« Is Easter a Ghost Story? | Home | What is Eastertide? »
Redesigned Website
By Mark D. Roberts | Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Today I’m launching my redesigned website. My hope is to make this site even friendlier and more functional for my readers (and bit friendlier for me too).
Improvements: I’ve integrated WordPress software into my main site, which allows for the following improvements:
• a clickable list of recent posts in the right sidebar
• a list of past posts archived by date in the right sidebar
• a list of topics (which allows for another way to access the content of this site. Now you can find things I’ve written before by: searching, scrolling through the list of past series in the left sidebar, or clicking on the topic of your interest)
• a more accessible means of adding or reading comments
• a neater central column, with the latest blog post right at the top for quick review.
If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you’ll note that the Table of Contents is now missing. It’s been replaced by the list of recent posts in the right sidebar. One advantage of this for you is that the newest post will be right at the top of my homepage.
Archives and Series: My posts will now be saved in the archives powered by WordPress. You can find previous posts by using the links in the right sidebar as is common to most blogs. However, one of the distinctives of my website–the collection of blog posts into extended series–will remain. You can access past series by scanning the left sidebar or by searching the site.
Permalinks: All of my old Permalinks are unchanged. If you want to link to something new, please use the Permalink at the top of each post (for individual posts or for a whole series). This process is a little different from most blogs. It allows me to keep most of my previous posts in easily accessible series, which gets around the problem you’ll find when trying to link to several related posts in other blogs.
Syndication: Syndication will remain much as before. However, the syndication link is changed. You’ll want to change your Feed Reeder to the new RSS/XML link (http://markdroberts.com/?feed=rss2). Note: If you’re not familiar with syndication, it is an easy way to keep up-to-date with a large number of websites. More info here.
Problems: As with any rollout of a new website, I’m quite sure there will be unforseen problems, bad links, etc. Please let me know about this by sending me an e-mail. I’ll try to correct the problems, to the limit of my technical ability, which is quite limited, actually. Thanks for your patience.
I hope my new blog format will be an improvement for my readers. I think you’ll especially appreciate easier and more varied access to past posts and the ability to add comments quickly and in a place where they are easily read by others. This should encourage more conversation and community. At least that is my plan.
Thanks to all of you who are faithful readers of my blog! I hope to continue to serve you well in the future.
Topics: Website Info |
11 Responses to “Redesigned Website”
Comments
Thanks for your willingness to make a comment. Note: I do not moderate comments before they are posted, though they are automatically screened for profanities, spam, etc., and sometimes the screening program holds comments for moderation even though they're not offensive. I encourage open dialogue and serious disagreement, and am always willing to learn from my mistakes. I will not delete comments unless they are extraordinarily rude or irrelevant to the topic at hand. You do need to login in order to make a comment, because this cuts down on spam. You are free to use a nickname if you wish. Finally, I will eventually read all comments, but I don't have the time to respond to them on a consistent basis because I've got a few other demands on my time, like my "day job," my family, sleep, etc.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
April 10th, 2007 at 12:03 am
Looks good to me. Thanks!
April 10th, 2007 at 12:04 am
Thanks, T.M.
April 10th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
When I first view site, the right sidebar is partially covered by the center white section. When I click to comment on it, I notice the white section narrows and no longer covers the right sidebar. Curious.
April 10th, 2007 at 3:11 pm
Good stuff Mark! WordPress is very cool.
April 10th, 2007 at 4:28 pm
Ah! So much friendlier. Actually, it just looks “cleaner” to me and I do like the button images…simply because I like clicking on things—you tempter!
And by the way, don’t you have anything else to do after a big week like last week and 20 services on Easter Sunday than re-design your website? Like, REST!
Just kidding. Love your website even if it were in 12 point courier, no pics and no fun places to click on. I read it to hear what you have to say…and it’s always worth the visit.
April 10th, 2007 at 5:16 pm
To Scott A. (and others like him): I tested this site with a variety of browsers and systems, both Mac and Windows. I’ve received the ridebar comment from a few Windows users, and will try to fix it in a few days. I find your second comment curious. It makes no sense to me, but I’m a novice with Wordpress/CSS/PHP. I’ll do my best. Thanks for your patience.
April 10th, 2007 at 8:08 pm
Re. Scott A’s curious second comment: I see the same thing.
April 13th, 2007 at 7:03 pm
Kurt, Scott, and others who sent e-mails: I think I solved the strange sidebar issue. Please check and let me know. It was a matter of how Internet Explorer in Windows reads certain kinds of information (vis-a-vis Firefox/Mozilla for Windows, or any of the Mac browsers). Thanks for your help with this. Please let me know if you find other problems. Perhaps the most frustrating part of web design, in which I am just a beginner, is the fact that different browsers read the same information in different ways. Anyway, I appreciate your help. Peace.
April 14th, 2007 at 12:16 pm
You fixed it. Looks good. Well done.
April 17th, 2007 at 9:00 am
I don’t like the articles at the right because there are no dates and groups of subjects like the old design. I don’t know where to start when I’ve been away a while! I think newcomers would be totally lost. Out with the new and in with the old. Please.
April 17th, 2007 at 9:32 am
Sandy: You may find it helpful to start with the next category down in the right sidebar: Past Posts Archived by Date.