FreelanceFolder Redesign — What Do You Think?
Posted October 28, 2008 in News 42 Rockin' Comments »
We’re very excited to announce (and show you) our brand new FreelanceFolder design!
We’ve changed our color scheme, updated our logo, and reorganized some of our site elements — and we’ve also added a lot of new functionality to the site (including forums!).
So, what do you think? Does it rock? Just so so? Any ideas to make it better?
Check out the full post for a detailed list of what’s new.
Here’s what’s new:
Tabbed Category Browsing
Tabs at the top of the page make it easy to select the topic of your choice. We’ve gone through a lot of our posts to categorize them into useful sections so you can find exactly what you’re looking for. We plan on adjusting and adding more categories soon.
Popular Articles section in the sidebar
If you’re looking for one of FreelanceFolder’s finest, you can find snippets of them in our sidebar! This section will be updated as we grow our pool of information and resources.
Recent Comments in the footer
If you want to quickly know what our community is saying, check the footer. You just might be enticed to jump into the conversation.
Resources page
This page will highlight all of our best resources and make it easy for you to find useful stuff very quickly. We’ve got a lot of things planned for this page, so check back soon.
And the best for last…
Full-Fledged Forums!
Perhaps the most exciting part of this redesign is the integration of a full-powered forum system. We’ve somehow managed to mash together the newest version of phpBB and the newest version of Wordpress to give you guys the best of both worlds. No compromises here :-)
Anyhow, check it out, sign up, post something new, respond to a thread… And check back later this week for a contest we’ll be running to get things off to a great start.
We’d love to hear any ideas or suggestions you may have! Leave your thoughts in the comments. Thanks!
Oh yeah, and if you find something broken please email me :-)
About the author: Mason Hipp is an entrepreneur, marketing guru, and writer. He blogs about life and business at FreelanceFolder.com and is co-author of the Book The Unlimited Freelancer.
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What Is Freelance Folder?
FreelanceFolder is a blog and resource hot-spot dedicated to helping entrepreneurs and freelancers. At FreelanceFolder, we're constantly striving to bring you the articles, information, and community you need to succeed. If we don't have an article or resource you're looking for, please contact us and let us know what it is!
Click here to read details →Recent Comments
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Mason Hipp
Mason Hipp is a marketer, designer, and entrepeneur. Mason helps freelancers and small businesses of all types, and he is the current owner of FreelanceFolder.... →
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Jon Phillips
Jon Phillips is a full-time freelancer, blogger and designer. He loves WordPress and plays guitar in a heavy act. He is also the founder of FreelanceFolder.... →
42 Rockin' Comments
Jeff Greco
October 28th, 2008 at 3:31 amI’m impressed, guys - cool use of tabs for the blog categories! I’m totally stealing that in the future :)
Jon Phillips
October 28th, 2008 at 4:52 amI’m liking it! :)
Like Jeff I really like the tabs at the top for categories, and the comment section is pretty cool too! hey and I’m looking forward to meeting all of you in the forums!
Selene M. Bowlby
October 28th, 2008 at 5:20 amVERY Nice - the new design is beautiful!
Looks like it is very user friendly / easy to find things, etc. I’m especially liking the category tabs at the top too - something I missed not having on the old design.
Great job on the new site! I’m on my way to sign up for the forums now, too…
Congrats!
monica
October 28th, 2008 at 5:49 amNeat. Dig the logo and I will definitely be participating in the forums!
Craig Farrall
October 28th, 2008 at 6:33 amGreat job on the nice looking new redesign, I was a fan of the old theme, so it will take a while to move on from that, but I am definately likeing this new design, Hats off to you lot ;)
Brad Strickland
October 28th, 2008 at 7:23 amThe new design is very nice and well thought out. Congrats on all the hard work!
Curvball
October 28th, 2008 at 7:36 amWay to go on the redesign. Navigation is top class.
Well done again.
Judith HeartSong
October 28th, 2008 at 8:51 amIt looks great and very organized… I like organized!
Nicole LaMarco
October 28th, 2008 at 9:24 amI like the colors!
Mason Hipp
October 28th, 2008 at 9:37 amHey All :-)
I’m glad to hear that everyone likes the design, and I don’t think anyone hates it yet! That’s a good thing considering the amount of work we put into this thing…
Anyhow, thanks for the comments, and feel free to leave some ideas or constructive criticism too!
You guys rock,
- Mason
Doug C.
October 28th, 2008 at 10:14 amVery nice, but I bet I could jazz up that logo of yours. :)
Tanner Christensen
October 28th, 2008 at 10:14 amDefinitely looks better than the previous design.
Though all of this grey is going to depress me every time I visit the site from now on. How about adding a bit more color than the occasional orange (and the colors from the ads, of course)?
Jacob Cass
October 28th, 2008 at 10:14 amNice clean layout, easy to navigate and generally pleasing on the eyes. A job well done. I will however let the logo designer come out of me… I don’t see your “logo” as a logo, I see it is a generic folder… it is not memorable nor unique. I believe this could do with some work but other than that, I like what I see. Keep the content coming too!
Jack Osborne
October 28th, 2008 at 10:20 amLike the above comments, I’m loving the redesign. The tabs throughout the page are particularly nice.
Mason Hipp
October 28th, 2008 at 10:22 am@Jacob and Doug — I definitely hear you about the logo. I actually do a fair bit of logo design myself, and I almost pushed off the launch because of it :-)
I couldn’t let myself do that though, so the logo is still on the list to be done. It will be taken care of eventually :-)
@Tanner I’ve heard that feedback once before, so I’m considering a few ways to “liven up” the color scheme… Not sure what would be best as of yet.
Ali Hale (from Alpha Student)
October 28th, 2008 at 10:23 amLovely! I too like the tabs for the different categories, and I think the whole site has a look which is both fun but also solid. The only thing I’d question is having “Recent Comments” in the footer. The footer is where I tend to look for static information (like the “About” and “Team” details which you already have).
On the whole, though, a gorgeous new look - congrats!
Doug C.
October 28th, 2008 at 10:28 amOh wow, I didn’t even look at the footer (duhh). Is this Jon’s handiwork? The whole layout is very soothing on the eyes. I love anything gray and orange. Is this a Thesis theme, by any chance?
Mason Hipp
October 28th, 2008 at 10:37 am@Ali — That’s a really good point. I’ll whip up a recent comments block for the sidebar too…
@Doug — Jon and I bounced a lot of the original ideas back and forth for the site, but the final design was my work. It isn’t based thesis (even though thesis is pretty sweet). The whole thing is basically custom.
Danh ba web 2.0
October 28th, 2008 at 10:49 amWow it’s great. The new redesign is impressive. Keep up the good work !
Doug C.
October 28th, 2008 at 10:52 amYou did a fabulous job then.
Grafiko
October 28th, 2008 at 11:11 amGreat design and overall site organization
Stu Greenham
October 28th, 2008 at 11:54 amGood work buddy! Liking the new look!
Torley
October 28th, 2008 at 11:54 amI’ve grown accustomed to the old design and I liked the organic-looking folder in the upper-left, but at the same time, see the merits in this design — ESPECIALLY because you did a great job of explaining the lights! Thanks for doing that. The color theme here, with gray and orange, is very distinct.
Adam
October 28th, 2008 at 11:55 amSite looks great!
James
October 28th, 2008 at 12:24 pmReally nice! I like the redesign!
Meryl Evans
October 28th, 2008 at 12:24 pmGreat design. One complaint — too much grey. Feels like I am reading in a fog. Oh, another one as I do this comment…. the Submit Comment button has a very small clickable area.
Mason Hipp
October 28th, 2008 at 2:30 pm@Torley — Yea, the old folder definitely has some sentimental value, overall it was definitely time for a redesign though. I’m glad you like it!
@Meryl — We’re working on a few ideas to improve the gray overload a little, nothing major, but hopefully enough to make the site a little brighter. I’ll take a look at the comment button too, that sounds like a bug to me.
Thanks for all the positive feedback everyone!
Brandon
October 28th, 2008 at 2:56 pmI really liked the softer feel of the old site. Having said that, the new functionality and tabbed browsing is much better in the way of usability. Good job. I’m going to hang around!
Nareg Kirkian
October 28th, 2008 at 3:20 pmExellant redesign!!!
The tabs at the top for categories are very friendly and it makes the reader to switch among them in an easy way.
Duncan
October 28th, 2008 at 3:21 pmNice design guys I like the way you have broken down your info with the new tab section.
Big bold move with a redesign, very interesting to watch and read what everyone has to say about it, overall it looks like you did a great job and most seem pleased.
Looking forward to seeing it evolve.
Shannon Snow
October 28th, 2008 at 3:37 pmLove the redesign! It is very much in step with the big blogs out there, which is important for user perception and trust. And the forums are an excellent idea, nice!
Grace Smith
October 28th, 2008 at 4:33 pmI think its improved the usability with the tabs at the top and the wider space for each post, great job!
Matthew
October 28th, 2008 at 9:15 pmVery nice. I have been coming here frequently and enjoy all that I see and the redesign is AWESOME. Keep up the great work. I am looking to start freelance web design and this site has been great. Thanks
redwall_hp
October 28th, 2008 at 10:04 pmCongratulations on the redesign. It looks great.
Jonathan Drain, Dungeons & Dragons Blogger
October 28th, 2008 at 11:15 pmI like it!
milo
October 29th, 2008 at 3:00 amVery userfriendly, accessible, clean and compact,
just the branding is totally lost.
I’ve read yesterday Selene M. Bowlby’s latest article and didn’t even realize I am on Freelance folder.
Ed Gandia @ The Wealthy Freelancer
October 29th, 2008 at 5:09 pmI LOVE the new design, guys! Excellent work!! I especially like the category tabs.
Dan Lee
October 30th, 2008 at 5:20 pmLooks solid. I like how roomy it feels. Category tabs are a nice touch, they remind me of Dan Cederholm’s chapter that re-did Lance Armstrong’s navigation in Bulletproof Web Design.
Michael Martin
October 31st, 2008 at 7:46 amIt looks great! The tabs are great for navigating, and the comments are looking really sharp! :)
Sonny Gill
November 2nd, 2008 at 4:04 pmLooks fantastic! Love the new design - clean and easy to navigate.
Patrick Moore
November 13th, 2008 at 7:21 pmThe new design reminds me a lot of FreelanceSwitch.com. Not sure if this was intentional or not.
Sheena
November 19th, 2008 at 5:11 pmWhat a nice surprise! I had quite a few weeks without tuning in due to a high volume of work. At first I thought i was in the wrong site. But to be honest I love the re design. It’s totally awsome. It looks fresh and modern and well thought.
Congrats and keep up the good work!