We are very happy to launch the next version of the Dabbledoo network design. We have already rolled this design out to Gadgetell and Appletell, and will follow-up with Gamertell in two weeks. Here is a rundown of what we were trying to achieve with the new site and some of the changes that went along with it.
Our goals with the new design were:
- Do a better/cleaner job of organizing/featuring/laying out content
- Fully integrate social aspect/membership network
- Keep the site looking fresh
- (this was never intended as a redesign, rather a refresh)
A few things to notice:
- The 3 latest headlines are now big and bold for a quick glance. These will either be the latest news or breaking news from the site.
- ’Hot articles this week’ and ‘Hot topics today’ can be found in the second column. There are what they say and change based on the page you are on within the site (to best fit that content).
- A Featured Content box now sits under the Latest Headlines and lists 3 articles at a time…9 total. These will be exclusive content to the site and that site only, such as interviews, contests, reviews, columns, industry analysis, site announcements, and more!
- To help you browse faster and scroll less we we have condensed the article down the page and are now presenting them as excerpts with thumbnails.
- Keep track of your favorite writers with a full listing of the team masthead on the homepage. All names are links and go to the writer’s profile page.
- Wider post pages with less word wrapping: a cleaner look, larger images, and ready for high-res video.
- You can now log-in from the top of the page and we have begun to roll our even more member benefits throughout (profile pages, avatars, etc) and have more to come. If you haven’t created an account, sign up now.
- Use of “Share This” on article pages to share articles on social networking sites and email
Please leave any and all feedback you have in the comments below. We are sure there are still a few bugs that we missed, so drop those in here as well.
We hope you like it!
