Copyblogger

That Was Then, This Is Now: Welcome to the New Copyblogger Website

written by Pamela Wilson
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That Was Then, This Is Now: Welcome to the New Copyblogger Website

Welcome!

Things may look a little different since the last time you stopped by our place.

We’ve been working as a team to build a new home for our Copyblogger content since last year.

Today is open house day, so come on in and I’ll give you a tour.

Why did we redesign Copyblogger?

I’ll be the first to admit it: redesigning Copyblogger was a little like turning in your perfectly good late-model car, which is in excellent condition (and getting great mileage), for something new, because it’s … shinier?

In other words, why redesign a site that already looked great?

In our case, our business has changed pretty dramatically since Copyblogger was last redesigned back in 2013.

In those days, the Copyblogger website was the single hub that served as a jumping off point for everything we did as a company — our educational products, our software, our original podcast.

Today, our company offers a wide variety of products and services, and this site is no longer the single hub for all of them. We now have a group of sites, and each serves a different audience.

What do we do today? At Rainmaker Digital, we:

And of course, we have Copyblogger.

On this site, we teach you how to master content marketing (notice the new tagline on the top left of the site).

Here at Copyblogger, we bring you our Authority advanced content marketing training program. We train and certify content marketers with our Certified Content Marketer program.

Content marketing is our main focus. It drives what we create and keeps us dreaming up new ways to teach, share, and guide you as you develop your content marketing chops.

The old site didn’t fit what Copyblogger is today, so it was time for a change.

What has changed on Copyblogger?

The first change we made happened late last year. We separated our stream of Copyblogger posts from the stream of audio content published on Rainmaker.FM.

Why?

Because we know people have a strong preference to read their content or listen to their content, but generally not both at once in the same place.

So now, Articles have a tab and Audio has a separate tab. To see and listen to the latest Rainmaker.FM episodes, visit the Audio tab.

Learn more about what interests you most with our new mini courses

Our new site features four “mini courses” you can sign up for.

We curated the best content from the Copyblogger archives and put together a series of emails that will deliver that content to you over time, so you can read, absorb, and learn from it.

Sign up in the sidebar or below any post on the site.

New appearance

The new design features a streamlined navigation menu, an easy-on-the eyes serif font for body text, and a clear, clean appearance thanks to the design wizardry of Lead Designer Lauren Mancke.

We were aiming for a magazine-like feel for this site redesign, and thanks to Lauren and our expert developers, we got it.

Our updated home page highlights our products, our customers, and our free education in a new and innovative way. Take a look.

What are those strange fields at the end of this post?

You may notice an unfamiliar section directly below this post. That’s right: comments are back on Copyblogger.

If you’ve been in our community for any length of time, you know we run a lot of experiments around here and enjoy sharing our results with you.

On a site this size, moderating comments took an enormous amount of time and energy — time and energy we preferred to devote to:

That’s just a taste of what we’ve done as a company in the time since we closed comments on the blog.

But that was then, and this is now.

Bringing back comments was important to me personally. As a Copyblogger guest writer, one of my favorite things about writing for this site was interacting in the comment section at the bottom of my posts. And now, as the editorial team lead, I’ve missed the immediate feedback comments provide.

So, we’re bringing comments back. But this is still a huge site with a big audience that gets a lot of traffic.

And we haven’t forgotten that moderating and responding to comments can soak up all your creative energy if you don’t have healthy boundaries around them (like a Comment Policy, for starters).

That’s why in this current experiment with comments, we’re going to keep them open for only seven days after publication.

Want to join the discussion? You have a full week to do so. Seven days after an article is published, its comments will close.

Tell us what you think in the comments

It brings me great joy to be able to invite you to tell us what you think of the Copyblogger redesign in the comments.

Let us know your thoughts! We can’t wait to hear them. 🙂

P.S. – Whenever you’re ready, here are 4 ways we can help you:
  1. Copyblogger Academy - Our community gives you 9 full-length marketing courses (over 30 hours of education total), ongoing education, expert Q&A, and more. Join 1500+ members inside.
  2. Content Coaching - If you want hands-on assistance with your content, SEO, social media, or personal brand, we’d be happy to help. Hit that link and enter your information to learn more.
  3. Newsletter Sponsorship - We'll put your product, service, or lead magnet in front of at least 30,000 people. We'll also help you write persuasive copy for it. Fill out the form to see if we're a good fit.
  4. Digital Commerce Partners - If you want us to fully manage your blog and SEO, you can hire our agency partner, who applies our exact methodology. Fill out this form to apply for our program.

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Reader Comments (77)

  1. Congrats. It’s been an inspiration to me to see the growth of Copyblogger into whatever it is right now. Brian Clark is one visionary dude. Hat tip to him. He also managed to put a strong team in there, so kudos to all of you.

    You still remain my go-to source on this topic. Please try to keep it that way. But keep on innovating.

    Oh, and good luck with the next phase – whatever that may be.

    • Thanks, Ken. And thanks for breaking the ice around here. 🙂

      We’ve got some cool things planned for the year ahead, so stay tuned.

      The blog just celebrated its tenth birthday and this seemed like a great way to celebrate!

  2. The redesign is very nice – feels much more orderly to me than previously – but I’m most glad to see the comments on! So glad! Partly, because I felt many people followed suit only because Copyblogger did it. To me, it felt like inviting someone into your home and then saying, “But, you have to be quiet. Just observe my home and listen to me, stay silent, and then if you want to go downtown and talk about it where everyone can hear, we can.” Ha! A tad extreme of an analogy, I know, but it did feel a bit like that. I’d rather a silent comment section or a largely unfiltered, crazy comment section than none at all. But, 7 days and then shuts off… #brilliant! 🙂 Love it.

  4. Yay! Congratulations on the reboot. Happy to see comments have returned too.
    I always encourage my clients to have comments on. They can choose to moderate, but at least let your readers have a voice too.

    A comment policy is a good idea too. I’ve used these before, so you can remind your readers what the rules are. Luckily, you seldom have to refer to the policy, but it’s good to have it in place.

    Excited to follow your upcoming content. I imagine it will be good… it’s always good from you. Happy 2016.

  5. Wow, this is kind of like dropping by a friend’s house to see that they’ve completely redecorated! Can’t wait to check out all the new cupboards…

    So inspiring to see how you work!

    Amy

  6. I found myself compulsively typing into an empty field and POOF! A comment appeared. What is this wizardry? 🙂

    I love the new design and the separation of text and podcasts. This iteration is clean and easy to read, which means…. dun dun dun! I’ll read even more of it! #winwinwin

  7. I love the content I get from you about content. I rely on it! And I love the new clean, organized way the site is set up…it’s easy for the “squirrel” in my brain to find things 🙂 Thanks for what you do and good luck with whatever’s next!

  8. Kudos on the new look website!

    I’m a big fan of the clean, organized feel — especially when I find myself visiting daily.

    It also sounds like there is a lot going on with so many products.

    Keep up the good work 🙂

  9. Love what you have done with your rebranding. The font is much easier to read. I get a lot of value from what you post , and this new look, makes it even more valuable for me. Keep it up.

  10. When in doubt, learn from the best!

    Now I know how to my site should look like – what colours, which menu items, formatting of the “most popular” side-bar.

    Also, wonderful how the familiar palette and polish of the Rainmaker Platform is visible here.

    Rafal Tomal is a genius.

  11. As a long time follower of Copyblogger, I love the clean and simple look of the new site. It’s easy to navigate and focused on web based interaction. Great to see the comments section back. I think your 7 day limit is a great (and workable) solution to managing feedback. I can see that number actually shrinking over time, possibly to 3 or 4 days. Keep up the great work, can’t wait to see your conference offerings in 2016.

      • Given the type of experience CB offers, I’m surprised you guys haven’t implemented Postmatic for your comments. Seems a natural fit.

        So, I’m guessing CB doesn’t think comments are dead after all… 😉

  12. Love how the new redesign is an evolution. Sometimes you need to make a change because you outgrow your old car because your family has gotten bigger (to keep the metaphor going).

    While I appreciate the amount of work that comments involve, I agree that they can enhance the value of the content both for readers and for the author. Further, it’s difficult to get readers to go to another location to talk. It’s like moving your water cooler to the parking lot.

    Happy marketing,
    Heidi Cohen

    • I have always thought that comments are content, you know? Sometimes (not always, of course) the discussion in the comments is even more interesting than the information in the post.

      And I love the “water cooler in the parking lot” analogy. 🙂

  13. From a design perspective, I really like the re-design. It’s minimal and clean, making it easy to navigate and read. While I continue to learn from your great content. Good luck with it and wish you continued success through 2016!

  14. Exciting news! I’m glad to see the comments back here. Although your reasoning made sense (spam is such a time suck isn’t it?) I missed being able to react to or give a high five to a writer whose post I loved.

  15. I love Copyblogger. I feel I improved my writing skills a lot since subscribing. The “Copyblogger way” resonates with me.
    Here’s to an awesome 2016!

    P.S
    I was going to write “my skills have improved” but then I remembered not to use my passive voice 🙂

  16. Thanks for sharing the thought process and behind-the-scenes of the redesign. I’m very intrigued with the bringing back of comments so I look forward to hearing about any new discoveries resulting from their resurgence!

  17. Nice new look. Definitely easier to read.
    It’s been interesting to watch the growth
    and development of Copyblogger.
    You guys are great.
    I’ve learned an awful lot and look forward
    to continuing the online education.
    Thank you Brian, Pam and all the team.
    Have a great year!

  18. Hi Pamela,

    I love the new changes! The homepage, the font, the navigation… I love it all. However, please forgive me for typing the following in all caps:

    HOORAY FOR THE RETURN OF COMMENTS!

    I’m thrilled comments are back on Copyblogger! Hallelujah. 🙂

    Great work Pamela, Lauren, the design team, and everyone else at Copyblogger who had a hand in these changes.

    Well done.

    – @kevinjduncan

  20. I am glad that you opened the comment section again. Talking of comments, what special have you done with your comment section that looks to integrated with the site itself?

  21. wow! amazing to see such a change. it looks great. in light of all these revisions will copyblogger be offering an updated podcast or post on the essentials for a website today?

  22. The new site looks awesome, congrats for the amazing job. Copyblogger was and is a game-changer for me and a huge community, and I’m glad to be part of it. Thanks guys.

  25. I’ve been looking forward to seeing what the redesign looks like, and I like it. It’s simple, elegant, and easy to navigate. Exactly what I would have expected.

    Cheers!
    Susanna

  26. Love all the changes. What a great business model. Now I have a better understanding of what each area focuses on and offers. I was beginning to think I had A.D.D.! Thanks for being there for us newbies.

  28. When I first saw the home page I was shocked in a good way. But I thought I was at the wrong website or had misspelled the link in the browser address bar. After I checked and it was spelled correctly and the title was right my second thought was, “Awesome new redesign.” It blew me away. Congrats to Lauren’s incredible design skill set.

    Also, this year I want learn more about blogging. To be more specific i want to learn how to write better content and sales pages for some of my products. So I am extremely excited to start going through your education series. I’ll go through each one to learn as much as I can.

    Thanks for the great quality content that is provided. It will help me improve my website in many ways.

  29. Beautiful, clean, and inviting.

    Glad to see comments return. I remember when thy were dropped. I read the piece by Sonia Simone explaining the shift. I didn’t like it. Your house, your rules.

    Care to join the conversation? Feel free to comment on…(Twitter, G+, LinkedIn, MySpace, Headspace, Backspace…)

    Sounds like, “We tell you it’s important to engage with your readers, but we’ve gotten too big to bother, so we are making it very inconvenient.”

    Still, I have great love for Copyblogger and all of the incredible insight that you offer. For free. Who am I to complain?

    Thanks to all of the Copyblogger/Rainmaker staff. You are appreciated.

  30. I love this new design. I am a fan of simplicity and especially of being able to find what I am looking for on my desktop or my mobile. I think this new design communicates confidence and authority without being overbearing. Awesome. 🙂

  31. Well done to the Copyblogger team! I am really liking Lauren’s work on the design. The shift toward tones of gray with the occasional sprinkle of color is really easy on the eyes. I’m finding the type really easy to read as well.

    No surprise… I’ll be back 😉

  32. Alright, alright!

    This is huge, this is what I’ve been waiting for. I knew that the new design of CopyBlogger will blow my mind. Everything looks more amazing than before, the layout is very soothing and inviting to spend more time on the website.

    I’ve known CopyBlogger and the rest of the platform for about 6 months now and I have to say that my admiration and respect for you guys continues to grow.

    Well done, and keep up the good work.

    Imad

  33. Hi Pamela, the new site looks great! I’m so happy to hear comments are back. I really missed the connection. I did participate at G+ for a while but it wasn’t the same. I look forward to more fabulous content and the superb community that is Copyblogger.
    Thank you!!

  34. Ooo exciting! Love it – simple to navigate and explore, especially the Audio heading. Also love that comments are back on – let’s hope we don’t all ruin it by going crazy and over-commenting… ahem.

    Interesting to see the blog heading is changed to ‘Articles’ – will the name be changing to ‘Copyarticle-er’? 😉

    Keep up the great work you awesome lot x

  35. I’ve been here since the beginning, but I’d love to see a time lapse video showing old and new copyblogger through the years. (Archive.org just doesn’t cut it!)

    Please? 🙂 It will be a fun trip down Memory Lane!

    • Hey Sherice! I’d love to see that, too. But I don’t think there’s much bandwidth to spare at the moment. Maybe there’s a fan out there who will do it?

  36. Pamela –
    Kudos to you and your team for your insight-filled changes!
    I especially like the “What do you want to learn?” box. :{)

  38. Hi Copyblogger,

    Why change what’s working? (or maybe not?)

    The dips in your SE traffic since 2014 are noticeable. Do you think that this is because it’s somewhat related to some changes you’ve made back then like removing comments?

    Thanks!

    • And yet, our profits have shot up. Hmm …

      I think if you re-read the post, you’ll see that it was time to change the site because it wasn’t reflecting what we need it to do for our business.

  39. I actually stopped following copyblogger because it seemed that always I clicked through to read an article it was a podcast instead. I do enjoy podcast but currently rarely find the time to listen to them completely. So I really appreciate that you have decided to divide the two types of content and stop putting them in the same feed. “Because we know people have a strong preference to read their content or listen to their content, but generally not both at once in the same place.” This is so true, would love to know the story of how you have discovered that insight.

  40. Wow .. I love the new design, so clean and well organized. I must say Lauren Mancke always comes out with some great design work. And yes, I am glad to see the comment section back.

  41. The new site looks great! I’ve learned so much from copyblogger (Authority, Content Marketing Certification, etc) and it’s exciting to see all the cool and new things on the horizon.
    Congrats to all of you!

  42. Congrats on the redesign! Looks slick 🙂
    Website design is such an important part of content marketing – I’m much more likely to read an article on a website that is easy on the eye.

    Glad to see you’ve opened up for comments again.
    It’s always interesting hearing about experiments other similar companies are doing. A 7-day window sounds like a fair amount of time to let people share their thoughts.

    Do you outsource comment moderation or is it done in-house?
    Do you use Akismet to filter out spam or another similar service?

  43. I’ve followed CB for many years and know for sure it stays relevant and ahead of the curve. Love the redesign – divinely simple and modern. It will be interesting to see how the 7-day comment window works out:)

  44. Love, love, love the new Copyblogger website – clean, spacious, easy to read – I’m off to update my website now – thank you for the inspiration 🙂

  46. I am a follower of Copyblogger. I have got effective content marketing tips from this blog. Till now when I faced in content marketing I just go through this blog’s tips and get the solutions. I appreciate the redesign of this blog. It’s very nice.

    Thanks & regards,

    Moumita Ghosh

  47. Excellent work on the redesign team, it looks wonderful. I love the segregation between audio and other forms of content, adds for a real seamless exploration through the site.

    One question about the comments. Although you’re closing them after 7 days, will they still be visible, even though no new posts are permitted? The reason I ask is, often some of the greatest takeaways come from the comments and so it would be nice to still be able to read them with time gone by.

    Looking forward to the new content 🙂

  48. Congrats on the website. Clean, fresh and bright. I really love the new site, such an improvement.

    Redesigning a website can be a difficult task but you and your web designer have nailed it. Well done.

  49. Well, this design is simple yet effective. That’s why I like it. I always like simple things. But this design and the article are amazing and I am one of those follower of copy blogger who reads almost every article. By the Way Happy New Year to all who are the readers of copyblogger. And Happy New year to Pamela for such a great content.
    Thanks!!

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