Format Acquires Format.com, Updates Its Portfolio Website App As It Relaunches

Online portfolio service Format has been trying to acquire the domain name format.com for the past three years. On Monday it announced the purchase, as well as a rebranding of its entire platform, officially changing its name from 4ormat to Format.

Format is a portfolio website builder for creative professionals to showcase their work. Lukas Dryja, CEO of Format, didn’t offer specifics but said that Format is used by “tens of thousands” of people in 125 countries.

A theme editor is one of the primary additions to the platform. Users can access the HTML and CSS to edit the code base, but the editor also allows users to control the arrangement of the site and the colors, among others, in an easier, drag-and-drop interface. The theme editor is also mobile-friendly, allowing users to customize how the site looks on tablets or phones.

In addition to the theme editor comes a slew of new features, such as new design principles, a more responsive design, updated pricing and better display and navigation.

The platform now also allows account holders to create image-heavy blog posts to accompany the portfolio, without a limit on how many images can be used. There is a limit based on what account you own for the gallery of the portfolio. The basic account allows for 100 images to be uploaded.

Dryja said the company, which launched in 2010 and is based in Toronto, always intended to use the word “format” instead of 4ormat. It managed to convince the previous owners of format.com that Format’s goals matches the goal of the domain name.