature daily live Q&As with journalists, "unrivalled interactive graphics" and star columnists. Features on the new Sunday Times site are listed as "exclusive video and multimedia graphics", live lunchtime debates, Q&As with journalists and a weekly culture planner.
Finance reporter - property
