In 2010 we went through the single largest redesign in AnandTech history. We modernized the site, finally moved to a tag based architecture and made a number of other tweaks. The web moves a lot quicker than it did even just 3 years ago, so last year we started working on another significant redesign. Today marks the debut of that design.

Going into the redesign we wanted to accomplish three major goals. First, we wanted to have a design that put our smartphone and tablet coverage on equal footing with our traditional PC roots. The redesign consolidates our coverage areas into four major categories: PC Components, Smartphones & Tablets, Desktops & Notebooks and finally Enterprise. The super categories are largely self explanatory and you can drill down into each one of them for more specific navigation.

It's important that our site design reflects our internal focuses. We are as committed as ever to our PC component coverage, but we also devote an equal amount of time to what we're doing in the new mobile space. From my perspective, whether it's a smartphone or a server, we're still talking about some form of computer - just in a different case.

Our second major goal with the redesign was to more prominently feature Pipeline, our short form content section. We launched Pipeline in late 2011 as a way of dealing with content that either didn't demand our full review treatment or that we didn't have time to dedicate deep analysis to. Since then Pipeline has become a very important part of the site, and we wanted to elevate its position on the front page as a result. Pipeline stories on the right are ordered from newest to oldest, with even older pipeline stories appearing under the 2x2 grid of featured articles.

Finally, we wanted a design that would be more accessible and speak to the broader nature of our audience. While you all know why you come to AnandTech, it's very important to our continued success and ability to remain independent that the site accurately reflects the diverse audience. Whether you're coming to us for motherboard reviews, analysis of the latest microprocessor architectures or to figure out which smartphone or tablet to buy, you're likely a person relied on by dozens of others for recommendations.  We remain an independent website, which comes with its own challenges when it comes to proving our worth to the agencies and marketing organizations that help keep us operational. Looking the part is just as important as having the content to back it up.

We made sure not to take away any features with the redesign. We still include our well used Print View on all articles, but now allow you to use it both for single page reading as well as for actual printing. The previous Print View didn't have all of the styling of our article pages since it was purely optimized for printing, now we have both modes.

Other features have been enhanced as well. The View All Comments button now actually lets you view all comments on a single page, rather than just showing you 50 comments per page. You can also now permalink to individual comments. I'm always humbled by just how awesome your comments are, now we can finally link directly to individual ones. 

We now support larger images inline (we will be adding site-wide retina/hi-DPI support soon!) and our graph style has been updated as well, which you'll start seeing us take advantage of with all new content going forward. The review body text is also larger and hopefully easier to read, which should help when we post some of our ultra long form content. 

The Podcast now has a permanent link at the top of the page as well - thanks to all you who have been asking for that.

The Twitter feed on the front page now includes tweets from a number of staff members including Brian, Ganesh, Jarred and myself. We've also made it easier to follow us on Twitter and Facebook with direct links in our header (hint: it helps us tremendously if you do). Our most recommended content on Facebook is also nicely streamed in to the right of the site as well.

There are more functional changes that we'll be introducing throughout the new year. We just had to get the redesign out of the way first so we could start building on it.

I hope you all enjoy the site redesign. I know big changes aren't always easy to get used to, and as always you have my commitment to fix/improve anything that truly needs it. I'd love to hear your feedback on the design in the comments below.

I'd like to close with a thanks to all of you for continuing to read and support the site. I've always said that AnandTech is your site and I do firmly believe that. We are here to serve you and you are what make this site possible. Thank you for reading, and thanks for making the past 16 years possible. If you are a relative newcomer, please be sure to check out our About page that helps explain the philosophies that drive us.

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  • Gunbuster - Monday, March 11, 2013 - link

    Full screen I have big empty borders. Aerosnapped to half the screen at 1080P it doesn't fully fit. Worst of both worlds.
  • redemmed - Monday, March 11, 2013 - link

    Nice work, awesome new layout.
  • GotThumbs - Monday, March 11, 2013 - link

    "We remain an independent website"

    I'm sorry but the large fames to the right (FB and TWEETS) seems to counter that statement. It seems to me like quite a lot of landscape has been given over to these sites. I know I'm in the minority, but I don't use FB and I got bored of Twitter and canceled my account within a month. At least they are are below the pipeline and Dailytech frames.

    Honestly, I tend to go directly to the Dailytech in recent weeks. This re-design gives me even less reason to hit Anandtech first. I've been a reader since Anand was reviewing hardware as a High School student.

    I wish sites would try running both the old and the new sites live and let the traffic decide which is "really" better. Its just necessary to re-invent the wheel and paint it pink in the process as well. It should serve a purpose and do it well. No need to unnecessarily "be-dazzl" it IMO.

    In the end, it won't make a diffidence IMO. The change has been made, so we just have to deal with it.

    Just keep the hardware reviews coming and i'll continue to visit the site. Content is king.

    Best wishes,
  • GotThumbs - Monday, March 11, 2013 - link

    Actually one thing AnandTech could do is setup an EDIT function for its comment section. I just noticed the double 'are are'.

    Edit feature would be a real improvement other the old site.

    Thanks,
  • spe1491 - Monday, March 11, 2013 - link

    Tried searching comments, but do not see anyone else mentioning this issue - I cannot get the page to load on my Android smartphone using the default browser. The browser just completely closes out when I try to navigate to the page. Using an HTC EVO Shift.
  • bromega - Monday, March 11, 2013 - link

    I'd have to question why you've stuck with the default browser. Opera Mini, Opera Mobile, Firefox & Dolphin are all good ICS substitutes, and Chrome is great on JB.
  • Hrel - Monday, March 11, 2013 - link

    Did you guys fix the comments so I get an email when people respond to me, and can then click a link that will take me directly to the comment? Or do I still have to try and remember EVERY article I comment on then go searching through hundreds, sometimes thousands, of comments to find mine again...
  • jackoatmon - Monday, March 11, 2013 - link

    Looks a million times better. Great work. Now just redesign that awful early-90s looking logo and you'll be in bizznazz.
  • Omega215D - Monday, March 11, 2013 - link

    I just realized that Dailytech no longer results in a new browser tab. It's pretty nice, I just have to remember not to close out the tab when finished with reading DailyTech articles.
  • Imazalil - Monday, March 11, 2013 - link

    I like the new design, a few things bug me though.

    1) I would just place the Anandtech logo on a black background instead of being boxed in as it is.
    2) The Tweets & Facebook sidebars are too dark - they draw attention away from the actual articles / main body section of the site.
    3) The footer might be better in one of the grays used in the Tweet/FB sidebar. There isn't that much content in it and the black makes it much heavier than it needs to be (I know it's to match the header).

    Also, white background doesn't bother me at all - I don't ever keep my browser window full screen-width. Mac user though, so probably in the minority. That said, having an option to switch themes would be nice.

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