A quick tour of the new Big Red Network
You may have noticed that things look different around here. We just launched a major redesign of our site that includes a whole truckload of new bells and whistles.
Let me show you around.
With this phase of our global domination plan we really wanted to speed up the site, make it easier for you to stay on top of the latest Husker news and more enjoyable for our frequent readers and commenters.
Out with the old and in with the new
We started by ripping out the old system and starting over. Now we're running on bigger, faster server on a more flexible platform with code that we wrote from scratch.
There are 1.3 metric tons of new features. (You'll notice them the more you visit.) Let me highlight a couple biggies.
Schedules
Schedules, now with 100% more bar graphs
How often do you find yourself thinking about past Husker games? If you're like us, it comes up all the time.
To jog your memory and help you win bar bets, we added a complete list of every game the Huskers have played since 1969. What was the score of last year's Oklahome game? (10-3) Who did Nebraska play in the 2005 bowl game? (Michigan)
It's all there on the new schedule page. Check it out.
Player Bios
RFr
• WR • 6-1 • 180 lbs
Kenny's full bio
Our football brains are also always coming up with questions about the current crop of players. So, we added a full bio for every Husker that includes their vitals, news, awards and even headshots.
What is Prince Amukamara's home town? (Glendale, AZ) Who recruited Pierre Allen? (Ted Gilmore) How awesome is Kenny Bell's hair? (Pretty awesome.)
Take a look at the new roster and bio section.
Free Member Accounts
We've been really fortunate to have gained a lot of new readers over the past four years. As we become more popular, we also attract our share of trolls, spammers and random drive-by cynics that are generally mad at the world.
You know the type.
So, to help restrain the rift-raft and encourage the insightful discussions that we've grown accustom to around here, we're introducing member accounts.
Once you create a free account, a whole new set of perks are headed your way.
- Get notified by email when someone adds a comment to a discussion you want to watch
- Flag those nasty comments and weed out the trolls
- Enjoy a pimped out profile page and be proud of your contributions to our community
We have a lot more perks planned for our members. So, take 30 seconds and sign up for an account right now.
Oh, and to reward those of you who have left comments here before, when you sign up for an account we'll automatically give you credit for any comments you left using that email address here in the past.
We appreciate our old timers!
Issues we know about
It's not all sunshine and roses. With a project this ambitious, there are bound to be hiccups. We know of a few.
- The roster isn't 100% complete yet. There are some players in there from last season and a few that need to have their info updated.
- Search is functional, but sometimes gives unexpected results.
- Things might look weird in Internet Explorer 6. But, you're not using that ten year old web browser are you?
We're working on those issues and hope to have them cleared up by the end of the week.
What do you think?
We're really excited about these new changes and hope you are too. We'll be rolling out more improvements throughout the season.
Tell us what you think in the comments. We appreciate all constructive feedback. If anything is broken, feel free to email me directly at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Thanks!
8/31/2010
Enjoy your blog everyday and I like the new layout.
However, you have one small problem with your Nebraska football schedule. Only 3 days are correct (9/18, 10/2, 11/26) the rest are wrong. Also, all scheduled times are wrong.
Kansas City, MO
8/31/2010
Thanks for the heads up, still a couple of kinks to be worked out of the system.
8/31/2010
The link to the log-in doesn’t seem to exist yet. A Hawkin’s head scratchin’ page appears instead.
Chicago, IL
8/31/2010
@Gary, good eye. The schedules are correct now. It was an issue with a server setting.
@nebrascal The login form should be fixed now.
Appreciate you all bearing with us as we sort out the kinks.
Washington, DC
8/31/2010
Will you continue “The Wire” section that was on the previous format? I don’t see it on the new format. Thanks.
Kansas City, MO
8/31/2010
Yes, we will be including “Wire” links and short “Buzz” stories along side the regular story feed. In addition, readers will be able to comment on these items as well as the regular posts. Getting ready to load up some links today, so keep checking back.
Also, everyone give Jason a high five for all the hard work he’s put in on the transition to the new site!
8/31/2010
Wow! I thought that I’d clicked on the wrong link. Nice, crisp layout. the only suggestion that I have is to keep the simplicity that was the standard of the past. Far too many sites have so much flying at you at once.
I understand that you have to pay the bills and to date, the ads have not taken away from the page. Please keep that in mind for the future.
Most of the new features will be enjoyed more by others but the 6 most recent story links at the bottom is a nice touch.
Once again, WOW!
GBR!
8/31/2010
Ooooooooops!
Huge ^5 Jason!
Bob
8/31/2010
Site looks great!
I can’t seem to reset my password right now. no big deal, I’ll try again in a day or so.
Keep up the great work!
GBR!
Chicago, IL
8/31/2010
Thanks @bnahusker. We’re constantly trying to balance the site to keep our trademark clean design but pay the bills. Call us out if you think we go too far one way or the other.
@nebrascal I emailed you to help figure out your password issue.
8/31/2010
Great site update, guys!
8/31/2010
I think that you should bring back the weather reports.
Chicago, IL
8/31/2010
@omarhuskerfan I hear that. Unfortunately, our resident meteorologist had to retire so he could focus on his new business.
If you know anyone that we should try out, send them my way.
KC, MO
8/31/2010
I can’t reset my password either. I just emailed Jason about it.
My other “complaint” right now is that the formatting of the articles/links on the main page confuses me. There are the smaller links to external content mixed in with the larger links to articles written by you guys.
It might just be something I have to get used to, but for example right now on the main page:
Carl-Fense (with a picture)
A brief history on Eric Crouch
Summary of Pelini’s press conference
Suh’s big takedown
All of those are the same size and lined up the same (although some are red and some are black). Then there is a large heading for the WKU article. So it kind of looks like those other 4 go together as one article or something. Plus there is the “Also…” part lined up the same and about the same size (although not bold).
You probably think I’m dumb, but it’s just something that took me a minute to figure out. Basically, some of the smaller headlines (external links) seem to get lost among the main articles - which was probably intended.
Chicago, IL
8/31/2010
Valid points Isaac. We tinkered with that layout for quite a while to get it right and I don’t think we’re there yet.
The idea was to mix all of our in-house feature stories with smaller snippets and links that we find elsewhere into one stream. I was hoping that it would make it easier on you so you’d have one place to look to see all of the latest.
But, you’re right. The way it is currently is a little confusing and it’s hard to tell where one story ends and another begins. I’ll keep working on it and see if we can’t find a way to clean it up and make it more scannable.
Springfield, MO
8/31/2010
I like this new layout. It’s take a little getting used to but it looks great.
8/31/2010
Kudos on the new look. I like it a lot. I am having one small problem with changing my password to something of my own choosing. I have tried to follow all instructions exactly as written. I can log in using the password that you provided me with, but when I try to change it. I put in the new password and the old one, and it tells me I have entered an incorrect password. Any suggestions? Any help would be greatly appreciated. OH, and GBR!!!!
8/31/2010
My apologies, but I really do not like it. Navigation within the site is very difficult. I am a really big fan of pull-downs. I like to go to a home page and that page fit on the entire screen in lieu of scrolling down. I could go on… Sorry guys.
8/31/2010
Will there be away to put the next game widgets on our blogs or will they reappear? Right now I am getting an ad instead of Western Kentucky in 6 days :)
Des Moines, IA
9/1/2010
I like the new look. I would love to see some avatars for readers and mods, but its cool you are on a budget. hehe, but it would be cool.
Keep up the great work guys.
Des Moines, IA
9/1/2010
One more request, editing function for your own posts. That wayy eye kan tell when I mispel words. Or I just fail at grammar. Me fail english thats unpossible.
Springfield, MO
9/1/2010
Looks great! I’m a daily reader and really enjoy the site. I thought I went to the wrong site at first. The first thing I noticed is on the sign up page. I tried a 4 letter log in name and it was rejected. Had to add the numbers to my “handle” or it wouldn’t accept it. No biggie. I’m impressed that you wrote your own code for the site. You’re geeky too! Awesome.
Chicago, IL
9/1/2010
Thanks for all the feedback folks.
You should be able to reset your password now. If you still have trouble, let me know.
Also, I removed one of the ads from the stream of latest stories on the home page. That cuts down on some of the clutter there.
We’ll keep working on cleaning things up on the home page to make it a little tighter.
9/1/2010
Siff &/or Darren,
I’ve tried setting my account up twice now. Says I will get an email to set the password, only I’ve received no email. Tried to get your email here on the website, but can no longer find it. Send me a life-line, please.
-Grant
9/1/2010
Disregard. Should have check my junk file first. My apologies.
-Grant
Springfield, MO
9/1/2010
I was checking the rosters for Andrew Rodguiez who is from my home town but he’s not in there.
9/3/2010
You forgot to tell the RSS subscribers to update to the new feed on the “old” feed. I was wondering why I was getting a “media ban” from you the last four days. ;o
J