apple.gifAfter the WWCD (World Wide Developer Conference) 2007, where Steve Jobs gave a sneak preview of the next version of Apples operation system Mac OS X Leopard, apple.com got a fresh look and feel. The presentation of Leopard and the new look and feel of the website proves the rumors about the death of Aqua. Aqua is the name given to the previous GUI (graphical user interface) for Mac OS X operation system theme. Aqua got introduced in 2000 with the first version of the operating system, Mac OS X Public Beta, and was intended to complement the look of the original semi-transparent plastics of the iMac. It has lived with us for almost a decade, way beyond the semi-transparent hardware, so I believe it’s the right decision to move on.

Apple.com is, to me, a bit of a blue-print for how to do a website correctly. It is as well put together as any of their products. Most if it is basically just simple prioritisation and common sense, but, I’m afraid, on today’s world wide web, that is becoming a rare thing… thinking about it, it’s not just websites, quality in general is getting less common and less appreciated. Anyway…

The advantage Apple has is that they are their own client; they have experience; they know what they are doing and they have something to communicate and their website is not financed by advertising.

There’s no distractions. Links and promos are contextual. They force the use of their navigation. They are not afraid to use the fact that visitors like to interact with the interface. They guide their visitors to content, and don’t just make sure everything can be accessed from everywhere all the time.

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So, having said all that, one of the most notable changes when visiting the new apple.com is the new navigation bar. The mother of all tabs has left the building together with the Aqua style. The Aqua tab navigation can be tracked back to as early as February 2000, a few months ahead of the introduction to Mac OS X Public Beta. That’s about the same time as I got my first Macintosh, a Apple Power Macintosh G4 400 MHz.

The nice thing with the navigation on Apple.com is that users actually use it.

The new navigation has not only changed appearance, it has been slimmed down a bit. The sub navigation has been removed, as well as Quicktime, .Mac and Mac OS X from the main navigation while iPhone, Mac, Download and a search field has been added.

So from this:

  1. Main navigation
    1. Home
    2. Store
    3. iPod + iTunes
    4. .Mac
    5. QuickTime
    6. Support
    7. Mac OS X
  2. Sub navigation
    1. Hot News
    2. Get a Mac
    3. Hardware
    4. Software
    5. Made4Mac
    6. Educations
    7. Pro
    8. Mac@work
    9. Developer
    10. Where to Buy

To this:

  1. Main navigation

    1. Home
    2. Store
    3. Mac
    4. iPod+iTunes
    5. iPhone
    6. Downloads
    7. Support
    8. a search field

A second thing I like to highlight is the newly added mega-bread-crumb footer. This not only shows you where you’re at, but where you can go and what’s related to where you are.

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Even if this might seem a bit dull, it is an innovative navigational device. They decided to put the “dull” (or less current) stuff at the bottom instead of cranking in a massive complex and confusing header navigation at the top.

Last, and third, the javascript candy. It’s juicy. And it’s add to the overall experience and behavior of the site. And even if they introduce new user behaviors, they haven’t underestimated the intelligence of the visitors.

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