There was some database mounting and database shifting and some cursing but the new site is built and ready to rock. Taa daa!
I hope you like it. My goals with the redesign were to make content easier to find, from features to book reviews to really active discussions, and to make participating in the site easier, with more options and fewer obstacles to joining the conversations. I've said many times when asked about the website that the content up here is maybe half of the reason people come to the site – the other half is all of you and your conversations.
(Squidgy moment: holy crap I missed y'all).
Some of the new features include:
- Subscribing to comment threads by RSS or Email (by request)
- A new comments system that lets you log in via Facebook, Twitter, OpenID, Disqus, and possibly your driver's license number
- Summaries on the main page, with full entries on their own pages
- A calendar of events on the main page
- A special area for the podcasts on the main page
- The ability to like, share, tweet, flirt with, simmer, dogear, question, and shake your groove thang in the vicinity of the comments. Well, some of those, anyway.
- All sorts of upgrades that aren't visible but should make the Bitchery more speedy and lithe, like a Regency heroine dressed in boy's clothing.
There is still little bits of work to be done, but if you notice anything truly and utterly out of whack, please let me know, either in the comments or via email at sarahATsmartbitchestrashybooksDOTcom.
Comments are welcome, too! I hope you like the new design — and that you read something awesome while the work was in progress!
Very nice and congrats!!!!
Yaaay! I feel an Elton John moment coming on…the bitch(ery) is back! Huzzah!
Oooh, pretty!
Welcome back! Very cross, cos now I’ll be spending hours working out how to navigate this new site rather than doing one of the 47 jobs that really need to be done, in order for me to feel I have any control with regard to my Life. Ah well…
Now we’re back in business, I’m looking forward to you posting my HABO, Sarah! Hint, hint! 🙂
Wow. This is spiffy. COngrats on getting it done without strangling anyone. You didn’t… did you?? 😛
P.S. You’ve done a fantastic job – the site looks amazing….!!!!
I love it! So fresh and my fear of the demise of the ladies was totally unfounded. Yay!
Yaaaay!! I LOVE the new Search function!
Slick! I like it a lot. Thanks for all the hard work I know you put into it.
Things that seem out of whack:
The “books” choices in the navigation menu at the top of the page are all broken. They lead to some weird URL with a ton of Ss.
The pink column of navigation options such as recent reviews and browsing drop-downs – can we have that on the main home page too? The empty white space on the right-hand side seems perfect for it.
Hi Alina,
Thanks for pointing that out. The “books” item has been fixed. It was just a redirect loop and was quickly sorted out.
I’m curious about what you’re seeing on the homepage, though. There is no empty white space on the right hand side. What browser are you using?
You were missed. So glad you are back … Better than ever.
Looks amazing! Joelle did a fabulous job. (and as with any new site launch she is still working out the kinks so hang tight ladies – all will be resolved in record speed I’m sure.)
Something is amiss in IE7, which I’ll do my best to fix as soon as possible. But if you’re using IE7, I highly recommend upgrading your browser to IE9 or even Google Chrome or Mozilla’s Firefox. 😉
Looks great, though it’s going to take me a while to get used to the new format. However, I just went to look at an old guest review, Devil’s Embrace by Catherine Coulter, and it’s all wonky. I’m using Google Chrome at the moment and every word that is supposed to have an apostrophe has weird symbols instead.
I’ll just be the grumpy one over here in the corner who DOESN’T LIKE CHANGE.
Sorry. I expect I’ll get used to it.
Wow, very, very nice. Well done! 🙂 Looking forward to kicking the tires on this new model of the site!
Hi Tina,
Thanks for letting us know. Aside from those weird characters, is everything else fine? That may no be something we can fix, as we exported from an old version into a more modern version and sometimes we can’t control every aspect. We do our best! 🙂
Sorry you’re not into it, Ros. 🙂
Parts are really hard to read, but mostly it’s fine. I think that it was written before the last big change.
Yes, I think those characters were converted from an entry dated back in 2008, prior to even the last redesign, and sometimes that happens. We can try to fix them as they arise, but overall, most should be good! 🙂 Thanks, Tina.
Hi folks! I’m so pleased you like it – there’s still tweaking going on in the back, there, but so far, so good.
I understand the feeling, Ros. I’m not on autopilot anymore, either, since the back end (hur) is just as new as the front end. But I love that it’s faster, easier to navigate and find stuff, and more frisky.
Welcome back, y’all!
Welcome back!
Not happy about pale pink background, but I’ll probably get used to it eventually.
Tina Chaney I can fix those characters in the “Devil’s Embrace” review. No problem. It’s only a handful of pesky apostrophes, I think.
Looking good. I’m especially loving the new layout of the comments.
Love.
I feel like I’ve done some decorating and I didn’t have to move a thing!
In my favs your avi has turned into a heart…. the things I learn from romance blogs, LOL!
@9b0eca6e88480e33eb44e8de36b67375 That’s called a favicon, and it’s easy to change. And it can be FUN, especially when you accidentally make one that in the favs and the browser tabs looks somewhat… obscene. Not that I’ve done that on another blog or anything, no, not me.
I fixed most of them myself. But there may be a stray here or there.
So glad your back. The site looks lovely.
Very nice, Sarah! I’m always suspicious of upgrades to sites I love because inevitably I hate the “after”, but this doesn’t seem to have any of the features I find annoying in other sites. Well done, ya’ll!
I dunno. I’m reminded of a Family Guy episode where Stewie says in his English accent, “I don’t like change.” I’m an old woman of *cough cough hack* years and I don’t adapt well to this new fangled stuff the kids are always playin’ with.
Argh! See? I’ve already done something I don’t know how to undo.
Well hot diggity. Thank you!
WOW. Buddy Jesus? That’s awesome! No worries, I’ll fix.
I haven’t turned on the autoplay music yet. And that cursor that is a picture of Fabio’s hair with trailing waving hair. MWAAAHAHAHA!
I like the new look.
I don’t like threaded comments, but cest la vie.
How do I get my gravatar to show up. It used to be automatic.
I only found out that the site was back up because I saw a comment on Twitter: this post didn’t show up in my Google Feedreader. So I clicked on the orange “subscribe to our rss feed” button at the top of the page, to see if that would work and what I got was a message at http://feeds.feedburner.com/sm… which begins
Hey! We’re doing some cool stuff here!
In addition to the new book, we’re getting a new site! Please check back again soon!
In the meantime, please pick up one of our books, including…
Everything I Know About Love I Learned from Romance Novels
When I tried to subscribe to SBTB via the Google Feedreader, it said “Your search did not match any feeds.”
The top’s a little crowded. Takes a bit of a scroll to get the articles. The article leaders themselves…well, maybe I’m old-fashioned, but I liked the old way where I could read a few paragraphs and get a decent idea of what it’s about before I had to hit a button to open more. It looks great, but I just don’t like how the layout hinders my ability to quickly browse through.
Hey Laura – the feed problem is being worked on. For some reason Feedburner thinks the site is still down even though we’re all here. We’re working on it!
I see a blue rose – is that the right avatar?