New Look for Herdict (And More Changes Coming)

Exciting changes are underway at Herdict!  The first of these is our new-look homepage that went live last night.  This new design provides several improvements over our old site.  And it’s only the beginning.  We are working on several more important changes (including an even more drastically redesigned homepage) that will be coming over the next few months.

I want to point out a few of the changes to the homepage:

1. Test a Site! As a crowdsourced project, the reports from the “Herd” are crucial to what we do.  Our old homepage, though, did not have an obvious place for reporting sites.  The new design corrects this, placing reporting front and center on the homepage.
2. Help Spot Web Blockages.  That is what we ask of our users: help us spot web blockages.  Our new logo now says this, emphasizing Herdict’s mission.
3. New to Herdict?  When users first visit Herdict they’ll see a graphic that highlights some of the ways that they can use Herdict: browse the web with our toolbar, report sites through our Reporter or the toolbar, and explore our data.
4. Spring Cleaning.  Here in Cambridge, Massachusetts, spring is well underway.  In honor of spring, the new page is cleaner and sleeker.  Slightly more Web 2.0!

 

These changes are only the beginning.  We are working on features that will allow our users to customize their experience, track the sites that they care about, and collaborate with others in testing those sites.  In addition, we are working to improve the speed of the site and provide additional data that will compliment our crowdsourced data.  And all of these changes will require even more drastic changes to our homepage (and the rest of the site), so don’t get too attached to the new look!

I look forward to sharing these plans with you over the coming weeks and months and getting your feedback.