The new look Plusnet is here

[#1]

You've probably noticed by now that we've got a new logo. Not only that, but we've also made a few changes to our website to help you find important stuff more quickly. Hopefully you'll like it. Our old logo had been around for a long time and was starting to look tired. So we've got a new one that looks more modern and is much easier to use in small spaces such as mobile screens and sites such as uSwitch. We've also changed the way you get round the site. There's now a sitemap on each page, so key areas should always just be one click away. The main navigation at the top of the page has also been streamlined to focus on the really key areas. We've given our residential product pages a completely new look. They're less cluttered now and we're using a more consistent style across this area of the site. We've got a plan to use this style across the rest of the website, but it's a bit of a beast so it'll take us a while to update all the pages. We've changed the Community Site too so that it looks a bit more like the main Plusnet site. We're getting a lot of visitors to the site because of our blogs, so it makes sense to use our main company branding. Oh and we've got rid of the upper-case N in Plusnet. It just looks better that way 🙂 Hope you all like the new look. Of course I'm well aware that you can't please everyone though. Feel free to leave comments here or in the forums if you want to chat to us about this. UPDATE: Phil has just posted a 2 minute video about the changes, with a little bit of extra background.

[#2]

I like it. Looks lots cleaner, and I like the linkage between www and community. Good work guys!

[#3]

Loving the new look website although its a shame that the member centre didn't get a much needed facelift too - is that coming soon? Love the flowers and stuff on the main page too and thanks for getting rid of that horrid brown on the community site - that was vile. Well done Plusnet, you've done well 🐵

[#4]

It was a bit of a massive job to do the member centre at that same time. However, we are working on it, with a redesign of the applications in there too.

[#5]

Love the new site, but I have an odd question. I'm launching a uk usability site in the next couple of months and I'd really like to use your redesign as a case study, is it still possible to view the old site to be able to take some screen shots? FYI I'm not inferring at all that the old site was inherently unusable, I'd like to discuss how your new design incorporates usability concepts that have developed since the original site was launched. Thanks

[#6]

It certainly looks cleaner and easier on the eye, the 'pictograms' header and footer remind me of that TV ad for a certain 'cleaner' diesel engine

[#7]

yuk! whatever happened to the "smarter way to broadband" - that's one of the main reasons I joined! the new logo looks very pharmaceutical. oh well, you definitely can't please everyone.

[#8]

New website look? Excellent - but still there is no way to in touch with anyone without waiting and waiting and paying thru the nose to get problems sorted out. The whole set up is really poor and I am looking forward to changing to another server as soon as my contract is up. I will not pay to end it sooner, enough is enough.

[#9]

And I will be very surprised if the human who does check it, knows how to answer a phone, or puts this onto the website - because its adverse and doesn't go with company policy - no doubt.

[#10]

The new logo reminds of a hospital or first aid sign that you see on kids toys.

[#11]

Hi Paul, Would you mind dropping me an email to let me know what difficulties you're experiencing? Looking at your account, you don't appear to have been in touch since June. Send me an email to jbailey@plus.net and I'll be more than happy to look into any difficulties you're having.

[#12]

Hey there, You say the N in PlusNet has gone - but all the page titles have PlusNet as the title.

[#13]

What a load of crap, Looks like a kids toy not a comercial enterprise. The site colours make it look more like a dating site. As usual too much emphasis in the prety pics, and not enough on content and the technical we want. One of the worst sites I have seen in a long time, and definatly not an improvement in any way.

[#14]

Liam Changing from PlusNet to Plusnet is going to be a slow job as there are many files that reference it... bear with us as we said in the original post. Colin

[#15]

Hi Drew, Try this http://www.archive.org/web/web.php

[#16]

Is it just me - or has the font size been decreased? It isn't quite as readable as before.

[#17]

I like the look of it so far and look forward to the full roll-out in due course.

[#18]

@ David Cload > too much emphasis in the prety pics, and not enough on content and the technical Really? what content is it that you think we're missing? We're always pleased to take a look at any suggestions if you think we're missing anything or that we need to improve in certain areas (and I say that knowing full well that we are in a constant review cycle).

[#19]

Is it just me, or does the new logo look halfway between a cross and an oddly deformed feminine hygiene product? Either way, it looks silly. The new layout is generally easier on the eyes. The "Community" idea is naff. I'm not interested in joining a community, I just want internet that works. I liked the big N. The lettering on the logo looks ok with all small letters. "Plusnet" with only capital P is the worst.

[#20]

...and an easy link to the main portal at last.

[#21]

Hi there, only been with you a couple of months, found your old site a real bore, in fact I got fed up when logging on seeing the same old thing, but your new site is a breath of fresh air, easy to navigate, logo is simple and modern. Good luck for the future, and to the backroom boys WELL DONE.

[#22]

OK thats weird, the website has changed back to the old one?

[#23]

@ LiamM - that's related to a problem we've just experienced in the internal network. I believe it was only intermittent and should now be fully resolved. New rollout gremlins.

[#24]

Looks good, but one small glitch for me is that the main page no longer "fits to screen". We don't all have massive big new screens, and the Webmail link is now offscreen until I move it over. Any chance of a "fit to screen"?

[#25]

Hey Tigger: What sized monitor and what screen resolution are you running in?

[#26]

Anything under 1024,768 will give the above effect. I regularly run my browser windows at less than full screen as it makes it easier to multitask. That said it's not a big problem for me to resize the window to suit a site, I've come to the conclusion fixed width is here* to stay whether it's good design or not. :( * That's the generic "here" as in "around". Not plusnet/PlusNet/Plusnet specifically. For the first 3 months, £18.99 a month thereafter.

[#27]

me to think the plus logo is to much of a hospital type. but then alot of new customers come to PlusNet because they likes of tiscali have injuryed there broadband so come to Plusnet to get fixed up. but still think the smarter way to broadband logo was better. what stands out better in this message the caped N or plain plusnet. Anyway keep my broadband running smooth as allways and i dont care if u change the companys coulours to the pinkest pink u can find hehe

[#28]

The new site skin is fine! We'll all get used to it i'm sure (for those unhappy with it). And as always it's what's under the skin that counts ;) And thanks for keeping your word Mr Armstrong! I and a few others were moaning on one of your blogs about the 1GB Option 1 allowance - you said you were listening and to watch this space... I happily note you've come good with an extra 1GB allowance. So thank you for that. It's restored my faith in Plusnet (and kept me a customer...).

[#29]

@Daz Thanks for that. Glad you're happy with the new look and the usage increase. We've got lots more things on the way including improved 'My Account' section, simpler Help Assistant and totally revamped business site.

[#30]

I like it !

[#31]

I like the new look site - clean, clear and easy to read. I'm also very pleased to see the BBYW1 basic allowance increased from 1GB to 2GB. Thank you Plusnet!

[#32]

Oh well the boys (and girls) have been busy haven't you? No wonder I haven't heard from many of you in a while - you been feeling the force of a cracking whip! I love the new design and feel to the new aspects of the site guys, it really is the much needed push to a fresher feel. It not only updates the site, but the company as a whole. I disagree with the comments that mention that there isn't enough technical content - there's probably more here than every other UK ISP grouped together (go try and ask AOL staff the tech spec of a router they supply on the spot, they'll cry and explode - not here). Well done webdev, you've pleased a very picky man. Now get back onto the CS:S servers so I can whoop you like the good ol' days (especially you Kelly!)

[#33]

I am logged in!!!!

[#34]

I really like, nice design, colour and layout. The only thing I didn't like is the search bit at the of every page, I didn't even realise it was a search bar or anything at first. Looks a bit pointless! Other than that love it!

[#35]

i like the new site its better for me to read and being a little dyslic the colours r fine 4 me si gd job plus net

[#36]

Too pink. Might have to change provider to avoid the pinkiness. The service is great - I just can't stand the new look. What was wrong with a more neutral colour scheme, or maybe a blue sort of look as voted for by the User Group?

[#37]

I think its awful! The PN home page looks as though it is the Red Cross' children's website. Did you pinch the picture from CBBC? As for all that pink. Ugh..

[#38]

Colours ugh, rest not to bad, but pleased with the increased allowance.

[#39]

fantastic design guys!

[#40]

I think its fantastic and much more appealing to the eye. Thanks for the incresed allowance can't believe an ISP gives something for nothing! Well done!! you provide an excellent service. I've only been a customer for a few months and I'm well impressed! The broadband is great so is customer service. I can't see what everyone is moaning about, look at the bigger picture there aren't many companies providing what plusnet does for such a fantastic price!!!!

[#41]

Well, I read recently that logos do not cut much ice these days. They were a pre-web phenomena... This one makes me think of a carton of soluble 1 gram vitamin C tablets, raspberry flavour. As for the whole pinky page for pinky people, you should give us all a 'pinky handbag for life' for coming here! I like pages that are fluid and where the text column width varies as you resize the browser window but I would say the settings are not right yet. You have left too much grey margin all around the core page information. I also tried altering the font size in the browser view menu. You have disabled that in your CSS or whatever. For a person with sight problems that is not friendly. It may be, just about, against the law these days. Regards, Dr. Peirson Software Design and Quality Assurance (retired - for the present)

[#42]

Thought I'd stumbled onto the Cbeebies site by mistake! Love the pink though - just need a picture of James old trainers to properly colour co-ordinate!

[#43]

Nice slick design , a major improvement on the last site. Well done guys! The logo will grow on people and will work well with an array of media promotions i imagine. Plenty to work with.

[#44]

Unfortunately I now cannot log into either of my accounts!

[#45]

I also tried altering the font size in the browser view menu. You have disabled that in your CSS or whatever.

Works for me using Firefox and Ctrl+Scroll wheel. I can also "zoom" from the View menu, though increasing just the text-size seems to be no longer an option.

[#46]

The image you are using on this article (new Plusnet logo) - for me - runs over the HR (horizontal rule) into the heading of the next article. I am running IE6 but it shouldnt do that!

[#47]

We like the new layout. Thanks for the extra 1GB. How about a one click key to go to "View My Usage". Having to go through the present route to find this is a bit long winded and not very clear as to where you start from any way.

[#48]

On text size increase / decrease - I use Firefox and the key combination of (CTRL) with (+) - this increases text size only. I'll prod one of the webdev guys to provide an authoritative answer on this subject, and why it's different for different browsers

[#49]

We are looking into the text size issue now. We know it does exist, and we are not going to leave it, if it is causing problems. The main issue comes from the fact that, while nowadays browsers can zoom the entire page, in the old, dark days of Internet Explorer 6 (and below) text could have been resized only by defining text size in special units called em's or points. These units are platform and font dependant, therefore building complicated, pixel-perfect layouts was problematic. Now we can mix pixels with points and em's to achieve smooth zooming with functions built into modern browsers (IE7, Firefox, Opera) - but this is obviously causing interference with old software packages such as Internet Explorer 6. That problem is purely related to the browser's malfunctioning rendering engine - unfortunately, these things were not as nicely standarized years ago as they are now and different renderers were handling the HTML code very differently. However, we will do our best to solve the problem and to deliver pleasing experience for all our website users. For the moment, we recommend using zooming function (Ctrl+/- in Firefox and IE7) to achieve the best results, if text size change is required. Personally we are finding Firefox 3 (available for free from http://www.getfirefox.com) to be the fastest and most secure browser available on the market today.

[#50]

I thought your web site was hacked! I can't believe you actually designed this rubbish. It looks like it's all aimed at babies with the kindergarten style pictures. What's worse is the candy pink "barbie-doll" colour scheme. I can't bear to actually look at the content.

[#51]

Not too sure about the pinky purple colour but layout is better. Where did you find that colour? In some Goths make up bag? I suppose it'll grow on me.