Last month marked five years since Rugbydump was first launched. It wasn't so much of a launch back then, it was more of a tinkering. Today however sees the relaunch of the site on our new platform, which will make a significant improvement to your daily RD experience.
The past few months have seen a frantic race for us to get ready before the RWC kicks off, which as you know is only in a few days time. It looks like we've made it though, and we're pleased to say that there will be marked improvement on the site in all the aspects that were holding us back before.
But the it looks the same, you say? Yes, that was the intention for the first phase of redevelopment. We don't want any shocks to the system so for now we've kept things simple, but there are a few new features which you'll no doubt enjoy fiddling with over the next few days.
Random Videos
We've got more control over the random video strip up top now, meaning they will change more often, and on page refresh will switch up a bit.
Registered accounts
You can now register to be an official member of RD. Registering is free of course, and it's painless. It provides you with all sorts of benefits, which brings us to commenting.
Comments
We have an all new commenting system, which will provide you with a better platform for healthy debate, sharing your views, and letting us know what you think of the posted articles and videos. You're encouraged to Register an account for commenting. If not, you'll need to verify each comment via email.
We've also imported every one of the 80 000 plus comments from before, and may be able to link them to your new usernames at some stage in the future.
Odds insde Posts
With the ever expanding betting options available in rugby, and the increasing amount of bets being placed, another addition to the re-launch is more of an aim than a feature. To make things even easier for our visitors and hopefully more profitable, where possible we will bring you the best betting odds (taken from one of the third party betting sites sites) available on any match report, in as much detail as possible.
Although this will have to be completed manually and subsequently there may be a few occasions where the opportunity is missed – our main goal is to make Rugbydump not only a great read for our visitors but also a valuable source of information.
Favourite Posts
Underneath each post you'll see a little Add to Favourites button (only when logged in). Hit that, and it'll show on your profile page for easy access whenever you want to rewatch, or show your mates.
Profile Page
As part of your account, you get a profile page where you can add a pic/avatar, and a bit of info about you. It's also where you'll see your favourites, and a list of all your recent comments, in case you want to follow up on a previous discussion you were having perhaps.
Categories/Archives
We now have a far better system when it comes to archived posts. It's not 100% complete yet, but we will get most posts categorised which will mean you can easily access them on the sidebar. You'll notice Big Hits & Dirty Play there now for example, where it shows the latest 10, and then 'View Archive' will show the rest. These are still being updated so please bear with us as there are over 2000 posts to go through.
Pagination
Pagination is the way that you can now scroll to the bottom of the home page and hit 'next' or page 2, and browse the site like that. It's going to mean a huge improvement in your site experience, so you can now catch up on the most recent action, easily, browsing all the way back to 2006 if you so please.
There are a few other new features which you'll notice along the way, but those are the main elements, along with the fact that we're now one hundred percent on the .com domain, making things a lot simpler.
Over the next few days we'll be putting out fires and ironing out creases, so if you spot any errors or bugs, please do get in touch via the contact page in the menu up top. Most importantly, bear with us as we get things perfect just before the Rugby World Cup kick off.
We also have a new App for iPhone, iPad, and Android which you can get now, but we'll have more info and a proper launch soon. It's the start of big things, and we'll continue to add slight improvements here and there on site and app over the next few months. For now, Register your account and have a look around.
Below is a quick promo video to set the mood. Enjoy, and thanks for the support over the years.