What do you think of TheServerSide's fresh new look?

Yup, TheServerSide has a new look. If you’re a regular reader, it’s a hard change not to notice.

Personally, I’m pretty excited about it. The site itself looks fresh and modern. The design is very much in line with others in the TechTarget family, including searchSOA and the IoTAgenda, and I was worried that TSS would end up just blending into the mix, but I think the new styling allows the site to both stand on its own, while at the same time making it known that it is a part of a family of IT focused online resources. I wasn’t a big fan of the last overhaul of the site, but I’m excited about the responsive nature of the site’s columns and rows.

And it should be noted that this isn’t just a branding exercise. In fact, it’s more of an enhanced functionality exercise. Along with a new look and feel, there are a variety of features and functions that quite simply will make the site better.

Reminiscing about the previous redesign

One of the most frustrating impacts of the last redesign was the fact that users had no ability to comment on feature stories, and instead could only place comments on the news thread. With the new revamp, that fundamental functionality has been restored, much to the delight of both the editors and readers.

There were also little bugs in the Jive editor that did allow comments, one of which was the fact that anyone who posted code would have all of the indentations and carriage returns stripped out of them. The new platform for community members to add stories and post comments allows for the proper formatting of code. I know, TSS isn’t exactly the first site on the planet to integrate such functionality. But with that feature now integrated, it’s time to let the code comments begin!

Social media integration

There are other new features that simply modernize the site, one of which is the Twitter feed. Right now it’s only promoting the latest TSS tweets, but we’ll slowly ad trusted members to the stream so that the feed will be able to aggregate insights from some of the most experienced and respected members of the community.

And while it may not be immediately apparent, TSS now has the ability to produce more content types, including Ask the Expert articles, photo stories and even properly presented podcasts and tutorials, so not only will the site continue to provide keen insights into what’s going on in the industry and in the community, but it will be able to present that information in new and interesting ways.

And of course, the look is new. The site is much move visually appealing, using images to compliment stories, providing profile photos of regular contributors and simply presenting a variety of content types, including tutorials, videos and feature articles to users in a way that makes it easier for readers to find the content that appeals to them the most.

So take some time to click around on the site, check out the new media types, and get a feel for the site’s new layout and presentation of material. Change always takes a bit of getting used to, but we’re pretty sure that this is a change the readership will enjoy. We certainly enjoyed putting it together.