Change in any publication almost always comes with an initial loss of readers, and the redesign of Courant.com appears to be no exception. Given that it’s summer, however, when readership drops off a little anyway, the first full month since the web site’s relaunch looks fairly promising.

According to stats compiled by Dona Prindle, total page views were down, but the number of unique visitors (and indication of the breadth of readership appeal) was up about 40,000.

What’s less encouraging (and this is no reflection on the site, so much as the sensibilities of the American public) is the readership’s choice of material:

PagePage Views
     1  Hartford Courant / news / connecticut – Front …. 269,878
     2 The Day In Pictures …. 266,327
     3 George David and Marie Douglas-David photos … 194,477
     4 How To Spend $53,000 A Week Like Marie Douglas-David photos …  170,096
     5 Joe Jackson:  Omer Bhatti is Michael s Secret Son  … .105,768

And of course the top seller was ESPN reporter Erin Andrews photos at 292,927 views.

These numbers are skewed high partly because photos encourage a lot of clicking. Each picture counts as a page view. The subjects themselves encourage a lot of clucking.