Executive Summary
Almost 6 years ago, the Kitces.com website launched, and along with the new site, this Nerd's Eye View blog was born. At the time it was launched, I was quite proud of the site. It was "sharp" and "cutting edge" for its time, and early readers of the blog were quite complimentary (and I'd like to think they weren't just being polite!).
As the years have gone by, though, the technology underlying the site grew more and more aged, and failed to keep pace with the great leaps in blogging and website platforms that have exploded forth since 2007. The visual look of the site began to feel a bit dated, and the explosion of mobile devices turned what was already a "not very large" default font size into reading that was painfully too small.
Accordingly, the time had come this year for an overhaul to bring the Nerd's Eye View up to current standards, and I'm thrilled to announce that today is the fresh launch of the new site. You'll see a number of changes immediately, with many further enhancements to roll out in the coming months as well! I hope you enjoy what you see, and please don't hesitate to share your feedback (good or bad!) as we work out the final kinks!
The changes we've implemented on the site go beyond just freshening up the visual appearance of the site, but include an entire overhaul of the infrastructure on which the site is built, which will allow us to offer some new enhancements for both readers of the blog, and subscribers to The Kitces Report.
Changes To The Blog
In response to our blog reader survey results earlier this year, and many of your candid comments and feedback, new changes to the blog include:
- Full refresh of the visual appearance to the blog, including a new logo
- A larger default font size to make it a bit easier on the eyes!
- Replacement of the old blog comment system with something that should be much more reliable (my sincere apologies to those who were having trouble with the 'old' comment system recently!)
- Overall improvements in site navigation
Changes To The Newsletter
For those who are subscribers to The Kitces Report, there are a number of additional enhancements you'll see in the coming days and weeks, including:
- An easier-to-use CFP CE quiz system
- Technical improvements to the CFP CE quiz system that will allow us to post new quizzes more quickly after each newsletter is released, and ensure consistent reporting of continuing education credits to the CFP Board
- An online archive system to access prior issues of the newsletter
- Improvements to make it easier to manage your subscriber information, such as updating your email address or other details
As another benefit for newsletter subscribers, we will also be aiming to offer IMCA members continuing education credit for their CIMA and CPWA certifications as well, starting sometime later this year.
Further Additions Coming
In addition to the changes discussed here, there will be a few more additions available in the coming months.
First, you'll see a few webinar offerings available for purchase from time to time, on topics that are hopefully timely and of interest, and offering CFP CE credits. The webinars will be delivered live, and recorded for those who might want to purchase in the future. Although pricing is still being finalized, based on your survey responses we anticipate that they will likely be made available at a cost of $29-$39/person.
Second, also based on your survey feedback, we hope to launch a Nerd's Eye View podcast later this year. The focus of the podcast will not simply be a rehash of the content on the blog. Instead, my goal with the podcast is to specifically feature consultants, vendors, and financial planners themselves who are doing new, interesting, and innovating things in the delivery of financial planning and the operation of a (successful) financial advisory business. In a world where the exhibit halls at conferences are still too focused on the companies that want to sell through us as advisors to get their products to our clients, I'd like to create an environment that celebrates those consultants and companies that are actually aiming to serve advisors themselves, as well as those advisors who are implementing those tools and ideas successfully, in the hopes of inspiring the success of others. Stay tuned for more information on this.
Third, the Nerd's Eye View blog will also be opening up for more regular guest contributions, as some of the recent guest posts by Alan Moore, Ronald Sier, Susan Weiner, and others have been so well received. If you're interested in making a guest contribution to the blog, stay tuned for more information.
In the meantime, I hope you'll let us know what you think of the new site, the features, and if there's anything else you'd like to see changed or added! Please don't hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback in the (new!) comment section below! Thanks!
Love the new look–this is much easier on the eyes!
Great redesign Michael – still the same feel, but much fresher.
I love what you’ve done with the place…No, really. Small font couldn’t stop me from reading, but it’s so better now. Good job listening and responding, Michael.
Congratulations on the new design. And Disqus comments to boot!
Well done, Michael. Looks great in my RSS reader, too!
Very nice Michael. It’s clean, uncluttered, and much easier to read. I
like your thoughtful headshot in the banner too. I am working on a
website re-do so I know how much work goes into a project like this.
Congrats!
Welcome back!
Great new look. Much improved
Congratulations on the new site design. Looks great!
Nice and clean with a great look Michael … congrats!
I like the old site better! You gotta make your readers work for it, Mike…
Just kidding. Congrats on the new site. I know how challenging it is. Can’t wait to see what more you have in store.
Ha, thanks Jim. I feel like any readers should get a badge or t-shirt or something… “I survived 6 years of tiny Nerd’s Eye View font” 🙂
Looking good, Michael!
Looks much better. Look forward to the podcast.
finally! i cannot believe someone would use that small arial blue font for so long and yet have so much readers!
Great job. A victory for the eyes!
Keep the great content coming, Michael. The redesign is icing on the cake!
I thank you! My aging eyes thank you! You are doing a great service to the profession.
Your content is always relevant and easy to read. I pick up several new ideas all the time. Love the redesign, I don’t have to enlarge my screen anymore. Thanks!
Looks great. Other pages are terrific as well. I enjoyed the video, hearing your career path and seeing Samantha. Nice job with the entire site.
The best financial planning blog is now even better!
Love love the new layout. So easy to read on the go!
looking good billy ray!
The site looks fantastic Michael! You did an excellent job with the branding and logo. Glad to see that old one retired haha! Keep up the great work!
Nice work on the new design, Michael. Clean and professional. I like it. Now, all you need to do is work on getting some more images into your posts 😉
The first thing I noticed was that I didn’t have to enlarge my screen to200 to read the site! … so I knew something was “up”. Then I noticed that the whole blog had changed it’s look. WOW! Nice going!
Personally, I don’t care if websites have graphics. But I was getting comments from my readers (too) so I started adding graphics to my blog and newsletter. My open rate is much higher. Some photo’s I get free and others I pay for. I give credit to the two companies I use on every blog page… just in case a photo is there from them. The two companies I use are on the bottom of http://www.MarketingWithIntegrity.com
Love the new look, especially the font! As always, lots of great content on a variety of topics.