WHYY revamped its website with backing from Bluecadet

Here’s an update you public media geeks out there might have already noticed: WHYY rebuilt its website. It looks good.

The new site combined the outlet’s two primary websites — WHYY.org and NewsWorks.org (RIP) — into a single platform. NewsWorks Tonight, the radio show, is still live and has its own spot within the site.

“One website, under one unified brand, makes the dozens of programs and services we provide easier to find and gives us the ability to provide more depth though relevant content from our video, audio and news units across WHYY,” Gabriel Coan, WHYY’s digital strategies VP, said via email.

The revamp was done in partnership with Fishtown-based design agency Bluecadet. CEO Josh Goldblum said mapping out the content across the site was a top priority.

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“It was hard for users to know where they should be going for their content,” Goldblum told Technical.ly. “We wanted the site to be beautiful but also functional, and this was a content-first approach on how to package it in the most compelling way.”

Rebecca Smith, product manager at WHYY, is part of an eight-person digital team working around WHYY’s digital offerings. Smith said one of the biggest wins in the new site is the persistent audio player that follows users around as they browse.

“We used to have the livestream on one page and people wouldn’t be able to experience other content,” Smith said.

After a nine-month process that started with audience outreach, the new site offers a clearer navigation experience.

“We see this site as a foundation,” said Smith. “We now have a road map to future features to be extended.”