I’ve been blogging about deals since 2004, though when I started it was at the ever-so-catchy ctownbochur.blogspot.com, later ctownbochur.com, and then ctowndeals.com.
I had always wanted DansDeals.com, but the owner of that domain never responded to my inquiries about its availability.
So I waited until the domain expired and registered the domain name in April of 2007 for all of $10.
In June 2007 I ran a contest for a new logo to be featured on the soon to be launched DansDeals.com domain. You can scroll down this page to view some of those entries. A few of the best logos from that contest rotate as the DansDeals banner today.
In 2007 a big traffic day meant several hundred visitors. Today, tens of thousands of people visit every day. There are over 100,000 social media followers on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook Page, and the Facebook Group. I’m most proud that it was all done via word of mouth.
The question that I’m always asked is why the design of this site is so primitive. I tweaked a blog template back then myself to make it work, but I have no design background. And I wasn’t about to invest in professional design for what was still a hobby back then.
On the one hand I’m proud that the quality of the content has attracted as large of a crowd as it did despite the layout. Then again, perhaps some of its success could be due to the very scrappyness of the site and the treasure hunt to find useful posts in the archives? Will a polished looking website be helpful or harmful?
At any rate, after a decade of the current site, I’m finally having a professional redesign of the site. The mobile era alone demands something more compatible with the times. We’ll start with a beta site and I look forward to hearing your responses.
But I do love to get DansDeals users involved, so I figured, why not try for another logo contest?
If your logo is chosen you’ll have bragging rights of course. But I’ll also give you your choice of:
-A 40 year old bottle of Glenlivet single malt scotch
or
-My help planning your perfect vacation, including help finding the best airfare, hotels, car rentals, activities, etc, while maximizing the use of your points and miles.
These are the requested instructions from our website developer:
Professional: This logo will be featured on the DansDeals website, social media platforms, and other mediums (emails, feeds, etc). As a result, while we want the logo to be eye-catching, memorable, and easily recognizable, it must still be legible.
Theme: Think: Modern, Community, Air/Credit Cards/Coupons/Deals, Dan, Travel, Social Network, Industry News, Credible Source, User Friendly, etc.
Color: We are thinking somewhere in the blue range, but feel free to blow us away with other color options. We prefer using a single primary color (at least for the icon) without gradients, glows, shadows or other effects.
Font: We prefer a sans serif font. The website will most likely be using “Roboto”. Try to avoid using pictographs and icons (like airplanes or cards etc..)
Integrity: Logos cannot contain copyrighted material. Logos must have been created and edited by the contestant(s). Logos may not include images or licensed images that have been previously published.
File type: For the contest you should submit a mockup and include color version, knockout version, and icons separately. Must be easily reproducible and scalable for large and small formatting (if your design wins, you will need to provide vector & source files)
Dimensions: The final logo will probably display on the website as 272 x 90px – try to stick to that size as the base. The icon should be recognizable at 16x16px (look at your browser tabs for reference)
Slogan (Optional): Feel free to create a slogan to be used in the logo.You can take inspiration from any slogans in this DDF Wiki. You can also choose not to include a slogan.
Email your entries to Logo@DansDeals.com
By sending in your submission you agree to transfer full legal rights and ownership of the logo to DansDeals.
All submissions must be submitted by 1/27.
Have fun, send in your best ideas, and thanks!
How about a mobile app
@Joel:
The new website will be responsive and mobile friendly.
Can I submit more than one entry?
Is it a 40 year old bottle of 12-year old scotch, or a 1 year old bottle of 40 year old scotch? 🙂
@Boruch:
Sure!
@Matt B:
LOL
It’s a 5 year old bottle of 40 year old scotch.
that’s a nice idea, but please don’t make it a pain to read articles, with ads flashing out from all directions like yeshivaworld.
@Joel: This isn’t 2015. When was the last time you downloaded a website’s app?
@dan
Such a pity i know nothing about graphics i would love to help you. Just for the fact that fact to help you. Let alone that in return youll help me plan a vacation i would love that you help me with that wanna do thiland and maldives maybe we get spg to auction off such an opportunity
Why change?? Keep with the old. Simple.
@mike:
I hate change as well, but traffic continues to move to mobile devices and this site was designed before a single iPhone or Android phone came out.
@Dan: gotchya! Love yer content & deals. Thanks bud!! GS
Another point dan
That you make sure to remove the AA plane out the way as their the worst on the market
No way you would want to promote them…
I have a great idea/design that I would love to make but I have no idea how… Is there a way I would be able to describe it to you?
@ericmedschoolgnd:
Feel free to email it 🙂
The site’s scrappyness is a big part of the appeal. Keep it modest, simple…..don’t go the route of the other big points blogs….they flash ‘sellout’.
So excited to see ur new look! But please don’t have adds block the whole page every time you come and you need to ex out of them before accessing the content! SO ANNOYING!!
Odds are you already know this, but I personally hate the way many websites and magazines have become more “modern and updated,” but actually have become LESS user-friendly.
When is the DansDeals mobile app finally coming??
You know, the one with push notifications and settings to allow for turn them off at certain hours or selective deals (like only air or miles, or just Amazon deals, etc) so we won’t have to have txt messages via Twitter?
(And a $.99 charge to remove ads… You know, why not make a bit on the side for yourself Dan? You’ve been getting us deals for so long.
I can get you a few university students to design you one as their senior project!
can I submit anonymously?
Is there going to be a mobile friendly version for the forums? Its so difficult to navigate it currently
Ill join some of the other commenters who say the sites simplicity is very appealing. Think drudge.
@zagguru: Have you tried the Tapatalk app?
@Dan: m.dansdeals.com works nicely on my mobile devices.
I’m going to join all the rest who say that the sites style is very much part of its appeal.
I think the reason for this is because the site as it stands highliges the textual content. Not sure if I’m making myself clear, but the way it stands right now, when you visit dansdeals, you see dansdeals. On other sites, you end up almost having to navigate so as to see the content that you visited for.
For everyone’s sake (including IMO Dan) pls make sure that the new site continues to hilite the textual content. Keep the adds on the side and don’t get too involved in the graphics.
How about when I need help booking a vacation and you help me I’ll buy you a Glenn bottle? Lol
Dan, your sites designs has always reminded me of drudgereport.com, the oldies love it, the newbies can’t stand it. But its the content that drives the traffic, not the designs. You’ll definitely have upset visitors once you update (like my wife), but I’ll love it! Whatever you do, keep the content on the left and follow the F pattern (https://www.nngroup.com/articles/f-shaped-pattern-reading-web-content/)
More than the site, update the forum.
Make sure to use black as font color with a heavy enough weight. How many “cool” websites can’t be read because they put grey on a white background?
Two general suggestions:
– kudos for focusing on responsive design, but please keep the site *fast* and lightweight
– migrating to SSL only would improve security and help reduce the ability of people like my employer to learn every last detail about what i’m shopping for, which is really creepy
Maybe make a redesign only for mobile and keep the same for desktop.
i’ll miss the old design
AGREE, agree, agree with above commenters!! Dan, your no-frills appearance only highlights the blog’s superior quality! Those with less to offer need to hide behind in-your-face graphic design…. if you must change my advice to you is to keep it minimalistic- sharp but still simple. Best of continued luck Dan, thank you from all of us fans!!!
The 40 year old bottle is tempting , but I’d rather have 4 bottles of the 12 year old
I don’t know Dan, Google never updated thier look and it works for them…
How will the logos be chosen? By Voting? Or just you?
@anti-change Back end Vs. front end.
definitely time for something much more professional !
looking forward !
We are submitting a new font for the website or a logo for Dans Deals?
Dan, this is the best designer, this side of the Atlantic:
tikikeller.com
She has reasonable prices and is great to work with.
@Anonymous: Why SSL only, which would slow down visitors who don’t need it? Why not both? Normal visitors access http://www.dansdeals.com and those who need security put https:// in their address bar. That would not keep your connection encrypted when you click a link on the site to get to another site to complete you purchase.
@David R This a common misconception and used to be true in the past, but SSL is not observably or noticeably slower when properly configured, and free and easy (letsencrypt.org) to set up. All users need & deserve security, particularly when it doesn’t compromise speed. Any teenager can trivially attack your computer in an airport lounge, coffee shop, on in-flight wi-fi, etc. when people try to access insecure websites.
@Dan why don’t you also offer something for the top 10 runner-ups, besides for the winner.
I love the idea of Dan getting the logo for free, I think that it would be a total hypocrisy if you pay full price for the dansdeals logo 🙂
Two ideas from someone who was with you in the CTBochur days:
1 – Have a sections for DansSteals – great deals that just can’t be matched.
2 – have some instructional videos made by you for some of the elementary stuff especially. not all us can read and follow all the steps so easily, but if you made a short 3-4 minutes instructional video, it would extremely helpful.
good luck on all. we appreciate all you do.
Hey dan love your website! Please leave it easy to post comments, it gets others and myself to feel like family posting what we feel and even have the CEO HIMSELF reply to a comment! thanks hatzacha!
hi- just got sent a post about this logo contest but i see the deadline is only 2 days away. As a director of http://www.DesignAlive.com, thhe online designn school, id love to offer this opportunity for my graphic design students to have a go at this but we will need a bit of a longer deadline? Can it be extended? We actually offer FREE live jobs for our graduates to design as part of our course withh free posting on our website.
@zippy: I think it would be a bit unfair to those of those who have been working with this hard-deadline.
just my 2 cents
Ditto again to the keep it simple design. Whenever (doesn’t happen too often)I have to wander out to some of the other travel/CC blogs, I usually end up leaving in disgust as the excessive adds & graphics make it a pain on my eyes & brain. Please keep it neat & simple, easy to navigate & find what I need. thank you for everything you have done for me!
When will the winner be announced?
And will the runner ups get something?
I sent in some ideas.
When will the winner be announced?
Did you choose a winner already
Any updates on the winners?
@Moshe’le: No one knows……
@Yep yep google: SOOOO?????? What’s going on? I still see your old logo ‘roung!!! 🤔🤔🤔
can we at least get an update? thanks
It’s been a few months… when can we expect to get an update?
Thank you
That’s not nice, i submitted a logo threee months ago, i think i deserve to know WHATS GOING ON?
None of the submitted logos made the cut so we wound up hiring a designer to create one.
But thanks for trying 🙂
That’s very disappointing. You ran a contest. At least pick a winner…
@Aaron:
The winner was for the logo being chosen for the new site.
Unfortunately none were chosen.