If this is your first visit to Visordown, hello, stick around. If you're a regular then you're probably thinking: 'Umm.. who's changed my stuff, what's going on?!"
Even though the look and feel remains very similar, a lot has changed. And whenever I've changed anything on Visordown, I get a bunch of emails and feedback on the forums asking me to change it back. When people move my stuff, I hate it, so I'm sure this new site will come as a bit of a shock; because, after 7 years of slow evolution, there are a lot of sudden changes. Some things have gone, some stuff just isn't where it used to be but lots of cool new things have arrived too.
I've made changes since Day 1, because I want to make Visordown better, but at the moment, you're probably feeling flummoxed as you roam around the new site. These changes are designed to introduce more features and functionality to Visordown, expanding its usefulness by giving you more stuff to play with, more to get stuck into.
But before I list all the sections and tell you what's changing, I'm going to tell you what's not changing:
- You'll always be able to use Visordown for free
- You'll always have control over your information and your privacy. That's of paramount importance to me.
- I'm determined to ensure Visordown has the best features of any bike site out there.
We've been through an extensive beta-testing stage and my sincere thanks goes out to everyone who helped out with that. If you're interested, you can read the exhaustive list of the bugs, tweaks and other issues we've worked through, by clicking
here
So I'd like to introduce the sections of the site, to help you find your way around:
HOME
The homepage was always designed to give you a snap-shot of what's going on, on Visordown, the moment you arrive. So we've still got the latest news, forum threads and classified ads. You'll notice a new pod containing Reader Articles and the observant among you will have noticed that the Visordown Features pod has been revamped to include Features from TWO Magazine.
Wherever you go on the site, you'll always have the left-hand pod too. It contains links to your profile and private messaging but it also contains the latest Reader Reviews in the Bike Reviews section and a breakdown of the new Feature material. It will constantly update; keeping you informed.
FORUMS
The forums are the heart of Visordown and I've done my best to ensure the change from the forum you're used to, to this new forum, is as smooth as possible. Some features that were never used have been stripped out and some of the more used features have been improved. Just check out the new
Private Messaging system; it rocks.
Sure, there's bound to be stuff you don't like and features you'll miss, but I always listen to feedback and welcome yours.
As a final note on the forums; you'll notice that the in-thread ads have been removed. Although these were a decent source of revenue, it's clear that you feel they get in your way.
FEATURES
This section used to be called ARTICLES and it contained a mix of Reader Articles and contributions from motorcycle journalists.
This was one of the newer additions to Visordown; it was only about 2 years old. The aim of this section has always been to give the reader something more chunky, lengthy and considered to read.
And nothing's changed. It's had an editorial injection by adding content from the last 7 years of TWO Magazine. At the moment there's over 200 features in there, but that's really the tip of the iceberg. I'll be adding quite literally 100s more features from TWO over the coming months. I'd also like to add more fresh features, on the stuff you want to read about, but more on that soon.
You'll notice a TWO+ logo on some features. This lets you know that the feature is locked and you can access it by becoming a subscriber. We're going to be trying some new ideas, like publishing TWO features on Visordown before the TWO issue goes on sale. So, if you like TWO, you'll probably already be a subscriber and you'll be able to access all these features straight away.
You don't have to subscribe to TWO to check out the new features, far from it; over 90% of the new content is un-locked and open to everyone.
NEWS
I introduced news to Visordown at the same time as articles. I quickly realised that there was a thirst for news and so I took on ex-RiDE man, Tim Skilton, to head up that aspect of the site. Over the last 6 months we've seen a massive growth in the quality and quantity of the news we've published. From a measly 1 story a day, cobbled together by myself, to now, where we're publishing 5 stories a day, including world firsts and exclusives.
We're further strengthening the news section by splitting it into three sections: General news, Racing news and Product news. Our General news is already strong, I want to improve on our Racing news and so we'll be getting reports and paddock gossip from respected sources in MotoGP, BSB and WSB. Currently, we're very thin on Product news but this is an area I'd like to improve on. If you have any thoughts, please make yourself heard!
BIKE REVIEWS
I can't hide it, this is a section I'm really excited about. Back in the day, James and I wanted to introduce this kick-arse section that listed a load of bikes and gave you the space to write about your bike, what it's like to live with, what bits make it go faster, what things drive you mad about your bike. Pretty much anything you'd want to know before shelling out your hard-earned.
And now it's here. Our Bike Reviews section lists 400+ bikes that have been reviewed by TWO (and I've not finished adding them all). On each bike, you can see the bike's specifications, read the TWO review of the bike when it was first ridden, check out the image gallery - where you can add your own pics, see related bikes and read features from TWO that involve that bike.
But the best part is that you can add your review of your own bike and read other owner's reviews. So, once this area gathers momentum, you'll be able to check in to get a quick feel of what the bike you're lusting after is really like to own.
I've got over 200 more bikes to add, and I'm going to add them according to your priority. So if the bike you own isn't in there, drop me a line and I'll make sure it goes to the top of the list.
And on the same note, if you spot any glaring errors with model year, capacity or anything else, feel free to call me an idiot in the forums, but please let me know where the errors are so I can sort them out. So far though, I think we're good to go.
DIRECTORY
This is an area I need to work on. It currently houses a group of companies listing products or services to Visordown readers. I want to group this into useful sections and include reader-recommended links too.
TWO
Check out what's new in TWO, what's in the mag each month, view the cool virtual magazine and resist the special offers those cunning marketing types put together. I'm a sucker for those..
WIN
A new section that is currently looking rather sorry. There will shortly be a whole host of companies fighting to give you free stuff once you've answered a really simple question but, for now, why not enter the TWO competition to win a Buell 1125R. You'll feel rather smug if you win..
THANK YOU
So that's it for now but really what you see here is just the start. When they're not drinking Starbucks Frappe Lattes, Facebooking or
playing Trials Bike PRO, the team that developed this new site are hard at work, polishing off the next evolution of Visordown, where I'll be looking to introduce new features that make Visordown more useful and help you get even more out of your biking.
Thanks for taking time to read this, I hope you enjoy the new site.
Ben
