Our newly redesigned Web site is now a little more than three weeks old and based on the reaction we've gotten so far, I know one thing for sure: We have a very passionate audience.

Hundreds of readers — some nicely and some rather pointedly — have made suggestions about our site since its debut on March 27, and the online and news staffs are studying those comments and making improvements where we can.

A few readers said that unless we change it back exactly to the way it was, they're walking and never coming back. That would be unfortunate.

For me, the site is a vast upgrade over what we had and those who designed it should be commended. The carousels that feature news, entertainment, sports, island life, business and opinion are attractive and complement the breaking news elements that are found right alongside them. Editors are updating every section several times a day so the site is fresher than ever.

New content includes reader-submitted news and blogs, calendar listings, videos and the ability of readers to comment or make recommendations on every story, not just a select few like before.

What's not to like? Well, let's just say that all those people who told me for years that our old site was clunky and outdated have been replaced with people who can't live without that antiquated format.

Resistance to change of any sort is natural, but we also understand that readers are protective of their favorite features on the site, so many of the questions I get have to do with finding the obituaries, TGIF, the surf report, editorials and even some of the blogs.

When we first relaunched the site, we received complaints about the placement and appearance of our blogs. We have made them easier to read and put them in four prominent places, including under the navigation bar (click on opinion) and in a box that features different bloggers every day.

As far as finding favorite features is concerned, we have added another navigation bar below on the home page with yet another link to blogs as well as columns, obituaries, historical photos and back issues (archives).

Readers have asked that all the local news, sports, business and island life from the day's newspaper be brought higher on the home page and that adjustment was made last week, moving reader-submitted news to the side. Since the new site launched, we have installed a new video player that — regardless of what browser is used — runs faster and with clearer images.

I do agree with a number of our readers that the site doesn't feel like Hawai'i and has lost a lot of its sense-of-place charm. That is something we need to work on and obviously improve.

For those who have walked away, we hope you'll be back to take advantage of the most interactive news information source there is. For those who love the new site and have complimented us on the new look, thanks and keep looking for more improvements. Most of all, thanks to all those who took the time to comment. We take your feedback seriously.

Mark Platte is senior vice president/editor of The Advertiser. Reach him at 525-8080.