New Site Launched (1 Viewer)

[Ministry of Pain]

I liked the old but understand it was getting dated.

I always feel old when we change over to new looks, apps, but whatever has to be done.

 

[BroncoFreak_2K3]

fugly

Thanks for the value add. Care to elaborate constructively?

I did.

No worries. I knew going in we'd never have everyone like it. That's to be expected and it's all good.J

I agree with GregR's comments...when I first opened the site this morning it seemed way too cluttered, ie. billboards if you will, and VERY hard on the eyes. The popout menu navigation in the center section really detracts from the rest of the site's look IMO. I'd say its a decent start on a much needed overhaul on a site that could look terrific when finished. But its no where finished IMO.HTH

 

[lyon812]

Kudos on the redesign. Like many others, I was able to find everything I use on a regular basis, both quickly and easily. "The Latest" is particularly awesome. =)

I agree, however, that the middle is a bit clunky, particularly the large buttons "2009 FSTA" "Audible" and "Meet the Staff". What struck me visually--which may be an effect of my monitor--is that the font sizes for "The Latest" and the Central rotating menu (I'm sure there's a technical name for it) seem to be pale and small. "The Latest" in particular has a non-bold font that's a bit difficult to read, which makes one of your major selling points--the excellent content--sort of fade away into the background. As a result, one's eyes are drawn to those three buttons instead, when really they aren't the most important content.

Thus, suggestions:

1. Widen "The Latest" a bit and darken the fonts. Bump them up a size.

2. Put the 2009 FSTA button in the upper right hand corner of the banner beneath password/login, so that your award is visible and not simply blended into the loud bar of buttons

3. Move the horizontal "More from Footballguys" directly under the rotating menu

4. Align the remaining three buttons (Testimonials, Audible, Staff) under that in the order Audible, Staff, Testimonials)

Making the font bolder/easier to read/stand out is really the number one complaint, though.

Overall, great work!

3.

 

[JAM]

Agreed, there's way too much going on...it almost hurts to look at it and figure out what's happening.

BTW, to get to the rankings I have to Login so I'm not sure they are available to nonsubscibers. And if I leave the site for 5 minutes I have to login in again, for us that are keyboard challenged, in a hurry, or have no patience whatsoever that is a major pain, the old site remembered me.

Maybe, maybe I'm just getting old.

 

[omally]

Where is the ad for the early bird subscriber special located now?

 

[GregR_2]

Had a little more time to play around on it. Overall I like it. Just the one aforementioned issue really.

 

[Joe Bryant]

Had a little more time to play around on it. Overall I like it. Just the one aforementioned issue really.

Thanks GregRJ

 

[braven112]

Nice improvement over the old layout, but the middle feels a bit cramped.

This would be my only complaint the main object with the NFL draft and Iphone peak seems a little off. For me its the blue bar that runs through it and the blue arrow overlappig. It just doesnt feel right. If that was fixed it would be aweseome.I'm assuming some of the blank areas, next to the logo and next to the 3 easy steps are waiting for ads to be placed there, no?

Overall an amazingly good job!!

 

[Otis]

Love the new look...

This has been LONG OVERDUE. Our old site really was a throw back to our considerably lacking web design skills. We know football. Web design and colors....not so much. We brought in a friend of Joe's who is very very good at doing this stuff. Sean will be with us going forward. Expect the look to keep getting better and better going forward.

Way way improved. Congrats.

 

[whitem0nkey]

will we get a blackberry app along with the Iphone and Android?

and since im asking questions, will the DD work on apple with out a windows simulator?

also when I log in it take me to here. its that correct? or should It leave me at the home page.

thanks, Ill hang up and listen to your post.

BTW it Looks good!

 

[David Dodds]

will we get a blackberry app along with the Iphone and Android?

and since im asking questions, will the DD work on apple with out a windows simulator?

also when I log in it take me to here. its that correct? or should It leave me at the home page.

thanks, Ill hang up and listen to your post.

BTW it Looks good!

We are releasing a mobile app (in parallel to the iPhone App) that can be used with any web-enabled phone. We don't know on the Apple Dominator product yet. We bought Bruce a Mac and we are researching the ability to compile for both Windows and Mac from the same base code. The subscriber login has not been set up yet. It will point to this page: http://subscribers.footballguys.com/20010/page2.php. I should have that completed soon.

 

[The Kerminator]

I liked the old design but don't have a problem moving forward. I agree with most that it looks way too busy and cluttered though.

 

[The Comedian]

Dropdown menus are a huge upgrade, much easier to get around, but I definitely agree it's a little too cluttered.

 

[None_More_Black]

Kudos on the redesign. Like many others, I was able to find everything I use on a regular basis, both quickly and easily. "The Latest" is particularly awesome. =)I agree, however, that the middle is a bit clunky, particularly the large buttons "2009 FSTA" "Audible" and "Meet the Staff". What struck me visually--which may be an effect of my monitor--is that the font sizes for "The Latest" and the Central rotating menu (I'm sure there's a technical name for it) seem to be pale and small. "The Latest" in particular has a non-bold font that's a bit difficult to read, which makes one of your major selling points--the excellent content--sort of fade away into the background. As a result, one's eyes are drawn to those three buttons instead, when really they aren't the most important content.Thus, suggestions:1. Widen "The Latest" a bit and darken the fonts. Bump them up a size. 2. Put the 2009 FSTA button in the upper right hand corner of the banner beneath password/login, so that your award is visible and not simply blended into the loud bar of buttons3. Move the horizontal "More from Footballguys" directly under the rotating menu4. Align the remaining three buttons (Testimonials, Audible, Staff) under that in the order Audible, Staff, Testimonials)Making the font bolder/easier to read/stand out is really the number one complaint, though.Overall, great work!3.

This is basically my reaction/suggestion as well. The "latest" section is overpowered by the darker/larger middle section. It should be more balanced. I also think the drop down box dark yellow/pale yellow color scheme should have more contrast, like two different colors but that is me.

 

[Poboy]

Great new look, but getting into it even GREATER new feel.

Took it for a spin around the block this afternoon and it's smooth, even given that you're not nearly finished.

May I be honest?

I was shopping sites. Not for this year, I've already paid, but for next year.

Why? Because of things I want that I didn't think FBG had but have now FOUND!

Example: Waldman's post-draft rookie evaluation. I have a dynasty draft in two weeks and I was panicking.

Whether it was just me or whether it was the old site...doesn't much matter now.

So, congratulations on a new and, I think, better site.

More importantly, THANK YOU!

 

[comfortably numb]

Looks good.

Professional and sleek.

In regards to the clutter.

Perhaps move the testimonial and meet our staff, either to the bottom of the page, or under the community tab?

Do may people actual read the testimonials?

 

[Tick]

I like it as well and psyched for the iphone app

Doug and Bruce have been on a tear the last week on this. When I get a chance I will add more screen shots to what they have created. It is way better than we are showing now. We have 5 years worth of a players game recaps (stats and text) in this now. We have schedules. We have links where you can see how well the Jets shut down WRs or RBs the last three years on a game-by-game basis. Our once mini player pages have blossomed into really great player pages. Need demographics, unhide. Need career stats, unhide them. Need game logs...you see the pattern. We have made the small screen come to life. Oh and did I mention you can see all of the staff's rankings per player....LOL. This app will be a MUST-HAVE for fantasy players. I am certain of that. And we are really just getting going here.

That's it... I'm buying an iPod Touch.

 

[Tick]

I really like everything about this, but agree that the boxes below the main section are non-ideal.

One nitpicky thing, but one that should be super-quick to fix: the site name has no consistency right now.

On the front page, we have:

FOOTBALLGUYS in the upper left corner.

Football Guys in the Audible box.

FootballGuys in the 3 easy steps title.

Footballguys in the FSTA box and in boxes 2 and 3 of the steps, plus the copyright at the bottom of the page.

 

[The Ref]

We have considerable known issues and we are still plugging gaps in coverage. So please be patient as we completely convert this to the new look.

You mean like College FF?

 

[fsufan]

i thought I was on the wrong site

i see something about a iPhone peek. will that just be for the iPhone or all app phones

 

[Joe Bryant]

i thought I was on the wrong sitei see something about a iPhone peek. will that just be for the iPhone or all app phones

It'll be for iPhone and iPod Touch. Android stuff in the future plans.J

 

[fatness]

A direct link to the forums is now missing from the frontpage. It's now in the dropdown list under Community. I'm just one guy, but a direct link to the forums seems like a good idea if you want people who find the site to head for the forums.

 

[netnalp]

From the previous format I always wished I could sort articles by author, I believe they were arranged by date before.

Is the article search function done? I was looking for the "Points per Deception" I think the title was, the point per third down reception article.

 

[videoguy505]

I agree with GregR's comments...when I first opened the site this morning it seemed way too cluttered, ie. billboards if you will, and VERY hard on the eyes. The popout menu navigation in the center section really detracts from the rest of the site's look IMO. I'd say its a decent start on a much needed overhaul on a site that could look terrific when finished. But its no where finished IMO.

HTH

Ooof! My eyes! The shades of yellows and blues clash too much. Eye gridlock--don't know where to look or what to read first. No flow. We naturally read left-right then top-bottom, but, with the varying sizes there's no logical order to it.

Central billboard, surrounded by what, a half dozen?, advertisements for footballguys... I'm already on the site, thanks. At least, they look like ads, I guess the audible ad is a link to content, but, it's an ad. Drop-downs shouldn't be two columns... another tough thing to read quickly. I want to scan with my eyes for what I'm looking for, fast. Not have to read and sort through things. Finding a specific keyword in the contests tab is a lot easier than finding something specific in the forecast tab.

And you don't have to list everything in the forecasts tab, either. How many users really want to jump directly to just "Offense (Jason Wood)" specifically? Just put offensive projections and IDP projections then have a sub-menu or whatever if you really want. But you really don't have to put everything on page 1.

Clean, easy to navigate is the goal. While the color scheme and graphics sucked, seems the old page was more navigable.

"The Latest" should show more. I only see the top 10/11 items. Font is too thin and too tough to read. It should be wider so there's no word wrap... or write more concise headlines. I know you're all proud of your work, but, I don't know if anyone cares who wrote it. If I have Tony Gonzalez on my team, I'm going to read his spotlight, regardless of who wrote it. If I don't, I might skim it if I'm interested in the guy, but, I'm not going to read it just because Chase wrote it. Maybe re-order that thing entirely while you're at it. By content, then date, with only the most recent of the regular items listed. I mean, I don't need the 4th oldest offseason update. During the summer, I'm not going to need every link to every day's news. Instead of the 25 most recent articles by date alone, maybe the 3 newest daily email news updates, the 8 latest spotlights, the 10 latest articles, the 1 most recent injury update, and 3 floating latest info bits (new DD blurb, updated tool/feature, etc.).

And I can't tell you how long I had that page open before I even noticed the "My FBG" link up with the list of weeks.... isn't that the single best online content portal for the average user? I mean, besides the download-and-run apps like DD, My FBG should be the #1 thing... a single place to view exactly what is new relating to exactly the players you want to read about.

The 3 easy steps bit looks the nicest of everything on the page, visually, but it's still too wordy. Cut it down some. And it's off center (is there supposed to be yet another ad to the right of it?), it should be centered or fill the space horizontally (within reason, obviously).

 

[hootie]

I know how hard a site-wide UI change can be. Keep it up, page-by-page...you guys will get there! Very cool upgrade. I do have one small suggestion:

The links on http://www.footballguys.com/10draft.php page (and on other pages)... That light-blue is not an "easy on the eyes" color; it's a very faded color. I suggest you use the blue that you are using for the links on the home page from the "MORE FROM FOOTBALLGUYS" area (Game Log Dominator, Depth Charts, etc) or the "blackish" links on the home page from "The Latest" area on the home page. Just throwing that out there.

Now, where can I buy a t-shirt?

 

[Raymell McKigney]

love it guys, great improvements.

One bug I noticed is that when I enter my password to log in on the main page, the password is visible.

One suggestion I would love to see, is another RSS feed, one for all of the latest articles being produced by FBG's

keep up the great work FBG!!

 

[Bob N. Weaver]

Kudos on the nice efforts guys. That's what I like about you guys - you are very proactive at providing the best service to your customers and genuinely care about what we think

This may be a personal preference thing, but don't care to have drop-downs if I just move my cursor over the link because it temporarily obscures what you may be looking for below the link. I'd prefer to have dropdowns which you would actually have to click on before the dropdown drops down.

 

[Poboy]

I don't necessarily agree with all the criticism of the new site, but what about providing a different "landing page" for subscribers?

 

[Nate]

Very excited about the iPhone app - can't wait to get that!

I'm a bit disappointed in the redesign. Presenting that huge volume of content is a huge challenge but the new design completely obscures the line between content, marketing, and self-serving shiny things. I was hoping for something clean, legible, and intuitive.

 

[videoguy505]

Presenting that huge volume of content is a huge challenge but the new design completely obscures the line between content, marketing, and self-serving shiny things. I was hoping for something clean, legible, and intuitive.

Thanks for saying in two sentences what I needed six paragraphs to do. God I run on sometimes.

 

[kurtrudder]

I'm not sure why all the criticism of the new colours, I think they look fine to me....a more modern feel is now given to the site. It was time for a change and it's been done well IMO. I second the above suggestion about an RSS feed for all of the articles being provided, that would be great.

 

[cobalt_27]

That is one busy page. I'll be sure to take my Tegretol.

 

[Getinthemix]

The middle is extremely cluttered.

Also when does the DD come out? I like to use it for organizational purposes and have dynasty drafts coming up

 

[jbz]

I like the attempt at improving the site. I agree with it being a bit cramped in the middle. Also everything seems to straight lined or something. It's probably just personal preference on my part. I like a cleaner look. Maybe it's the fonts that need changing. I dunno, lol.

 

[fatness]

That is one busy page. I'll be sure to take my Tegretol.

Yeah, it's hard to focus on anything on that page because there's too much, crowded too close together. I may end up using Adblock Plus to turn some of the stuff off.

 

[cphk96]

Great work, Guys!

The main page seems a little overwhelming and busy,

but I really do like the drop-down menus.

Can't wait for the iPhone App.

 

[Bad_Mo]

If you care for some feedback, finding the forums is tough. You should have a prominent link on the home page, IMO. I think if you make it easier for people to find the "flagship" item of the site, they will get hooked and eventually subscribe.

The average person will get frustrated and move on to another site after 10 minutes of searching.

 

[daveR]

Just my ...

I'd love to see a shark icon that would take us right to this forum. You know, just an inconspicuous pic in a corner of the home page.

 

[3nOut]

Haven't had a chance to comment on the site yet but will occassionally post about things that I notice over time. Overall, the site revamp is an improvement, but the first thing that stuck out for me was the difficulty I had in reading the content. "Myriad Pro" does not render sharply and displays the text with a gray tint around it causing it to look fuzzy. I understand that Arial is a boring font face but it is legible. If you want legibility but still want to be different, I would suggest 'Calibri', though you would have to increase the font size by 1pt since it is a "smaller" font. I believe it is now one of the several system fonts available on most computers now. It is a little wider than Arial but not as wide and space-consuming as Verdana. Of course you would still want to add Arial to your font-family list, just in case.

 

[BucFan40]

I'm getting used to the new design, but share the same sentiment as others, the middle is really cluttered. The big challenge is trying to fit all of this information on a single landing page, I deal with this all day as UI designer. The drop downs help a lot. One suggestion I have is separate home pages for members and non members. This should be easy to determine through cookies. The members page can be a little more news/features/rankings focused without the FBG self promotion. It would be great to take it one step further and let us customize our own page with the content we're interested in. Kind of taking the MyFBG a little further. I could have "The Latest", the last 10 posts in the SP, the subscriber contest standings etc...

Overall, I like the changes, but I wouldn't stop here. Great job.

 

[valhallan]

Dumb (and maybe unrelated) question.

Are you guys adding support for a mobile app called Tapatalk for your forums? (that would be awesome if you did)

Yes we were waiting for Invision to support it. They now do, but it will take updating our forums. I believe Keith has that scheduled a few weeks from now.

I'm pretty excited about this feature. I'm glad to see message boards get some love on new technology stuff like this. With all the foursquare / twitter / buzz / facebook social media cool things, it seems like the good old tried and true boards get overlooked sometimes. For lots of things, they're a great social media outlet.

J

So what happened here? I look for FBG in Tapatalk periodically but keep being disappointed.