TechTools Remodel Finished…

Remodeling

It’s hard to believe that it’s been nearly 2 years over 2 years this month since DJ TechTools was originally created. We made a few minor changes over that time, but the design has basically remained the same, as DJ TechTools grew from 10 visitors a month to 200k.  Well, the hour has finally come to make a few changes to our favorite DJ space. With the help of an amazing designer/coder, Tommy the wiz kid, we have started updating the site and improving the way it works. The webstore got a complete makeover, and our blog is now wider, cleaner and hopefully easier to navigate. This is not the end of the changes; we plan on fine-tuning the site  into a well-oiled machine of digital DJ brilliance. YOUR HELP IS NEEDED! Please provide feedback in the comments on things you like/don’t like or suggestions on how we can make the design better. It’s your site too, so let’s all pitch in to make it as good as possible.

BEFORE AND AFTER

In case anyone gets a case of nostalgia: Here are some shots to remind you of how much we really did need a face lift.

DjtechToolsweb

store-web


  • asiago/Brissbrass

    liking it allot so far..

  • jeff

    i like alot better than befor :)

  • TEKT

    what’s the difference again?

  • Tom

    I like it!!!

  • Anders

    Great updates.. I miss a feature where i fast can browse for old blog posts.. Like the “blog archive” feature on this blog : http://iphonejtag.blogspot.com/

    Also remember to keep the site fast (not use too much flash) since it will make it a bad experience viewing on netbooks or iphone.

  • Xeroxhands

    Really happy to see this done. Nice work everyone ;)

  • jainsy

    Props, it’s looking great!
    Looks like your using wordpress could I recommend using the wordpress connector plugin for cross-functionality?

  • http://www.trigitaliz.com Otto T

    Luvley ean keep it up

  • http://www.holotropik.com holotropik

    Fantastic work :)

  • Anonymous

    I wasn’t around before but I love the simplicity of the site and theres just a few things I would like to see added.

    • Section dedicated to Traktor Pro tutorials, tricks, and tips. At the moment its a mission to find any of this.

    •Area dedicated to the hardware you offer such as the vci-100SE detailing features and updates to Midi Maps. I still feel as though there many features I have missed with this.

  • http://www.rassta.dk KJærbo

    Looking good TT-crew – but I do find the search function in the forum a bit of a mystery, sometimes it returns the posts / threads your searching for but most of the time it returns nothing? (even with correct search terms)

  • ovv

    Aesthetically speaking, the new layout is.. too cramped. I loved the amount of white space in the old design. The newer one is otherwise fine, just missing some air to breathe.

  • TJ

    ya a quick browse feature for old articles would be great. eg go to page 37 of 37 etc. liking the new layout!

  • adie

    Other controllers featured under the “Mappings” tab would definately be welcome. I know they’re featured on the site elsewhere; but would be nice to see them as predominently obvious as the VCI-100′s. Cheers :)

  • Drix

    Agree with Anonymous up here, that sections with different material would be great. Praktor Pro in one, VCI-100SE in one, and so on.. would make for great usability, and it might push you into filling the gaps when you se parts of the program or controllers that aren’t properly explained or covered.

    Lovin the 4 new boxes though. Popular, News, Tips and Reviews.

    Also, a little more white space would be great to be easier on the eyes. I don’t mind scrolling.

    A few glitches in some browsers as well. The search button is a bit too small, so you can’t see the whole word, halc of the H is missing (in Chrome).

    Anyway, great work! Love the site. :D

  • http://www.myspace.com/tooltablist Mudo

    For me the actual style is clean and elegant.

    Keep it simple and that’s it.

    ;)

  • Kupujte_Pytle

    streamlined and fine. gj

  • http://www.myspace.com/eintech AndresM

    I love the layout of the page, is simple, light and effective.

    Keep up the good work guys!

  • http://tos.network.in.rs ToS

    Top m3nu would benefit
    :onrollover { border: 2px solid white; -moz-border-radius: 15px 0 15px 0; }, instead of gray background.

  • http://myspace.com/anhleminh anh

    good job

    i would like to buy the overlays and the firmware for the vci but its out of stock.
    i hope you will gett the new delivery soon!

  • http://www.nickyh.co.uk/ Nicky H

    Yep the top menu is broke on my browser…

    We don’t all use mac’s you know :)

  • Priscilla

    I like it but the right column seems a bit cluttered and forced. And there are some type inconsistencies on the menu bar. Some titles are all caps and some are title case.

  • http://www.eangolden.com Ean Golden

    [quote comment="23005"]Great updates.. I miss a feature where i fast can browse for old blog posts.. Like the “blog archive” feature on this blog : http://iphonejtag.blogspot.com/
    .[/quote]

    Added an archive- we will be creating something a little better next week.

    [quote comment="23033"] some type inconsistencies on the menu bar. Some titles are all caps and some are title case.[/quote]
    thanks for pointing that out! obvious but we somehow missed it.

    [quote comment="23020"]Other controllers featured under the “Mappings” tab would definately be welcome. I know they’re featured on the site elsewhere; but would be nice to see them as predominently obvious as the VCI-100′s. Cheers :)[/quote]

    yeah- I am adding our other mappings next week :)

    [quote comment="23016"]Aesthetically speaking, the new layout is.. too cramped. I loved the amount of white space in the old design. The newer one is otherwise fine, just missing some air to breathe.[/quote]

    Agreed- we will add some more space between the elements to let it breathe more.

  • Priscilla

    oh and the article copy runs a bit close to that right column. it just makes it a little unpleasant on the eyes. Overall it’s great, just needs a little more white space to breathe and make it easier on the eyes.

  • http://www.dougegen.de/ ichselbst

    Good work…

  • Vinicius Hoffmann [Brazil]

    Ean,
    Maybe you could put a interactive current month Callendar with popup picture views of the news in that day. Can you create that?
    As a historical view, you could create a link called Archive with all month callendars of the year :D

  • http://Treo730.com Treo730

    A share button on the post would be nice, sometimes I would like to forward an article I’ve read.

  • Julian

    On another forum i have used there is a instant chat box, there is a runing dialouge of chat. However somtimes this evokes petty arguments as people can somtimes tend to blurt what they are feeling without processing first. However, I cannot think of a post i have read on DJTT that demonstrates the same childish like behavours that afflict other Forums. Its a really pleasent and educational forum….. Even the most common argument “Digital vs Traditonal” or “syncing vs Beatmatching” is argued without agression and insult.

  • http://www.jonjolly.com Jon Jolly

    It’s definitely an improvement!

    While I like the big square links in the sidebar, it’s still hard to find what you’re looking for! I’d love to be able to browse certain sections of the site (like advanced DJ tips) a lot easier. At the moment it’s a small text link near the top of the sidebar, or the dropdown categories box beneath the boxes.

    Maybe you could add some of the most popular categories to the navigation menu at the top. People will find it a lot easier then. I imagine ‘Traktor Tips’ should be a popular one.

  • JD

    very clean! i like the “dig through the crates”

  • Fatlimey

    Has nobody noticed the new banner?

  • imix

    better,cheer!!

  • Anonymous

    when you go to the webstore, there is no link to get back to the main page. top image of the djtechtools name links back to the store’s main page, not the main page. thought it’d be nice to fix that

  • Segfault

    I like it. The new design is sleeker, but similar enough to not be daunting or unfamiliar.

  • Daniel

    yeah…
    nice job !

  • http://www.mediumheavy.com kelsey7k

    i’m liking the layout. the store changes are definitely an improvement, with only one thing missing…a MidiFighter buy button :D

  • weasel

    i think i liked the old one better.
    mostly due to the missing white space, as someone else mentioned.
    the old top navigation looked much slicker to me, the buttons/items are so small and again narrowed now.

    also, the search button is super ugly, and i dont like the 4 popular/review etc pics below. “DJ Tips” needs to have a capital J :)
    i think that it’s especially the font size/wheight that throws me off. make it lighter please.

    but yeah, don’t wanna sound too negative, so keep on!

  • http://www.eangolden.com Ean Golden

    [quote comment="23055"]Has nobody noticed the new banner?[/quote]

    its subtle but the implications are massive- our first full sized PCB! ;)
    notice the arcade buttton in the background too- could it be a midi-fighter board?

  • Vinicius Hoffmann [Brazil]

    Ean answer the oxygen 8 mapping thread at the forums please!

    many thanks! ;)

  • Johnny Vulcan

    I’m not sure if it’s intentional, but the 4 picture boxes on the right have like 50% transparency headlines laying right underneath the main headlines, that make it a bit difficult to read. This particular computer is running Firefox 2.0.0.7 on OSX 10.3.9. Overall I dig it though!

  • http://www.myspace.com/belchofficial Belchman

    I love the new look! and the PCB is very cool…

    Done well DJTT :)

  • http://www.myspace.com/djczo Caesar Arturo

    I loooooooooove this website. It’s the reason I still DJ.

  • dean

    Looks nice, just need adjust the aspect ratio of the dice from the feeling lucky section… they are a little stretched and the search button text needs centering & perhaps bold.
    part from that looks wicked!

  • The House

    Hey Ean,
    A section with all your videos would be nice, instead of having to go to YouTube and search for related videos. And like previously posted, this could also include sub-sections for all reviews, all tutorials, all interviews, etc. The less clicks users have to make the better. Overall though love the info you post. All very helpful, especially for a budding digital dj like myself.

  • Vinicius Hoffmann [Brazil]

    Ean! the forum banner/layout still is the older one, are you going to change it?

  • Manalog

    Bonerrific!

First Time?

This site is dedicated to digital djs. We develop performance tools and teach cutting edge techniques that enable creative expression. Visit tutorial videos on youtube, equipment reviews in the blog and a very helpful community in the forum. New articles every Mon, Wed, Fri.
Subscribe with one million others

Featured Article

DJ TechTools Traktor Kontrol S4 Mapping

The long awaited Traktor S4 Mapping is here and totally FREE. Continue reading for a full video and the download link.

Categories:

RSS DJ TechTools Forums

  • Vestax Typhoon beginner DJ
    DJ's out there that who's already used this kind of midi controller, I actually bought this last week, i was likely used it as for recording of my... […]
  • Logic alone?
    hey guys, I'm an electro producer and was just wondering.. will midi fighter run alone without excess software or hardware? i run logic in massive... […]
  • CrossFader Problem
    Im using Traktor Pro 2 with the VMS4.1. I downloaded a mapping and all the controls seem to work fine with the expection of my crossfader. No matter... […]
  • ID these effects/transitions?
    Nicky Romero @ Glow Washington 12.30.11 (PART 1) http://soundcloud.com/nickyromero/nicky-romero-glow-washington Check out Nicky romero's latest... […]
  • How to Fix Jog Wheels
    In regarding the article from djtechtools.com "How to Fix Glitchy Faders and Jog Wheels" ... […]