We are finally starting the relaunch of our site Mein-MMO.de, which we built based on your feedback. In our article about the relaunch, MeinMMO chief Dawid Hallmann explains what the relaunch is all about and how you can customize “MeinMMO” to suit your needs.
Please note that this is an open beta that should end in 2 weeks.
Update on 10.08.2019
We have noted some data in an internal presentation. You might be interested as well:
In summary, all data has actually gone in a positive direction. You discover more, read much more from the new homepage, and you stay longer on the site. The left column is also used very frequently, as can be seen from the heatmap. We also had a record yesterday for the usage of these subpages. And the bounce rate has even consistently gone below 30% in the last few days (which means you view more pages from the homepage). For example, yesterday it was 28.69%, which makes a significant difference. The homepage is suddenly much more important for us.
Don’t feel that way? Then feel free to give us feedback or simply use the classic version. We will take a look at it. The next update is expected in September because our programmer is on vacation and currently focused on gamescom. We still have a lot to improve, and every opinion is welcome!
Update on 31.07.2019
The site is back online. We were able to resolve the issue with Google.
- In the last few days, we have also adjusted the mobile design a bit so that it should now look even clearer
- In the desktop variant, you can now also open the menu at the article level using a burger icon in the top right (we saw back then that quite a few used it and told us that they absolutely want to use this menu again in articles).
Update on 25.07.2019
We will run the new homepage in “Beta” in the navigation for the next few days. We have discovered a technical problem that is causing issues with Google. We already know the solution, but the fix will take a few days.
Update on 24.07.2019
Thank you very much for the great feedback so far. We are working hard behind the scenes and absorbing everything you say and what our data shows. A small excerpt of the changes:
- We have removed navigation at the post level, even though it was used quite intensively by some. It simply looked too cramped over 3 columns. However, we have gained many interesting insights and will keep it in mind for the future. We still plan to remove the right sidebar to have more space.
- Those who still insist on the layout of the old site will feel most comfortable under “News” because the feed is structured chronologically. Alternatively, you can also simply visit the vanilla version at the following link: Old homepage (we call it Classic!).
- Many bugs have been fixed (there were some broken redirects, so you couldn’t always access the individual sections on the left; or the menu was only partially displayed on mobile)
- If you check this post under “How to give feedback”, a link to a Google feedback file is also provided. There you can see the progress and responses to your reports, which you can still enter there
What the goals were and what we wanted to achieve
- A better performance through new technology – pages are loaded immediately without waiting time
- A personalized environment that invites browsing – a wish that you have been bringing to us very frequently lately
- A solution for posts on the homepage that quickly disappear because they are pushed down by newer ones. This led in recent months to MMORPG news being displaced within hours by Pokémon GO, Fortnite, and Destiny. The previous homepage we had for years was designed for 15 posts a day – not for over 40. Therefore, the old homepage often couldn’t even show all the posts that had been released on the same day
- Like an app?! The best possible substitute for the missing mobile app that is often wished for
What features should I try out?
You can now really make “MeinMMO” your “MeinMMO”. It is possible to customize your own feed and even create a menu according to your preferences! Those who do not want to use these features can also ignore them.
A tip if you only want the chronological variant: You can find this on the left under “News”. There you can set the page just like it was before.
Feature number 1: Your own menu.
You can now build your own menu. It is easiest if you select the topic in the favorites and click on the burger icon with the plus to add it to the navigation. However, you will also see this icon within the topics and can activate the menu item from there. This also applies to the star, which we will explain in the next step.
Feature number 2: Your own feed.
If you want to customize your own feed that appears on the homepage and under “For me”, simply click on the stars in “Favorites”. Of course, only for the topics that interest you.
And that’s it for your own home on “MEINMMO”. And did you see that you can also display this feed as you prefer? Try out the buttons on the right above the posts.
Feature number 3: The bookmarks
Don’t have time to read an interesting article right now or want a guide at hand? Then set bookmarks that you can find in the corresponding area. The typical symbol for it will be visible on all posts. Just click, and the rest is done by the site.
Otherwise, there are many smaller changes that you will discover, which don’t need explanation.
What to consider
The new homepage is a beta and a living object! In the coming weeks, a larger list of little things will still be processed.
- In the closed beta, there were frequent requests to be able to exclude other topics throughout the site. We are working on this feature to add it. But it will take a little longer.
- The sidebar currently does not have the final design but will be adjusted soon.
- If the new homepage seems a bit cramped to you when you are in an article: Mid-term, we want to remove the sidebar, that is, the separate area on the right. Our data shows: Actually, none of you click on that. Unfortunately, making the page simply wider is not an option because it would destroy our ad network, which includes GameStar. The site is already wider compared to before.
- The menu at the top header on the homepage will still be adjusted – we plan to integrate a dynamic search seamlessly into the current homepage that doesn’t disrupt the flow.
- The rest of the site should be completely switched to the new technology by early 2020, which significantly reduces loading times.
- Starting in September, we will also tackle community features: the editor and options for user reviews will be improved, we are internally considering our own, more extensive commenting system, a dark mode will come, and much more…
By the way, you do not necessarily have to be logged in to set bookmarks or define your area. This also works via cookies. However, if you want it to work across devices and the settings to be saved, you should log in via the MeinMMO account system.
But don’t be confused by that. Just give feedback and let us know what you notice.
How to give feedback
If you found a bug, have a major request, or want to suggest a change, you can share your feedback via this Google document: Feedback for the new homepage of Mein-MMO.de
Your suggestions and criticisms will be immediately incorporated into our relaunch plan. We cannot promise that everything will be finished by August, but we will be able to address many of them. By the way, we respond to your requests in the document and also internally determine when we would want to tackle them. That will be visible to you!
A survey will also be coming soon, but we are planning that for tomorrow or later in the day when you have delved into the site more. Please comment until then.
And if possible: Please also use the site on mobile! It is very important to us that it provides a good experience for you on smartphones.
You can also discuss with other readers via Discord. We have set up our Discord channel #beta-relaunch for this purpose.
How did we proceed?
The work on the new site started in early 2019. At the end of 2018, we recognized more and more problems that were associated with the old homepage:
- According to our data, hardly anything was discovered, little was browsed, and a lot was missed.
- Complaints that topics were absent and that people were only actually interested in 2-3 games, which irritates them because of others, also increased.
- Some felt that “their topics” were being drowned out and displaced by topics they had a deep aversion to.
We were inspired by the community app StockTwits, the front page of the internet Reddit, and the popular aggregator Google News and quickly recognized the idea for a page that could fit our “close-to-the-games-and-community concept”. And then everything took its course.
It was very important for us to work with the community on this. Therefore, we shared early design drafts on Discord, Facebook, and other platforms to gather feedback.
It became even more intense about 2 weeks ago when we started a large beta test on our Discord channel. We received many suggestions in this last sprint and were able to adapt most of it to your wishes. Only a few desired features are still missing, which will arrive in the coming weeks.
At this point, I would like to thank the entire team at Mein-MMO.de and also you, our loyal readers and those who want to be, for the great collaboration.
And above all, a big thank you to our developer Ben, the entire dev team around Steffi, and our designer Jakob. They put a lot of energy and passion into the project. If I could show you the chats, you would know what I mean by passion!
