You may have noticed that there was no post last Friday. That was due to a requirement in the site redesign process where I couldn't update material on the site for a couple of days. So I went to Moab to go canyoneering for a couple of days with my daughter. Then I logged on Sunday morning to find the new website up and ready to be worked on.
For many of you, this morning (Monday) is your first interaction with the newest version of The White Coat Investor website. Truthfully, this site has had dozens or perhaps even hundreds of significant changes over the years, but most of them were made early on, when few of you were reading. In fact, in the hours between me writing this post and you reading it, there will be a number of other changes made.
As discussed back in April when we started this process, it was time for a major upgrade. In many ways, the site has been limping along the last year or so, with numerous outages. Growth is wonderful, but it is never painless. This redesign was necessary in order to take WCI to where it needs to go to accomplish its mission. However, the redesign is a process, and certainly isn't yet anywhere near final. In fact, no website is ever really in a “final” condition. We still have significant changes coming with the mobile version and the implementation of a well-functioning forum. Hopefully after that we'll also get the Facebook page to quit being the worst Facebook page on the web.
I wanted to give you a brief orientation to the site and as always am interested in your constructive feedback. When you arrive at https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com, you now arrive at a “fancy homepage.” This has six main sections which I'll go through one by one.
Top Section
The top header/menu section is now interactive. Gradually narrow and then expand your browser window and you'll see what I mean. This will help the site to still look professional across different browsers and devices. On the upper right, you'll see links to my twitter feed, to the worst Facebook page on the planet, and to the sign-up for the RSS feed (if you're not yet getting posts like this in your email box or on your RSS reader, you need to click that.) The site search bar is immediately below this, and is still powered by Google. I use this search bar all the time to get around the site and it works well. In fact, half the questions I get by email, I simply search in the box and send the link to the questioner. It's pretty rare that you're the first doc to ask me any given financial question, and if I get it a lot, I've probably written a post about it at some point in the last 5 years.
The menus have significantly changed as well, and you might not find pages you're used to finding there. I'm still working on where links to those will be (probably in the beginner info), but they can obviously be found through the search function. The menus themselves include a very prominent link for first-timers (Start Here,) which I'll be revamping in the coming weeks to make it more useful to newbies. Under the Blog tab you'll find links to the latest posts, classic posts, and featured posts as well one of best parts of the redesign- the archives section, where the other 800 posts on the blog reside. When you click on the archives section, you'll find three ways to search through posts. You can search using the Google search bar (same as the one on every page of the site) as well as searching by date (hint- it works best to click on month) or by category. I'm in the process of recategorizing many of the posts, but as you can imagine, it's going to take a while with 800 posts. So that search feature will work better and better as time goes on.
The third tab is all about the book. The book is currently a major revenue source for the website, so it is prominently displayed. If you've read it, then you can just skip this tab. If you haven't yet read the book, you can get it on Amazon, usually for less than $20, and on Kindle for $9.99. It is also available in Nook format and as of last week, finally, in iBooks format. By the way, I'd love it if you would leave a nice review on the Barnes and Noble site and in the iBooks store.
While there are almost 400 reviews on Amazon, there are only a couple on the other sites. The fourth tab is the Recommendations tab. I am asked for a recommended financial professional of some type or other nearly every day. The various subcategories under this tab include a recommended booklist, links to other websites, insurance agents, mortgage lenders, student loan refinancing companies, financial advisors and some other unique types of financial pros (contract review, student loan advice etc.) This section of the site serves two purposes- one to help you figure out who the good guys are and so I can field fewer emails from readers looking for financial professionals. These recommended books, sites, and professionals have been used and vetted by numerous WCI readers. While there is no perfect financial advisor, at least you'll have the knowledge that I've done some vetting of these companies and that WCI readers have been using them for years without significant complaints. It is rare to remove one of these companies, but I've had to do it in the past. The second purpose is to raise revenue for the site. The listed financial professionals are paid advertisers on the site. Remember WCI is a profitable business. The final tab, About, talks about me, about the scholarship, some nice things people say about me (I've been thinking about putting up another page with hatemail excerpts,) the guest post policy and a contact page.
Right Section
The right column is similar to what the left column was previously. It shows a number of long-time supporters and sponsors. I appreciate it when you use these companies when you have a need for a financial professional. It also includes an ad for the book, a sign-up for the RSS feed, and a sign-up for the newsletter. (You have signed up for both, right?) I've continued the popular poll option, as well as the “words of wisdom” which contains all kinds of fun quotes from various founts of financial wisdom.
New Reader Section
The topmost section, and really the whole point of this page, is so that people arriving at WCI for the first time have a uniform experience. They're welcomed, advised to sign-up for the RSS feed, sign-up for the free newsletter, to buy the book and directed to the “start here” page.
The Featured Posts
The next section gives me a chance to show off lots of fun adventure pictures, but its main purpose is to showcase a few posts I want to highlight. These will change from time to time, but this section really isn't aimed at the regular reader. These are both posts with some great information for beginners, but they are also posts that highlight some of the affiliate relationships I have with some of my advertisers- student loan refinancing companies, P2P Lending companies, Roboadvisors etc. i.e these are profitable posts.
The Classics Posts
These are posts that really give a reader a flavor for WCI, my general philosophy toward money, financial products, financial professionals, personal finance, and investing. One of the hardest parts of the redesign was choosing which six posts to put in this section. Let me know if you think I got it wrong and what posts you'd put there instead.
The Latest Posts
The next section is what you may be used to seeing when you log on. These are the latest posts I've published on the blog. I want new readers to see that I do publish stuff regularly, but frankly, I don't expect long-term readers to use this page all that much. I expect them to just bookmark the “Classic Blog” version, which if you forget you can easily get to by clicking on the “View As Classic Blog” link above the right column.
The very bottom of the page contains another ad for the book, some recommended reading, the disclaimer (I'm not a licensed financial professional), the disclosure (it's a for-profit site), the privacy policy, a link for prospective advertisers, and a page showing how you can support the site if you like what you're reading. There is also a copyright statement.
At any rate, lest you feel shafted lately by not getting many financial posts between the scholarship contest, no post last Friday, and now this lousy post today, we'll get back to our regular programming with a Tuesday post this week.
What do you think of the redesign? What do you like? What do you hate? What would you like to see changed? Comment below!
The new site looks nice. It definitely looks more friendly to new readers. However, I must admit, my first reaction was, “Oh no, now I have to scroll around to get to the newest post.” Thank you for including the link to the Classic Blog View. I have already bookmarked it.
Interestingly, your post from today showed up as the first post in the Classic Blog view when viewed on my iPhone, but not when viewed from a PC via Explorer. There it does not show up.
Not sure what’s wrong with your PC/Explorer. I just checked and it seems to work fine on a PC with explorer at this end of the interwebs.
What happened to your plans for a forum?
It’s coming, have no fear! Think of it as a gradual rollout.
I like the color scheme and the dynamic layout. Nice, from this decade, and much easier to read.
The RSS feed picked up this article just fine, so I assume it’ll soldier on unchanged?
That’s correct, I expect no significant changes to the RSS feed.
Pros:
– Overall aesthetic much improved (color scheme, font)
– I like the use of a photo for posts–but maybe they are too big in the current iteration
Cons:
– I like having the latest posts up front, so I will have to bookmark classic as you suggested. It’s an extra step that die-hards will probably do, but the in-betweeners may not
– I liked the section where you had real-time rates for lenders, not sure if there’s space for that–it seems real estate is more a premium for advertisers now
– The header banner seems a bit too large–more specifically there is too much “dead space” in between the text
Overall, I like where it’s going, I think there are things to be done to minimize scrolling–smaller photos, minimize “dead space”, etc. This reminds me of when gizmodo changed formats years ago, and it takes a long time to get used to, but I’m sure people will, esp new readers who won’t know any different.
Another idea you may have already thought of but could be cool: a section for popular posts based on views or likes (if a like button could be placed on posts)
I love that you think those rates weren’t advertisements. 🙂 That box may come back. I’m hoping with the very prominent featured post on student loan refinancing it won’t cause me a drop in a very significant source of revenue.
I love the new color and design.
I too would prefer the latest post to come up on the top.
Is there any ability to upgrade and downgrade a comment?
Can we edit a comment?
What about a ticker symbol for US/international index on top?
Having a “thumbs” up/down idea is actually a favorite of mine. This way the “ups” could eventually reach the top or we could sort by “best” comments.
I’d still rather have all the comments on a forum as it makes it easier to read all the new comments, rather then searching through them.
Anyways, this website is very sleek and easy to navigate. The classic view is definitely a great addition for us hardcore readers. Overall, great job!!
No upgrades or downgrades of comments. Saw that fail miserably on Morningstar so don’t really want it. You can’t edit a comment at this point in time, but I can, so you’d have to email me. That would be a nice feature I suppose. I think TFB allows you to edit for 5 minutes after making it.
Like the face-lift. One small complain: on the old site, at the “related posts” section of a post, a link would change color after I clicked it. It was a nice way to keep track of what I have read and what I haven’t. This now stopped working on the new site. Is it possible to bring it back?
Hi Ryan,
I’ve added the “visited link” feature back. It should change color to gray when visited. Note, it only works on some browsers. Many browsers restrict or disable this feature for privacy reasons. Hopefully it will work for you.
Perfect. Thanks!
Thanks Nina. Hadn’t even thought to request that, but I suppose I did have it on the old site.
Colors are vivid. So glad to see the terrible brown background gone. Font is much better.
Along with other readers are requesting regarding finding the “good” “hot topics”: Simply let us rate the post from 1 star to 5 stars. You want reader feedback on your book review sites and this is parallel. Then we could sort the “best posts” by what the readers found useful…not just what you arbitrarily call the “classics” (although I agree with the list you chose).
Still looking forward to the discussion board. That will make this a much more dynamic site.
PS What is the background of your header banner? All those numbers and letters? Huh?
They’re prices and stock tickers.
The issue with any kind of rating system, aside from the rating issue itself, is that plugins like that really slow things down. I had one that had a visible counter as far as pageviews on any given page but had to turn it off. It was just too resource intensive.
The issue with letting “readers” choose the best posts is that the posts are chosen by the rabid faithful, rather than readers at large. Most readers never leave a comment, only read two or three posts total, never email me etc. I want to reach those folks too and a rating system would work against that.
I will admit I had no idea that it would be a drain on the site’s speed and resources. Total blind spot; good
on you for understanding the behind-the-scenes nuts and bolts.
Regarding the ticker listings, I meant that it looks like the same six repeated over and over redundantly. Is there a subliminal message in those chosen?
One other change I like: the comments are numbered. Although it appears that the numbers change depending on if we reply to an earlier post (can’t just refer to Post #6…because it fluctuates).
Hi Joseph,
Regarding the banner background: the numbers and tickers were simply meant as a decorative pattern, as a textured background to make graphics more interesting.
Regarding the comment numbers: the numbers of the comments that are already posted shouldn’t change, they are meant to stay consistent. Numbers add up as the new comments come in. But yes, if someone replies to an earlier comment, then their replies count and the numbering could change, because the order of comments changes. Each comment number is a link to that comment, so it may make things easier and more convenient in case readers want to bookmark a comment or refer to a comment. Hope it works this way.
Nina Interactive,
The comment numbers DO continue change with every new comment. For instance, replying on an “old” comment will change every single comment number below it. This renders the numbering completely useless because you can’t simply refer to “Comment #x” .
Yes, the subliminal message is live like a resident for 2-5 years after residency. 🙂 That would actually be cool if Nina would figure out a way to code that in.
Regarding the ticker symbols in the background: I’d suggest creating a wide version, maybe 1000 or 1500 pixels wide, so that we don’t see this repeating 150 pixel tile over and over, not even offset vertically.
Hi Toshi,
It’s generally not a good idea to load large images that are used solely for decorative purposes, because the larger the image the more it slows down page loading. Smaller images load much faster, this is why I found it best to use a small image that can tile for the top background texture.
Besides, tiling pattern works better for responsive design purposes.
Perhaps you could decrease the luminance of the $3,562 in the tile, then. It’s distracting now.
Would love to see the “Latest Posts” at the top of the screen when first opening the home page. As a long-time reader/visitor of the site, it is not quite as convenient to see the latest article (due to the need to scroll down) as with the previous design of the website.
Otherwise, the new look is totally boss!
That one is a deliberate change. I had two conflicting goals and felt like the long-term readers were more likely to be skilled navigators of the site than new arrivals.
In the old site you had some links for various things such as tax classifications, max contributions for various funds each year, and recommended people. While I can find some of these with searching, some of it appears to have dissapeared. Would like some of that info back with easy links.
Thanks,
Working on it. It’ll probably be accessible from the beginners page, but I’ve got to find a day off to get it done, and unfortunately I’ve been on so many trips lately that when I’m in town, I’m in the ED.
love the new site. it’s better looking, like the start here tab with newbies, intermediate, advanced, etc.; in your newsletter you asked for constructive feedback… i’d like to have the most recent blog post right at the top of the home page clearly marked so that when i check in i can see the newest content. also having one list of all the blog posts in chronological order is super helpful. the calendar feature is neat, but i’d rather see it as a long list so that when i’m up in the middle of the night getting up to speed with long time readers i can see the date and title of each post from the beginning. thanks for great content and improving the user experience!
Try clicking on the month for the archives. Then that entire list for the month comes up.
I think the biggest thing missing is the ability to see the “latest comment” made on any blog post. To my knowledge, the only way is to be following every post by first having made a comment there yourself. Why not just have this readily available on the mainpage…or somewhere else? The forum is going to be exciting as it will bridge this gap.
I wonder if not having the recent articles on top is decreasing your clicks on website. A lot of times I want to read the comments, but dont want to scroll all the way down.
Not so far, but I assure you I’m monitoring that and will make a change if that is the case!
Keep in mind you’re one click away from having the latest post on top (hit that link on the right side- “View As Classic Blog.”) This is a feature, not a bug. 🙂
I like the redesign. One issueI had with this version and the old one is formatting of the text around pictures and ads. I always end up with a sliver of the text along side the pictures when viewing on my iPhone (6 plus), rather than new paragraph just starting below the picture. Not sure if anyone else has this issue. Hope that makes, I tried to add a screenshot but couldn’t paste it into the comment.
Still working on the new mobile version. Hopefully we can get that issue fixed for you.
It would be great to have the ability to put images in comments.
You can do that now. You just have to code it.
Can you tell me how to code it?
Sure. Find the URL with the site on it such as this one:
https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Banner2.jpg
Now, put it in quotes. Put /> after it. Put
Don’t put up too many or huge images though, because it slows the site down.
IF you have an image saved on your desktop, how to you code that?
Thanks for the help
It would have to be uploaded on to my site. I don’t currently offer that option to users. Obviously I can do it, but really don’t want people uploading huge amounts of data.
You could upload it to some other site (such as Google photos), then use the URL as discussed above. For example, this image isn’t stored on my site, it’s on Google’s:
Hmmm…that’s not working so well. I’ll keep playing with it.
I guess I’d have to add a plug in or change the code. Probably not going to do that. If you have a really great image you want in a comment I suppose you could send it to me and I could upload it to the database.
Sorry!
Is there a way to like or dislike a comment? It would show what people actually like when some big mouth people speak up.
No, but that feature will be available on the new forum.
‘like’
I like many (most) of the changes. I read almost entirely on mobile and got frustrated by having to scroll so much to see recent posts, but I think it could be significantly improved by putting the “classic posts” into the same format as the “featured posts” where you cycle through them instead of them being stacked on top of each other. This way you have to scroll past 2 articles instead of 7 to find the most recent post. Overall improvements are positive.