Hi All!
We hope you have already taken a moment - or two - to checkout the link to the beta for the new theknot.com that has been up for the last month. If you have, you saw that the new site will have a completely new look and feel. The new site aims at creating a totally personalized experience. We have spent the last year re-platforming the site to create a seamless experience whether you are on a computer or a phone. We also simplified and reorganized the navigation to help members more easily navigate the site. And, we are launching new customizeable tools.
The relaunch is going to happen in a few weeks. The entire site is changing, but we are not getting rid of anything. We know there will be a lot of questions and feedback after the launch. Most of the community is going to remain the same but the Home Page will look different.
Before you read the rundown of the changes, please know that we do want your feedback. The changes that we are making to the community will enable us in the long run to add features and functionality that we haven’t been able to do in the past. Your feedback and thoughts will help us to take an amazing community and make it even better!
Here's a bit of a rundown on the changes to the Community:
New Location for Community in the Global Navigation Bar:
-You're not going to see the link for Community when you access the beta link
-The location where the Community link will appear is being finalized now. I’ll update you as soon as I know!
New Community Home Page:
-The Community Home Page is still being tested. But, we’ve got screen shots for you to checkout. (Just please ignore all the wording with test or testing. The screen shots are from our development site and we are actively working on the Community Home Page.
-At the top of the Community Home Page we added easy access to the Wedding Month Clubs and Local boards
-A keyword search bar is at the top of the screen so members see it as as soon as they come into the community
-Popular or interesting threads will be organized on the homepage under Featured Posts and Most Popular sections. The Knot's team will curate the featured posts and the Most Popular discussions will be threads with the most comments from the current week
-Important updates from us are located under the "From The Knot" section
-The new look is designed to provide a simpler and mobile friendly interface, including a list of the Wedding Club Boards on the right side of the page
What Else is Changing?
-For a period of time after launch, there will be NO avatar management. This means that users who do not have an avatar will be automatically assigned one. The assigned avatars will not be not editable
-Current existing avatars will remain, but they cannot be edited after the launch
-I will give you notice before the launch date in order for you update your existing avatar before the changes are in place
What's Staying the Same?
-All existing/previous discussions and comments will remain the same
-All actions in the community (posting, replying, love it's) will remain the same
-You will still have the ability to edit or change your username and signature
What's to Come After the Launch?
-Improving existing features (like those annoying quote boxes and the ignore feature)
-New members will be prompted to create a unique username (no more generic Knottie#'s!)
-More robust landing page, this isn't the be-all and end-all, we've still got big plans for the community homepage!
-Ability to edit avatars will return
-Plans to add the community to the Planner App
I’m here to answer any and all questions you have about these changes. I’d really love to hear feedback too! I will continue to keep you all updated with any more changes coming to the community, but please let me know if you have any concerns.
Please look for another post in the coming week regarding changes coming to the entire site!
(PS sorry the image is so big...just want to make sure you see it!)
