BBC News website looks to Facebook and Twitter for redesign

BBC redesign - now with more video and Twitter
BBC redesign - now with more video and Twitter

The BBC has shown off what its redesigned website will look like, complete with social networking tools.

The site is set to get an overhaul – the biggest since 2003 – and to make things as open as possible, the BBC has shown off some of the extra functionality, including better use of images, easier ways to share stories and more multimedia like videos.

"We have focused on design and navigation, looking to see how we can make all the existing content we produce each day easier for you to find, use and share," says Steve Hermann, editor of BBC News, in a blog.

BBC news

Some of the more prominent changes include the sharing of stories, with the blog explaining: "[There are now] links that allow users more quickly and simply to share stories with friends on social networks including Facebook and Twitter."

Video has been overhauled and will now be on "a bigger video player, streaming with better quality". There will also be a load more highlights to choose from on the updated site.

The BBC's websites are going through a number of changes at the moment. Back in May, the iPlayer 3 was updated to open beta and also featured a number of social-networking options.

To check out a slideshow of the new BBC, click here.

Marc Chacksfield

Marc Chacksfield is the Editor In Chief, Shortlist.com at DC Thomson. He started out life as a movie writer for numerous (now defunct) magazines and soon found himself online - editing a gaggle of gadget sites, including TechRadar, Digital Camera World and Tom's Guide UK. At Shortlist you'll find him mostly writing about movies and tech, so no change there then.