Official Launch for the New BLB: NEXT MONTH!

We are pleased to announce that our new and improved Blue Letter Bible website will be launching live this September. Enjoy your favorite Bible resources, and take advantage of the great new features before we go live! Below are answers to some of your most common questions regarding this change.

Q: WHAT IS BLB V3?

A: The Blue Letter Bible has existed across several versions since its launch in 1996. v3 stands for Version 3 and represents the third major revision to the site.

Most of our users won’t remember the initial version of the site, which we refer to as v1 (meaning version 1). v1 was an all-grey site with thick cell-padding on its tables and only two buttons attached to each verse, a pink and a yellow scroll, allowing users to access lexicon information and a small selection of commentaries. The only Bible translation available was the KJV.

v2 was launched in 1999 and was pretty similar to what you’d find on the BLB site today. We implemented the left-side menu for navigation and introduced the lettered buttons next to each verse (this started as five buttons but grew to the current six). About nine years later, we rolled out a significant back end change, shifting the entire programming langauage of the site. At the same time, we added the right-side menu and tools like the lexiconc. While significant, these changes didn’t substantially alter the way the site worked, so we began calling this era v2.5. There have been minor cosmetic changes over the past decade, but nothing to merit a whole new version name. Until now.

Blue Letter Bible version 3 represents an almost-from-the-ground-up redesign of the major ideas that we think make the BLB a valuable tool. A lot of thought went into making it as easy as possible for users to navigate the site and find the tools they want. v3 is, we hope, a much more usable website—and one that new users will have an easier time learning. We’ll be providing comprehensive and succinct video tutorials designed to help you easily transition from v2.5 to v3 and help you make the most of your Bible study experience.

Q: WHAT IS THE V3 BETA?

A: The BLB v3 Beta is an opportunity for you to help us test our new revision of the Blue Letter Bible. We’ve put a lot of work into making this the best site we can, but it’s still principally the work of two individuals working part-time over the last few years with a small support staff. If you’re familiar with the BLB, you know pretty well how large the site is: there’s bound to be things that we’ve missed. What we hope to get from the Beta test of v3 is a lot of feedback.

What works. What doesn’t work. What you don’t understand how to do. What you’d like for the site to do better. Any bugs or errors you run into.

Any feedback you can offer will be helpful. We’re not changing the Blue Letter Bible simply because we like change and certainly not because we wish to make things more difficult for users. We’re changing the Blue Letter Bible because we believe the things we have in store will make studying God’s Word easier and more transparent. The changes we’ve made are things that we—as people who use the site—always wanted out of our own studies on the site.

So, again, please help us out by telling us exactly what you think about v3 and how we can improve the experience.

Q: WILL THIS REPLACE MY CURRENT BLB?

A: In a way, yes. Once we finalize design on v3 Beta, the new version will replace the old version and will be what you see when you visit http://blueletterbible.org.

We understand that both those naturally resistant to change and those who absolutely prefer v2.5 (the old site) may be upset by this, so we will offer a safe harbor in the form of BLB Classic. With the official launch of v3, version 2.5 will be moved to http://blbclassic.org(which currently houses the earlier edition, v2.4). v2.5 will exist at this URL indefinitely.

Q: WHEN WILL BLB V3 REPLACE THE OLD BLB?

A: Hopefully soon, within the next months. But it, of course, depends on how well our beta test goes. Depending on feedback, we may have more work to do!

Q: WILL I BE ABLE TO CONTINUE USING THE OLD BLB?

A: Yes! When v3 takes over the address http://blb.org (also http://blueletterbible.org), the current site will be ported over to BLB Classic and will remain there and available indefinitely.

Have another question?

See if we answer it here!