You might’ve noticed this afternoon that things are a little different around here. eBrandon has been the recipient of its fourth design since it first came online almost 14 years ago. For a little context, a few things that have happened since the last one...
- Steve jobs/Apple launch the iPhone
- Google launches the Android operating system
- Microsoft Internet Explorer has ceded its position as the dominant web browser of choice for accessing sites
- Steve Jobs/Apple launch the iPad
- overall about 60% of users now use eBrandon on either a tablet or smartphone
- Dave Burgess has given way to Shari Decter Hirst as Brandon’s Mayor who has since given way to Rick Chrest
- Blockbuster Video is no longer a source of entertainment
- Brandon by population has not far from 10,000(!!) more folks in it
Yeah, it was time that the design originally launched more that a decade ago got a modern facelift.
Since I like to optimistically describe myself as a 6/10 in the designer department, I knew I needed help on the visual part of things. That’s where Brandon’s Reaxion Graphics came in... folks much closer to 10/10 on that scale that I was fortunate to be able to collaborate with in coming up with just the right look and feel for a new site. A huge thanks to Scott and Priscilla for putting up with my fickle mind-changings as we got to what I feel is a great balance of usability and advertiser value.
I’ll make a few separate posts in the coming days highlighting different areas in more depth, but in a nutshell:
- the flagship classifieds section has a handful of new features aimed at making it easier to find the ad you’re looking for, save ads for future browsing and submit new ones in the first place
- new is the section you’re reading this in called “Buzz” that I’m aiming to use to feature interesting and discussion worthy bits both on eBrandon and off
- you might as well call the events calendar a new section because it’s been totally gutted to allow much easier submitting, editing, browsing and sharing. If you have an event you’re involved with, please consider listing it in a section that I expect to be a more important part of the site than it was yesterday.
- perhaps most important of all and a major motivation behind redesigning is that the site is “responsive”.... which is web lingo for the same site being smart enough to adapt to the screen size of whatever device you’re accessing from
Gone are secondary sections that simply aren’t as relevant as they once were in supporting the core site features:
- dining (for convenience I’ve added a link from the Events page to Dashdelivers, who have a great assortment of menus)
- movies (I’ve added a link from the Events page)
- photos (no need any more for a separate section for them but pictures are now a more important part of the discussions and events sections)
- Blockbuster Video’s entry in the business directory has been removed ;)
This is a lot longer winded than I’m going to be aiming with for buzz posts and so I’ll wind this one down. Since this is all new and a lot of behind the scenes work has gone into the “out of site, out of mind” guts of the site I’m wagering that you’re going to find the odd bug. Since I don't have the budget of a Google or an Apple to hire focus groups its your initial reports that will go a long way towards tightening up the final product. Consider me standing by for those reports and ready to spring into action to address and tweak as necessary. You can submit them through the contact link that’s in the site menu or I’ve started a discussion thread to show off how buzz postings can be linked to forum discussions.
Thanks for being a user of the site whether you’ve been with us from the early years or you just found us. I look forward to what’s ahead in this new era of eBrandon!