A few weeks ago, we unveiled a new logo for Dawgs By Nature, in anticipation of "SB Nation United." Now, we would like you to know in advance that soon, and I mean very soon, all of the sites across the network will have their redesigned pages go live. Visually, this is a complete redesign. After the jump, I will talk about what this means for Dawgs By Nature.
To the right, you will see a sneak peak at what the top of the home page will look like for your typical SB Nation site (this particular example is from our L.A. Lakers affiliate). The top of the page is called the "Cover" -- it is a place where the staff at Dawgs By Nature will be able to feature the best articles and content from the site for a more extended period of time.
For example -- how many times has rufio published a great X's and O's article, only for it to be buried off the front page in less than a day? Also, on gameday, we can make all of the important links immediately accessible in an attractive format, such as the game threads, and any relevant previews that you might have missed from earlier in the week.
Below the cover will be your traditional "rest of the site." By that, I mean that any articles that aren't placed in the cover, will be placed below the cover in order of the date they are posted. Here are a few other nuggets I can tell you about the new layout:
- The layout was designed to make all SB Nation sites load faster and run better. You can get to the content you want faster.
- Some elements will be removed, such as the RotoWorld feed on the left side of the site, the roster and the schedule on the front page, and a few other sidebar elements. FanPosts and FanShots will still be in place, of course.
- The layout is intended to make the experience on SB Nation sites run seamlessly from every platform, whether that be mobile, tablet or computer. No matter where you are, the experience will not change.
- Here is one nugget most of you should be thrilled with: comment functionality will not be changed! (at least not drastically).
I am really pleased to be moving to this new format and the flexibility it provides. I was with SB Nation when it first moved to SBN 2.0 (the current version of the platform), and it's great to see the progress the network has made as it now moves on to SB Nation United. I am sure it will take some getting used to -- that seems pretty standard when it comes to change. All of you loved the new logo, though, and I think the same will hold true for the layout.
If you have any questions, please feel free to let me know in the comments section below.