Sympatico.ca launched its redesigned French and English homepages Friday, showing off a new look based on the suggestions of regular visitors.

While the ad and sponsorship opps remain the same, the new look focuses on a more crisp layout and improved navigation, which is good for both readers and advertisers, says Michele Ferrari, portal content and operations director at Sympatico.ca.

‘This is geared towards audience and length of time our audience stays with us,’ she says. ‘They’ve asked for news, they’ve asked for entertainment, they’ve asked for a cleaner design. From an advertiser perspective, whenever you have a cleaner, crisper design, your ads actually stand out more. As you free up the space and make it a much more engaging space, obviously, you create more attention for your ad units.’

Working with Montreal-based Pheromone, Sympatico.ca solicited suggestions from regular readers through focus groups, and also researched international trends.

The result is larger images and less text on the homepage, and content reorganized under four key themes – News, Entertainment, Sports and Lifestyle.

The new design coincides with an ad campaign and stunts that are promoting the portal’s seven main brands – InMusic, InMovies, Your Money, Best Health (a partnership with Reader’s Digest), Autos, Magic Santa (during the holidays) and the homepage.