Looking back over 2009, it is not hard to imagine that Obama's inauguration would be a popular live stream as we saw the year in, nor that the cold snap right at the end would attract much clicking of weather and travel updates. But over the festive period we also had a huge peak that I didn't anticipate.

Relatively few of the features we display at the top of the homepage attract more than 40,000 clicks from users before they get replaced. This one got clicked 217,000 times in just 3 hours on Sunday, 20th December. That's an average of twenty clicks per second, making it one of the most popular ever.

The "Rage versus X Factor" race to hit Christmas Number One wasn't confined to ITV and the tabloid press. The BBC also benefitted as people swarmed to Radio 1's Chart Show to find out who won.

Doubtless people would run into news of the winner soon enough, so it's interesting that many still chose to hear it live; to catch the very moment of victory or defeat. Thousands of years on, people still want to gather around the fire place to witness the ceremony reach a climax.

By way of contrast, we featured the Chart Show in exactly the same slot the previous week and it garnered just 9,000 clicks. Climaxes can't be engineered every time then.

James Price is Editor, BBC Homepage.

Since my last post, we've introduced video to the main section of the page.

Our aim is to seek out the best short clips available from around the BBC - from news packages to comedy sketches. I hope that visitors to the page start regularly coming across nuggets of interest.

Moreover, we will sometimes 'go live' to big breaking stories. Our first live video stream, of the Olympic opening ceremony, was fired up by 400,000 users. In this sense, the homepage really will be a "portal" - giving users a direct line of sight onto unfurling events.

It's early days yet, and I would be interested in hearing feedback about which types of video work for you and which don't. Are there clips you would like to see which we don't currently provide?

And speaking of the Olympics, we rolled out a special section (or module - see below) dedicated to the Games, with news, live video and a medals table. We also launched the food widget I mentioned in my last post and are already lining up a Learning one - which includes a "phrase of the day" available in four languages.

New content isn't limited to people in the UK. With additional funding from the BBC's commercial arm (BBC Worldwide), we are improving the BBC homepage for international users as well - this month introducing specially-produced features to pep up our offering.

While working to make the homepage reflect (or even aid) the BBC's aspiration to become an industrial-strength global media brand, we won't forget about those overseas users who come to the BBC site to get a slice of something distinctly British. Forthcoming improvements to the way in which the page can be customised will be key here.

Technical enhancements "under the bonnet" are going on all the time - even if you can't see some of them. One recent upgrade responded to complaints that you couldn't move sections up and down within an individual module. But now if you want to see tennis headlines above football... be our guest! Just use your mouse to drag them up or down.

We aren't going to rest on any laurels though and remain acutely aware of things that users are pushing us to do. Items on our "to do" list include a smaller main promo area, enhanced customisation and more access to non-BBC content. Many people have asked for a webmail module, for example.

I've also had time to reflect on comments made back in April by those who wanted a return to the old BBC homepage. While I thoroughly approve of o_r_i_g_i_n_a_l, referencing one of my favourite Simon and Garfunkel numbers, ultimately I side with Dylan and say: Don't Look Back.

Still, I'd be interested to hear from any of you to see if you've since warmed to the new homepage. Or do you still dislike it six months down the line?

James Price is editor, BBC Homepage.

Let me reassure everyone that video won't be playing automatically when you visit the BBC homepage. We hate it when that happens too! There'll be a static picture with a "click to play" button, along with the ability to mute the sound. Further down the line, subtitles may be available, too. And we don't intend to serve up video clips all of the time: text and photographs will continue to be part of the mix up in that top section of the page.

AndyAutomatic and others are quite right to point out the limitations the current cookie-based method of storing your preferences. There is a project underway which will enable users to keep the same profile, whatever computer they use. You'll have to be patient with us though, as this "portable identity" is still some months away.

It's interesting that not everyone is keen on the idea of non-BBC widgets, and I take the point that there are plenty of alternatives if you want to check your webmail and whatnot. However, for those who want the BBC set as their main portal page onto the internet, it's important. Indeed, we've had quite a bit of feedback from people specifically requesting the ability to add non-BBC services. But there's no need to fear the page getting cluttered (saintrumbly), as such widgets won't be visible on the page by default. Only those specifically seeking them out will see them.

Perhaps I should have made it clearer that new stuff won't be appearing on the beta immediately... but by the end of May, you should start seeing new modules and other enhancements sliding into view.

And for those wanting a sneak preview, here's a draft design of the upcoming "food" widget...

James Price is the editor of the BBC homepage.

It's been two months since the new BBC homepage launched, and we've had a chance to take stock.

We've listened to your feedback and are designing a smaller main feature area for the top right hand section of the page.

We don't want to put people off with what some (like JonnyB) regard as "oversized advertising". That said, the new version will doubtless still be bigger than some would like it to be. One reason is that we will be regularly showing video clips on the homepage from the summer and the size of this "player" is fixed.

As I mentioned before, the idea is that this feature isn't simply a section displaying promotions for BBC programmes and services, rather one that shows off some of the best topical BBC content, whether it be video clips, picture galleries, news features or quizzes.

And we don't intend to stop making other improvements. Indeed, we've already drawn up plans taking us well into 2009.

The homepage team is embarking on a series of infrastructure changes. These may not be immediately apparent to users, but will lay the groundwork for a new generation of customisable services... oh, and make the page load faster.

As well as lining up a number of new widgets (or modules), we're also busy enhancing just about all the ones that are currently available. For example, the World Service widget will soon display foreign language news headlines.

As Richard Titus has mentioned, we also want non-BBC services on the page, enabling you to check webmail or get the latest updates from friends on social networking sites. But all of this requires new kit and we're still some months away from rolling this stuff out.

Speaking of which... a new Beta homepage will be launched next month which will give you a sneak preview of some things in the pipeline.

And for those of you who want to set more than one location for weather updates... we hear you. We are awaiting the new kit to get it sorted!

James Price is the editor of the BBC homepage.

Thanks to all who have given us feedback on the beta homepage. We've now received over 3,000 responses and among a host of useful suggestions, a couple of things stand out.

Firstly, many people have suggested that the main image is too big and that there isn't enough other content visible on the screen without scrolling down. Some suggested that this "main promo" should be removable, or at least movable.

Secondly, there seems to be a common perception that this area is simply an ad for BBC content.

Your feedback is already having a direct effect on how the page will look when it launches. The design is being tweaked to slim it down to get more of the stuff you want - especially news and sport headlines and the weather forecast - higher up the page ("above the fold", to use the jargon) and the main promo area in particular will get quite a bit smaller.

And for those of you who wanted more widgets, we have a dozen new ones in the pipeline, covering topics such as: food, business/money, music and gardening.

But I disagree, for the following reasons:

• It adds visual interest to the page and acts as an "anchor" for the design. Without this the page would look dull. Just as a magazine needs a strong image on the front cover, so does the BBC.
• The ability of users to customise the new homepage opens up tremendous possibilities, but the BBC should have at least one place to display what we reckon is important, interesting or entertaining. Our mission isn't simply to air stories and programmes we know you wanted... but also the ones you didn't know you wanted. The promo is our chance to inject a dose of serendipity. And if you don't like the first feature, there are others you can select instead.
• The content within this section is set to get more exciting. Reflecting what's happening across the internet generally, we don't intend to stick to text and images alone. By this spring, we will have rolled out video and audio clips - and be serving you up picture galleries (similar to this one) and a weekly news quiz.

This brings me to the aversion many of you have to "ads". I've given up trying to stop people calling this section the "promo area", but the intention is that it shouldn't be just about promoting headline BBC programmes. It's a "feature area" - a window onto topical content, suited to the online medium. To misquote Robbie Williams, it's where we say: "Let us (inform, educate and) entertain you."

On the current homepage, we are already producing topical features. These highlight relevant content across the whole BBC website to give greater context or depth to the issues of the day. For example, the mortgage calculator may not be popular most days, but it was highlighted on the homepage to good effect on the morning that interest rates last went up.

When we get video on the homepage, we won't use it simply to run TV trails. We may bring you short segments from upcoming TV shows... but we hope that these will appeal as individual pieces in and of themselves, much like the best clips on YouTube.

Sound bites have got a bad name for themselves, but I've lost count of the number of amazing moments I've encountered on BBC radio and TV that could be extracted and used to good effect on the web. It's no longer just about saying there's a programme "on at 7pm on BBC One". It's about extracting that moment - and serving it up right there on the homepage.

Our editorial mission in the coming months is to persuade people to see this area as something like a magazine section... and to start enjoying the new range of content which we feature daily.

James Price is the editor of the BBC homepage.