MGoBlue.com Major Redesign

Submitted by Wolverine Devotee on

The official website of Michigan Athletics has been redesigned for the 5th time in its 20 year history.

And........um.........it's rather drastic.

mrkid

June 30th, 2017 at 9:29 AM ^

I get not liking change but that redesign is beautiful. Its a huge improvement over what was there. A much more enjoyable browsing experience. Now, if they could improve the content quality, I might actually visit that site often.

mrkid

June 30th, 2017 at 10:51 AM ^

Every site (except mgoblog) looks like a mobile site nowadays and there is a reason for that. If you look at traffic stats, you will see most sites have something like 47% of their visitors are on a phone, 47% on a desktop and 6% on a tablet.

This design looks just fine on desktop, you can easily get to the content but the fact that it is mobile optimized as well is another bonus point. It's VERY easy to get to stuff on a mobile device, which is the main goal.

I hate to break it to you but the stats above are going to continue to grow in favor of phone, so websites are going to put their focus there.

The People's Jones

June 29th, 2017 at 11:33 PM ^

seems most websites are moving to mobile/tablet friendly versions. prob bc more people accessing that way vs desktop or laptop

Wolverine Devotee

June 29th, 2017 at 11:41 PM ^

It's way more mobile friendly than the desktop.

The header bar menus assault your face and take up the entire screen on desktop.

It's like the same template other B1G schools have taken up recently. The schedules part is also very large on the page.

Also very friendly to MDen. There was just one link to their site before. The entire SHOP window is MDen. It has links to New Arrivals, Jordan gear and jerseys.

Mr. Yost

June 30th, 2017 at 12:10 AM ^

It looks like they partnered with Sidearm...(like everyone else), they used to be AT&T or CBS, no?

 

Sidearm is kind of "templatey" since they do so many schools. I'm not a fan of this new website, IMO the older Sidearm stuff is a lot better - even with the big pictures and being mobile friendly.

Wolverine Devotee

June 29th, 2017 at 11:57 PM ^

You cannot watch videos on MGoBlue if you had adblocker enabled. Also the front page will be missing elements. 

 

Wallaby Court

June 30th, 2017 at 8:47 AM ^

I use uBlock Origin and just tried the website with and without it enabled. They really did cripple it for adbock users. Since I happen to like the Unversity of Michigan, I'd normally whitelist mgoblue.com, but the ads are really intrusive. I am not a fan.

ctallarico20

June 30th, 2017 at 12:48 PM ^

I noticed the same thing.  Horrible user experience - no indication that the lack of content is due to an adblocker.  Any web dev knows that if you're going to block elements due to an adblocker, you need to alert the user

South Bend Wolverine

June 29th, 2017 at 11:58 PM ^

Ugh, these re-designs just get worse & worse.  I want a few very simple things when I go to MGoBlue.com: info on what games are happening today/this week (including broadcast info, Gametracker, etc.). highlight videos of recent games, and stats from recent games.

Anything beyond that is purely extraneous.  What ever happened to simple, clean, easy-to-use web design?  So incredibly rare these days.

Wolverine Devotee

June 30th, 2017 at 12:00 AM ^

It appears the site re-design is because CBS is no longer the media provider.

Apparently a deal was signed with SIDEARM Sports. 

That's outstanding for the video-watching aspect and streaming service because CBS sucked a bag of fat ones in that department. 

 

UM Griff

June 30th, 2017 at 5:51 AM ^

Are never about making a truly improved user experience, just like moving from written content to more video. Evolving in the wrong direction, IMO.

BJNavarre

June 30th, 2017 at 6:52 AM ^

Seems like a major improvement.. at least on mobile. They do have a few bugs they need to work out, but it's headed in the right direction.

Mr. Owl

June 30th, 2017 at 8:45 AM ^

Great... now the link I saved to go directly to where I could listen to the radio call of games is dead.

AA Forever

June 30th, 2017 at 10:20 AM ^

Pages are cluttered with too many oversized and unnecessary graphics, as if they were trying to imitate GoBlueMWolverine (not a good thing). The headers aren't configured properly for a tablet.

BlueinOK

June 30th, 2017 at 1:50 PM ^

The website is a huge improvement. CBS sports was fallen behind in the website game and the prices are extreme. SIDEARM has really continued to improve and upped their clients in D1. They continue to push what they do and the future of the Michigan website should be in good hands.