I am pleased to announce a fresh new look for our website.
Yes, I know that we only changed things up earlier this year. There are three reasons for the change:
- Not everyone agreed the previous look was better
- The previous theme came with a few technical issues
- This new look is even more focused on content
A new look to focus on content
It is hard to miss the bold and striking collection of featured content that appears at the top of the homepage. That is very much by design. I figure that the only reasons most people will have for coming to our website are:
- To find out when and where we meet
- To learn more about what we do (and consider joining us)
- To read advice on writing
There is one other reason that you might come to see our site – because someone you know wrote something for us. In which case we want you to be able to find that article really easily.
Whatever your reason for visiting, it is almost certainly has something to do with something we have written or to write something yourself.
Overview of changes
Likes are back – you can now like individual posts if you have a WordPress or Author Buzz account.
Search has been epically upgraded. Try out our new look search system. Not only do posts but projects, pages, and directory listings all show up in the results.
Mobile friendly – the old look was reasonably mobile friendly but the new look nails it.
Author information is shown next to posts – if you have filled out your “bio” field then that content will appear next to any article you write for us.
Social sharing links are easier to find – on larger screens social share links (and tag links too) will be to the left of the article while on mobiles and tablets they will show up after the article (just under the related content).
Our articles on writing are now on the main menu. We’ve published a lot of articles about writing and it was about time we made them easier to find. There is now a new menu which should help you locate the advice you are looking for.
Slightly faster. The site should be fractionally faster. I’ve ramped up the caching and activated lazy-loading so only what you need to see the page is loaded.
Let me know what you think of the new look
I’m only human but I do my best to present our community’s website in a way that attempts to keep most people happy. Let me know your thoughts on the new look.
I’ll be tinkering with the fine details over the next few weeks so feel free to make requests or offer your own insights.
Like it, love it, or loathe it – let me know in the comments below.