1. BBC customised home page (New in Dec 2007)

URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/home/beta/

Click to view full-size image…

Site type and sector: Media owner / News

Commentary: Just launched this week. It’s a drag and drop affair for different portlets with in-place customisation of each portlet and lovely rollover and different CSS colour schemes for different content. While such customisation is becoming popular for search engine home pages such as iGoogle:www.igoogle.com and personalised home page sites like Netvibes it will be interesting in 2008 to see the extent to which sites looking to maximise conversion and exposure to particular promotions use these techniques.

2. Lovefilm (Redesigned Autumn 2007)

URL:http://www.lovefilm.com

Site type and sector: Transactional E-commerce / DVD movie rental

Commentary: Lovefilm test extensively using multivariate testing the use of real estate and promotional messages to maximise conversion. In the latest redesign they are exposing more content through Ajax rollovers

3. Amazon.com (Autumn 2007)

URL: http://www.amazon.com

Site type and sector: Retail / media owner

Commentary: The idea of Amazon completing a redesign is laughable since unlike most online companies, Amazon is constantly innovating without a major redesign every 3-5 years. It has the flexibility built in to constantly trial new online experiences. The UK version is relatively static, but in the US, 2007 has seen the incorporation of new blogging, tagging and interactive merchandising features and more recently a new rollover sidebar menu - a departure from it's well established department tabs that have had many imitators.

4. Zopa

URL: http://uk.zopa.com/ZopaWeb/

Site type and sector: Financial Services

Commentary: A deserved Webby Award winner, this site integrates social media and blogs and does all of the essentials of design well - impactful visual design, accessibility, usability and engagement through customer voice.

5. Times Online

URL: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/

Site type and sector: News media

Commentary: Seemingly influenced by WebbyAwards winner NYTimes, this redesign incorporates user commentary through "most read, most commented, most curious" and bold typography and imagery. The Telegraph has arguably done better in supporting the Citizen journalist through its blogs and was award winner for the UK Association of Publishers 2007 award

6. Euroffice

URL: http://www.euroffice.co.uk

Site type and sector: B2B Retail

Commentary: Good example of incorporation of promotional containers and sidebars highlight online value proposition for new visitors.

7. CIPD communities

URL: http://www.cipd.co.uk/community/

Site type and sector: B2B Human Resources Management

Commentary: A great example of creating a vibrant business community.

8. John Lewis

URL: http://www.johnlewis.com

Site type and sector: UK B2C Retail

Commentary: A major redesign blending visual appeal, usability and accessibility. There is little integration of social media or ratings though. The Webby Awards seem to suggest limitations to innovation in retail, presumably due to fears of reducing conversion rates, but brands such as John Lewis should be strong enough to experiment.

9. Flex

URL: http://www.adobe.com/products/flex/

Site type and sector: Development language. "Adobe® Flex™ 2 is a cross-platform development framework for creating rich Internet applications (RIAs)".

Commentary: Starting to see good applications come through in 2007 such as this interactive product selector from Philips consumer electronics.

10. Microsoft Silverlight

URL: http://www.microsoft.com/silverlight/

Site type and sector: IDE for RIA. Like Flash, Silverlight requires download of a 2Mb app when not bundled with browsers. This will offer a more interactive experience and integrate video streaming.

Commentary: Silverlight has garnered a lot of hype thanks to Microsofts PR machine, but I can't point you to any major customer facing applications. Still one to watch in 2008 though.