Hoopsfix: The Re-launch!

So I’m sure you will have noticed the site has undergone a tiny little makeover…gone is the generic newspaper look, and in comes the custom-built Hoopsfix layout!

I am extremely excited about the new look Hoopsfix.com, which is not only hugely improved from an aesthetic standpoint but also a usability standpoint-making it easier for you to find, read, and share content.

Apart from the look and feel of it, there are also some additional features;

National Player Rankings

How many coaches, let alone players and fans can name the top players at each age group in the UK? Very few. It is for this reason, we have released the first ever National Rankings for British basketball players, for 1987 born through to 1995 born players. It will always be controversial, but I hope not only will it help with exposure and recruitment for players but also provide a measuring stick for players to aspire to.

Blogs

The new blogs section will provide you with regular updates and opinions on a wide variety of different subjects, ranging from “The State of the Game” where we’ll have guest posters discussing their thoughts on the state of the game in the UK, to player diaries from some of the best basketball talent this country has produced such as Devon Van Oostrum and Ryan Richards.

Social Media Integration

In an effort to help you help share Hoopsfix content with your friends, at the top and bottom of every post are “Tweet” and the “Like” buttons for use with Twitter and Facebook. For those who use other sharing sites such as Digg and StumbleUpon there is also an alternative share button on the bottom of each post with a whole host of social media sites. Please use these buttons where possible to help grow the site-hit ‘like’ on this post!

International Basketball

Yes, Hoopsfix is focused on British basketball and that will always remain it’s focus. But every now and again, something will happen in the NBA or the international basketball arena that needs a mention-let’s call it too good to miss! To deal with this, a new sub category has been created under the “Other Ball” section which will cover international basketball news where necessary. It’s not going to take over the site, there won’t be more than weekly updates in there, but I think it will provide a new angle to Hoopsfix that people will enjoy.

Culture

Also new, is the “Culture” section. Basketball is more than just what happens on the court, it is a lifestyle and the culture section tries to capture this. Over the coming weeks you’ll see the latest gear (clothing/products), kicks (for all your sneakerheads), music and baller’s tattoos (only the finest artwork) all now being featured on Hoopsfix.

A Big Thankyou

A couple of people I need to shout out; Oliver Williams, who did all the design work-a basketball player himself he ‘gets it’ and put together something that I think is frickin’ awesome. Hit him up on his LinkedIn profile if you need any work done on your site, not only does he produce work of this quality but is also extremely competitively priced.

And secondly, Dave Wilkinson, who took Ole’s designs and brought them to life, doing all the coding and work on the back-end, giving me a massive amount of control and functionality behind the scenes! If you’re running a site on WordPress, and specifically the Thesis theme-Dave is your man!

Finally, massive thanks to each and everyone one of you who has followed and supported the website over the past year or so. I hope you all like the new look as much as I do and will continue visiting, commenting on, sharing and supporting Hoopsfix long into the future!

There is still some minor tweaks to be done, so expect a few more changes over the coming days.

Sam
Hoopsfix.com

What do you think?

I would love to hear your thoughts on the new look and content and I’m always open to feedback-what do you think of it all? Drop a comment below and let me know!