Analysis
One of the first things I noticed about Yahoo’s homepage was how crowded the sides of the layout are. Ads, sidebars, and secondary widgets fight for attention, which makes the overall page feel noisy and “bland” at the same time.
Because so many elements are trying to stand out, none of them really succeed. The main headline competes with trending lists, weather, games, and more, all within the same visual weight.
A good homepage tells the user where to start. On Yahoo, there isn’t a clear primary action. Do you read the main story, check email, scroll through trending topics, or look at the weather? The layout doesn’t answer that question.
As a viewer, you have to process a lot of information at once. Your eyes bounce around from box to box, and it’s easy to feel like you’re missing something important.