I’m … um … redesigning the site

…in case you missed the vivid new colors and still-not-working slider menu in the header.

Did as much as I could before I took it live… but expect a mess today. I should have everything done by tomorrow, though.

I hope.

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23 responses to “I’m … um … redesigning the site”

  1. Sylvia Nickels Avatar

    You’re amazing, Holly. Like the colors and I really like the slide bar menu, too. A site visitor can see exactly where they want to go. Kudos.

    1. Holly Avatar
      Holly

      Thank you. This schizophrenic site has been driving me crazy for about … fifteen years. I think I FINALLY have something that works.

  2. Cheryl Avatar
    Cheryl

    Hi Holly,
    I’m a HUGE fan and have had trouble in the past finding my way around the site. When I first looked at the sliding menu I thought, “what an annoying bit of fluffery!” But then I realised how much information was on it and changed my mind quickly!
    L LOVE the colours. Well done. I wish I knew how you find the time to do all the things you do. And yes, I did how to motivate — but you’re a marvel!

    1. Holly Avatar
      Holly

      Thanks for giving the walkthrough a try. I’d considered doing a video to demonstrate the various areas of the site, and how to find everything, but there are so many outside links to this site I would have had to put it on every page…and I didn’t want to introduce that much slowdown.

      Having a little header slider seemed like the best way to help newcomers find their way around without slowing down the page loads—or making me do a new video every time I tinker with the site. 😉

  3. Skipper Hammond Avatar

    Really simple and elegant navigation. The colors help me know what’s here and how to go where I want to go.
    Only one problem–you’ve written too many books! lol. The cover thumbnails are so tiny.
    Congratulations on an excellent site.

    1. Holly Avatar
      Holly

      That’s only a few of my books. And only the US editions of those. 😀

      And thanks. I’m delighted I finally figured out some navigation that helps people FIND things.

  4. Michael Polk Avatar
    Michael Polk

    Oh, really? I thought it was just this ancient Macintosh sending me back into the Internet’s past. It did it with YouTube and GMail and I just figured this was next. Looks cool. 🙂

    1. Holly Avatar
      Holly

      You have your own WayBack Machine?

  5. Danzier Avatar
    Danzier

    Constructive criticism: I’m looking at it on my phone, and, yes, it’s a little messy. But my phone does that to sites with some regularity. I like this color scheme; I like the menu even better. But far-and-away my favorite feature is the former popup/splash page seems to be its own part of the main page now. Yay!

    1. Holly Avatar
      Holly

      That may be some new way Aweber is handling forms. I still need to make the form a LOT smaller. But I’m glad it’s working better.

  6. Juneta Avatar

    Love the new look. Very nice. Really like the header slider menu, it tells a lot about the site and your agenda right up top, without having to search the sit for tidbits that really capture your interest, especially for the would be writer. I think it will definitely grab the interested party who just takes a peek. Great idea I hope it really pays off for you.

    1. Holly Avatar
      Holly

      Thank you. The slider header was my final Eureka moment on “How to I put a site walkthrough on every page of the site without slowing down the site with video?”

      1. Irrevenoid Avatar
        Irrevenoid

        I really like the new design – everything’s all spread out and it’s much easier to find things.

        The slider menu is very clever and artistic. Unfortunately my poor brain finds it nigh-impossible to follow when I’m mousing across the options because the text keeps moving while I’m trying to read it. I find a standard dropdown menu more intuitive and accessible (and you can fit more in them!), but others may differ.

        The books across the took look really interesting. I was a bit disappointed when I clicked on them and they didn’t take me to info on the books. xD

        BTW, the “About Holly” text looks like a hyperlink – it’s almost exactly the same colour as “View all posts by Holly” which is part of the same paragraph and IS a hyperlink.

        I’m just mentioning the exceptions though because they ARE exceptions. Overall it’s a 100% improvement and I’m rather envious of your web skills…

  7. Dee Avatar
    Dee

    Looks good- very easy to navigate!

    1. Holly Avatar
      Holly

      Thank you. Aside from the brighter, happier colors, and thinning out the header for smaller screens, the whole design was about making every single thing on the site easier to find.

      A lot of writers were missing my 100,000 words plus of free writing articles and workshops.

      A lot of readers had no clue I had Tonk worldbuilding sketches on the site, or short stories I wrote just for here…

      So I’m hoping this helps.

  8. Texanne Avatar

    Very lively and commanding. Cool–er–hot!

    1. Holly Avatar
      Holly

      😀 Thanks. I’m happy with the navigation. Still not sure about the sidebar color. Have changed it about fifteen times between the test pages and here.

      Going to give it a rest today, and load the next ten HTTS lessons online. They came in over the weekend.

  9. BJ Steeves Avatar
    BJ Steeves

    Holly,

    I like what you did with the site. The slide bar menu is a neat idea.

    I’m also glad to see you back to writing full time.

    BJ

    1. Holly Avatar
      Holly

      Hey, BJ,

      Great to see you. I’m not back to writing full-time yet. (Well, I’ve been writing full-time since 1991, but I’m not back to writing FICTION full-time yet. 😀 )

      I’ll actually be back to full-time fiction by the end of this year, though. Have had some delays, but I’m still pretty close to on schedule. Which amazes me.

      Thanks for your slider comment. I’ve been trying for ages to figure out how to include a site walkthrough. This morning, I finally figured it out.

  10. Michelle Avatar

    Fantastic! Really liking the changes and the way you’re going with this. 😀

    1. Holly Avatar
      Holly

      Thanks. It’s one of those things I can only do on a weekend, because the site is so big, getting all the sidebars fixed and menus in the right place takes forever.

  11. Heidi Avatar
    Heidi

    It looks great!

    1. Holly Avatar
      Holly

      Thanks. 😀

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