Here’s the old version:

Eric Braun at mySA blogged about the tweaks. The main difference is the removal of the centerpiece where readers were supposed to click on tabs to pull up a new photo and links to stories and resources. In reality, few people were clicking on those tabs — which meant the Express-News was missing out on page views.

The new version is similar to the way other Hearst-owned newspapers, such as the Houston Chronicle, have designed their sites. To my eye, the new home page offers a cleaner look with more photos to draw people in.

Related: How to research a property’s history using Bexar County’s free records search

That’s not to say mySA is perfect. Creating a compelling Web site is something many newspapers — including mine — have grappled with. Charlotte-Anne Lucas recently waxed nostalgic about mySA’s innovations but the site has also suffered from many problems for many years, and to me it feels like we’re moving at a glacial pace to fix them.

The good news is, the folks at mySA are working very hard to make the Web site better — as this recent design change demonstrates.

And hey, at least the site doesn’t look like this anymore.

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