Ten years ago, the Las Vegas Sun had an old school Web site. Since the redesign launched in January 2008, the Sun brought its Web site beyond design and beyond the desktop.

Las Vegas Sun editor Tyson Evans and new media projects editor Josh Williams grabbed the opportunity to redesign the site. The mid-January Nevada Democratic Caucus provided the perfect opportunity.

Its team of production, editorial and programming professionals maintain and innovate all aspects of the Web site. Williams said news coverage is first, although design is important. Through art direction, hierarchies, and dominant visuals, "templates must bend to news," said Williams. Whether a supplementary sidebar, such as a flight delay calculator or a standalone presentation, like a Flash presentation on the evolution of The Strip, multimedia exist to tell a richer story.

To reach more users, The Sun posts mobile content, photos on Flickr, and video podcasts on iTunes.

"We're still in start-up," said Williams, when faced with the bottom line. However, the response has been positive, with increasing page views.

Anyone can use open-source tools such as Wordpress to harness the "continually evolving" news Web site. News Web site redesign is not only reserved for those with an army of programmers and developers, according to Tyson.

--Jess Ramos