Site Redesign - 2022

[Drew Dowdell]

I just wanted to let you all know that I am (and have been) working on a major site reorganization.  I'm coming to the point where things I change will start to be noticeable to general users.   I just wanted to let you know the changes in store before they happen.  This is not an exhaustive list, but intended to cover the major points.

1. New theme - the new theme feels lighter (as in less busy) and allows me to reorganize the menus in a more coherent manner.  You will also have the option of selecting a dark theme with a simple click of an icon in the upper right.  Dark theme simply flips the background from light to dark and the font color vice versa.
2. The slider on the front page is going away and there will be a slight reorg of the whole page overall.
3. Complete reorganization of the menus. If you are a frequent user of the menu system, things will be moving around.  Don't panic, it's all still there.
4. Complete - Clicking on the Activity tab brings up the Social stream.  This is a Facebook like stream that allows you to reply to comments without entering the full thread.
5. Complete - The search system has been replaced.  The base search system that comes with this software is rubbish. With the new server I was able to upgrade us to ElasticSearch which is closer to how the big search engines would work.
6. Reviews system - I have installed a new reviews system that will allow me to assign 0-5 star values for a review and the system will automatically calculate an overall rating based on that. 
   1. There is a clear "Pros and Cons" section, fields for make, model, base price, as-tested price, etc that will now be searchable.  So if a visitor is looking for a sedan with an as-tested price of $40k - $50k, they'll be able to filter for reviews based on that. An entirely new reviews page will be built to accommodate this.
   2. Photo galleries of the vehicle will be imbedded in the review automatically. 
   3. The rating classes are - Power and Performance, Interior and Comfort, Visual Appeal, and Overall Value.
   4. The bad part is there is no way to convert our old reviews.  I will be moving them to a legacy reviews page. All future reviews will go into the new system.
7. Articles system - The articles system will be getting some of the updates listed above, specifically the picture galleries.
8. Forums - will be getting a new layout with a strong new visual update for each forum.
9. Email notifications will be getting an overhaul.
10. Email newsletters will be getting a major overhaul
11. Expansion of our social media efforts.

... and more!

If you have other suggestions or concerns, please comment below.