You’ve probably noticed that we’ve released a modest update to CAR Online. Yesterday’s release has gone relatively smoothly, but we’re still ironing out a few glitches and bugs. Please bear with us while we do! Here’s our guide to what’s new – and you can tell us your thoughts and log any problems using the comment function below. We’ll read every reply.
To make sure the redesign renders properly on your computer, there are a few simple steps you should follow. PC users should hit Control F5 to make sure the new settings are loaded up; if that fails, try clearing your cookies and reload the page. Apple Mac users should click the Apple command button and R simultaneously, or failing that clear the cache.
You’ll then notice a few subtle changes. This is a modest refresh, but there are a few neat bits of functionality we’ve added, the navigation is improved and there are a few discreet design tweaks across CAR Online. For instance, there’s now a prominent story flicker to scroll through our big stories of the day; Blogs are now surfaced more prominently in the main nav and you can search by author or topic; and the Gallery is now found more easily in the main navigation and we’ll add a Picture Of The Day picked from the CAR archive and users’ submissions.
Our web producer Sarah-Jayne has written a brief guide which follows.
SITE MAIN NAVIGATION
From: Home | News | Secret new cars | Drives | Video | Green cars | Community | CAR magazine | Car data | Shop at car
To: Home | Manufacturers – New | News | Spy shots | Reviews | Blogs – New | Gallery – New | Magazine | Forum | Shop | Cars for sale – New
HOMEPAGE
There are now a few of our latest stories on rotation. Click on the image or text to read an article. If you hover over a particular article the rotation will pause. Our new car manufacturers’ homepages widget, top right, lets you go direct to all our stories on a particular manufacturer and model using this function. Perfect for filtering straight to the brands you love. The Search function has moved to the top of the page, next to your sign in/sign out and inbox links. A full newsfeed/RSS link is located top right next to the main navigation. About us | Contact us | Help – these links have moved to the bottom of the site page. They are highlighted in red.
MANUFACTURERS – NEW
These pages list all the major car manufacturers – letting you drill down to the latest news, reviews, scoops and videos for each brand. Each manufacturer is laid out by model range.
NEWS
We’ve tidied up the secondary vertical navigation, so there are now more prominent links for uploading your own news. Otherwise this section is much as before: the latest stories are at the top of the News landing page and below you can search by category (first official pictures, industry news, competitions, motor shows etc).
SPY SHOTS (PREVIOUSLY CALLED SECRET NEW CARS)
We’ve tidied up the secondary vertical navigation, so there are now more prominent links for uploading your own scoops. Otherwise this section is much as before: the latest stories are at the top of the News landing page and below you can search by category (our spy shots and your spy shots).
REVIEWS (PREVIOUSLY CALLED DRIVES)
As before, you can search by first drive or long-term test. As in every section, the facets on the left-hand navigation let you drill down to the most popular brands, price points, fuel systems, bodystyles or review authors.
BLOGS – NEW
The new Blogs section is now far easier to access and will soon be broken down into the following sub sections, which you will find at the top of the page:
Analysis
Car culture
Memory lane
Motorsport
Stuff we’ve done
Tech
Weird stuff
As usual, you will still be able to use the left-hand column to break down by manufacturer, price, author and bodystyle.
CAR GALLERY – NEW
We’ve surfaced the CAR gallery that used to be hidden away. Now features CAR’s selected Picture Of The Day – this will be chosen by us and taken from the CAR photographic archive and users’ submissions. There’s also easier access from the left-hand column to:
Gallery
Wallpapers
Upload your images
MAGAZINE
This page has already changed format. The current issue will now appear on the main page, in the form of a digital preview. The previous six issues will be displayed in thumbnails underneath the current issue (all link to digital previews)
FORUM (PREVIOUSLY CALLED COMMUNITY)
Apart from slightly different sub-navigations, nothing has changed in the forum.
GBU/CAR DATA
This now lives in CAR Magazine each month and is no longer online.
SHOP
This has been spruced up with some useful tools for saving you money: find a cheaper car insurance quote, save money on tyres, find handy iPhone apps for tracking down the value of your next used car, compare finance deals and check out a car’s history. All in one useful place.
CARS FOR SALE
Browse hundreds of thousands of secondhand cars for sale in the UK in our new used car listings, powered by our sister brand Parkers.