A new look for the BBC News site will go live within weeks, editor Steve Herrmann says on a blog, explaining how the design will change.

There will be:

• better use of images and videos – and a bigger video player used prominently on the homepage;
• recent stories will be flagged as ‘new’;
• more prominence for other main news stories and features on article pages “so that however you arrive on the site, you can quickly see the main content of the day”;
• easier ways to share stories and links with Twitter and integration with Facebook.

The site’s navigation menu will move from the left-hand side to the top of the page, which gives a much cleaner look and feel to the design.