SCV news junkies and Signal fans who have waited for weeks for the debut of the newspaper’s new website -the first major refresh of The-Signal.com since 2006- need wait no longer; SCVTalk.com has received some unauthorized screenshots of the secret “beta” site and they’re posted below.

The test site, hosted at an unknown address, features scores of improvements and technological advancements over the current website. Among the most notable are several RSS feeds, staff blogs, in-line video and picture slide-shows.

The main page of the new website is laid out in a similar manner to the Gainesville Times, a sister newspaper to The Signal that’s based in Georgia. Visitors to the Signal’s new site will have single click access to News, Opinion, Business, Lifestyle, Sports, Obits and more. Each menu apparently has drop-down menus beneath it.

In the center of the news page is a large video/photo highlight box which, accoridng to the screenshots, is already populated with some local sports stories and video. To the right of that lies the Signal’s “Top Stories” list. And in the middle section of the news page are links to national, state, and international news headlines.

Stories at the Signal’s new website are no longer as wide as your browser window; one screenshot shows a story by Katie Geyer that’s much more compact and readable with user-adjustable font sizes.

Other aspects of the new site:

• Staff Blogs: A drop down menu at the top shows a few staff blogs are already up and running on the website. There’s a blog for Publisher Jay Harn, Editor Lila Littlejohn, Sports Editor Cary Osborne, and several other blogs. One screenshot shows that commenting on the blog posts will be allowed similar to SCVTalk and other popular blogs.
• Jobs, Classifieds and more: A sub menu on the right side of the screen has links and easy access to jobs, the classified section, print ads and more
• Local Events calendar: A local events calendar is also on the front page next to the staff blogs section
• New About page, Staff directory: There’s also a lengthy About section on the new site with text that looks like it was written by John Boston, formerly the Signal’s Escape editor. A new staff directory page also shows reporter and management photos and contact information
• Several RSS feeds: Feeds for Cover stories, sports, lifestyle, crime watch and much more are available on the new website.
• More advertising: Many blank ad placeholders are arrayed around the pages.

Overall, the update looks to be near completion, but there are several areas of the site with blank advertisement placeholders, and at least one advertisement is for a real estate agent with a 912 (Georgia) area code.
That ad probably indicates The Signal’s California staff is working with technology resources at its parent company, Morris Multimedia, in Georgia.

The launch of the new website has been delayed since January 28. A source at the Signal told SCVTalk.com that the newspaper was still working on placing ads on the site. The screenshots show that there are several areas for ads on the new site. On The Signal’s current website, a small collection of ads are sometimes posted on the right side of the page.

According to Alexa.com, The-Signal.com is one of the top 10 most visited websites in Santa Clarita.

The new design and new technological features of the site should allow it to compete more effectively for ad dollars with cross-town rival Hometownstation.com. Hometownstation.com, the web page for KHTS AM 1220, features a two and sometimes three column layout, RSS feeds, podcasts, and more.

In recent years, local advertisers have flocked to KHTS’ site while the Signal’s popular website has remained relatively ad free.

The main page for The Signal’s new site

A drop down menu reveals new staff blogs

Story text and layout. Notice the ad to the left of the story text.

RSS feeds finally available

Event calendar, poll, and blogs with at least one by Reporter Parimal Rohit

NOTE: Screenshots have been re-sized and are harder to read and view. This is due to the resizing process. All images should be considered approximations.