Thumbs Up On The New AOL Homepage

Starting today AOL is testing a dramatic new homepage layout with a small percentage of users (something we’ve been expecting to happen sooner or later). This is what the new site looks like to those users – gone is the plain vanilla “portal” look with tons of columnized links to internal AOL content. The test site hits you with a row of large, colorful pictures up top along with related news item headlines. Below are lots more pictures, and all of them are much larger than the old AOL homepage.

Let us know if you see the new page or not, and link to any screenshots that look different than these. We’ve emailed AOL to ask if this is a final look, and when it will launch for everyone. The old site is below.

AOl is actually supporting three different versions of its homepage now. The new test, the current page, and a classic look that you can see by clicking at the bottom of the current one.

Update: The test actually started on May 3, says an AOL spokesperson. You can also expect a lot more design tests over the next few months.