Associated Content's New Look for 2009

At the end of 2008, Associated Content began to let its users try the new design before they made a permanent change in 2009. I immediately loved the new template because it just seemed cleaner and less cluttered than the previous template of '08. After the permanent change I discovered more things to love about AC's new look.

Slideshow - One of the biggest changes that most AC users should love has to do with the slideshow feature. Before it was very difficult to find slideshow's and this made most writers avoid creating their own, since they figured that no one would find their creations. Associated Content has now given it a front page link along with audio and video on the right side of their front page. For this reason, I am now planning to create my own as I have wanted to do for a long time.

One Page View - Another great new feature of the 2009 AC design is the one page click. While your reading an article you can usually see page numbers on the bottom. Most Associated Content writers know that creating articles that are too long will make users leave by the tim they hit the 3rd page. Now, users can click the one page link at the top of each article. This will put the entire article on one page. This will benefit users who do not want to click page after page to read one article, and it will be a huge relief to those who may have long loading times due to slow computers or ISP's.

AC's Look - The entire new look Associated Content just has a clean and open feel to it. While I did like the design unveiled in 2008, it started to look cluttered after a while. It was more than a bit busy because information was coming at your from all sides. The front page now showcases only the spotlight articles, highlights and recent news. Categories and popular searches are at the top for a quick find and the top right boasts links to the Associated Content Community and your account information.

How to Navigate Associated Content

The 2009 design is still pretty new and it took me a while to find the pages that I visit most often. Here's a few naviation tips.

Account - To search different parts of our accounts, we had to click through a few options and I was still confused at times. The new design has brought all of your information into one place to make it easy for all CP's to find their information. In the account tab you will be taken straight to your messages and Call For Content.

On the right you will notice links to your CP page and profile. At the top of your account page, you can also view your content, profile page, payment, invite, subscribers, favorite CP's preferences and more. The right side of your account page will also give the usual view of how your doing with your Page View Performance (PVP).

I love the new look of Associated Content and I find that it is much easier to navigate when your looking through your account and when your searching for content to read, view or listen.