Welcome to the New Switched!

Hello and welcome to the new Switched! There's no question this is the biggest launch in the history of the site, and it's far more than a simple visual change. You'll find new experiences with everything from our stories to videos, and the new site represents a rethinking of how to navigate and use everything we love about Switched.

One of our biggest frustrations with the old version was how quickly stories would disappear after landing at the top of the page. The new Switched addresses this in two ways: first, we've got spots for highlighting breaking news and features sitewide, and secondly, you'll see brand new sections on our story pages that show related stories. We've come a long way since our beginnings back in March of 2007, and the technology world has grown along with us. Back then, Facebook and Twitter were both in their fledgling years, and the iPad was still the stuff of fanboy dreams. Our coverage has grown to reflect how every aspect of life -- from politics to travel -- is affected by technology, and we see this design as an evolution of those aims. So get familiar with new ways to access the latest news, gossip, memes, tips and more.

Categories

Switched quickly grew beyond its original main categories of downloads, gadgets and reviews, and we've always wanted to have dedicated pages about the richness of tech, from Facebook to Design to LOLz. Our new category pages drop the basic list in favor of an easy-to-scan, magazine-style layout, highlighting the latest news, reviews features, galleries and video. We've also built a new category listing from the ground up, so you'll see all of our coverage broken down and reorganized by topics, gadgets, companies, websites, products, events and more. Looking for the latest on Android, Twitter or Household gadgets? They've all got their own hubs, for your easy-to-access pleasure.

Note: We're waiting for the sections to populate, so it may take a few hours for these to look right.

Comments

Our comments system finally got a much needed face-lift, and you'll now be able to comment via the magic of Persistent Login. If you're on a post, click 'register' to select a new username, or you can opt to sign up at the top of every page on the log-in bar. Overall, it'll be much cleaner commenting, and we're excited about the simplified like/dislike options for posts and nested comments that make reading and responding easier.

Share & Discuss

Instead of just using the tiny share buttons spread all over the Web these days, we added a module at the bottom of every post that lets you share the story via e-mail or on major social networks like Twitter, Facebook and Digg.

Video

Our radically improved video experience is centered around a brand new hub showcasing the best we've got to offer. You'll be able to easily choose between different videos in the hub, and clicking on any of the thumbnails will load it in the large player above. We're thrilled to finally have a super browsable, shareable, and most importantly, fast video experience for you to use.

Galleries

Galleries now get a dark background and slick new interface for browsing images. Plus, the 'full size' option will expand the image to the full width of the page, providing a great slideshow mode.

Thank you

This redesign is the biggest project ever undertaken at Switched, and there's no way it would be launching tonight without the continued support and help from many people at AOL. I can't thank the AOL Tech design team, with Rick Garner, Erik Sagen and Brett Terpstra, enough, especially for smoothly handling a unique production and design schedule. Justin Glow and Michael Torgler, thanks for lending your expertise to the project -- we would've been lost without you. Joshua Fruhlinger, you've been absolutely essential to the project and launch, and I'm thrilled with where Switched is going. I'd also like to thank both Brad Hill and Marty Moe, who offered much-appreciated support and guidance throughout the long development process.

The Switched redesign is just a start, and we've got an updated iPhone app, great new video franchises and many more exciting features launching in the next few months. Of course, special thanks to the Switched team for putting up with the countless site revisions, mocks and long hours, and supporting the most exciting thing we've done thus far. Bravo, boys (and girl). The best is yet to come.

Tags: redesign