As announced just before the weekend, a few minutes ago I switched to the new layout I was working on for almost the last half a year. This post is going to introduce you to the biggest changes.
new look with more space
Visiting word-grabber.com the first time after the layout changed must have made you doubt for a moment, if this is the page you wanted to visit. The layout changed completely in many ways.
yes, a logo
The logo didn’t change. There wasn’t any for the last couple of years. I didn’t want a huge banner telling you where you are, but a single element with similarities to the site. So the new logo should remind of the search field. I hope you like it.
find everything on the landing page
word-grabber.com has a lot to offer, but the old layout wasn’t able to tell you right from the landing page. So I did a lot of work on the homepage introducing not only the word tools, but also the article section with the recent posts and the latest news.
The most important issue I wanted to solve was the missing space for the growing article section. This was more or less hidden in the sidebar before. The new layout does also give the articles a nice readable layout and makes them not only fun to read, but fun to see :).
new features
There are some nice new features I included. Many of them where added after a test run on the German word-grabber. After they had proven their usefulness, I am keeping them for word-grabber.com.
quick search
In the very early days of word-grabber.com there was a search form on the front page. I had to remove it, because after the Scrabble Helper was introduced I wasn’t able to combine the old search form and the new tools. Now, I was searching for a while how word-grabber.com could make a great first impression on new visitors telling them directly what they can do here. After discarding ideas like a huge header, sliding images or longer texts, I found the best introduction is a search form telling you to simply try it. I am quite happy that I was able to program it flexible enough to forward you to different word searches.
Best thing: you don’t even have to use your mouse to get started. Simply type the letters you want to search for into the field. There is just the mouse click on the word search of your choice needed. If you want to use the Scrabble Helper pushing the return button on your keyboard is even enough.
fast feedback
Another feature I successfully tested the last weeks on the German word-grabber was a quick feedback form. This is just a single text box you can send me messages with. No name or contact data required. I got plenty of very useful feedback already from people who normally wouldn’t use the original feedback form.
fitting to your screen
The new layout is normally larger than the old one to make all the new features fit. “Normally” means, you might see different layout versions on different screens. The layout is optimized for a screen width of approx. 1.200 pixel, but switches to the 1.024 pixel layout, when you screen is smaller. This is only the beginning. In the near future I am going to optimize the layout for the iPad.
The mobile version still stays the same, since technically it is completely another theme. This is going to be a whole new project to optimize that, but hopefully wouldn’t take another half a year to finish.
miss anything? feedback!
Publishing this post I am very confident that I tested enough to find at least the major bugs. Anyway, there might be something not working right away or missing at all. Please don’t hesitate contacting me with the new fast feedback form in the sidebar or the red feedback button you find on the right side of the screen.
I would also be glad to read from you in the comments. Enjoy the new layout! And if you like it, please recommend word-grabber.com to others on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or during your next game of Scrabble or another word game.