There are no unnecessary animated GIFs to drive the reader insane, no frilly decorative doodads. The original opening screen makes it clear to the first-time visitor what JEP is, what types of content can be found here, and what the copyright policy is. The page also indicates the frequency of publication, useful to visitors who plan to stop back for updates. That said, JEP is hardly an example of a cutting-edge Web publication. The opening screen is clean and uncluttered, welcoming the viewer to explore further.
Subsequent pages carry the same clean look, but there is no clearly indicated exit page.
The original opening page of JEP attempted to combine the entry and core areas, doing justice to neither. Aside from the recent blurb about JEP's quarterly publication schedule, there's no indication of what, if anything, is new. The redesign effectively addresses these problems. The opening page, with its new logo, looks much cleaner and more professional. The white background and lack of speed bumps provide greater ease of reading.