New and improved

07.21.11

Welcome to the new and improved AccordingtoKate.net!

(If you’re reading this in a reader, click out and visit the new site!)

So you might notice that some things are different around here. Let me tell you I am so excited about these changes, and feel re-energized and ready to blog, blog, blog. The break was really good for me, not only to do the redesign over several days/weeks instead of trying to get it all done in one night and not disrupt your ability to read posts, but also to let me get some other things done without also having the pressure of posting regularly. I needed the time off, and I’m glad I took it. I’m also really glad to be back.

Let me take you on a little tour of this place!

The new design allows for distinction between different types of posts, which was my primary goal for this redesign. You will notice little icons distinguishing videos from links from photos from regular posts. Rather than go back through all of the archives and set the type of post, I have made them all (with the exception of the last 6 months) just regular posts. I figure no one will care about those ones. However, if you go through to the beginning of the year, you will notice there are quotes, photos and videos. At least I put the effort into that.

One of the biggest changes you will notice as a reader is that not all content is viewable in readers anymore. For that, I apologize. WordPress supports different post types but readers haven’t quite caught up. So I’ve come up with a compromise – rather than having just a blank reader page and have you wonder what kind of error you’ve encountered (or what kind of terrible blogger I am), when there is content that can’t be viewed in a reader, you will see an image describing the type of post (a link, a photo, a quote, etc), and a message inviting you to click to the full site to read the post. I know it’s annoying, but I hope you’ll click through anyway and come visit. Hopefully it won’t be too much of a hassle, and hopefully as more of these types of blog themes pop up, WordPress and feed readers will adapt a little bit more.

Here’s what I love about this site:

The Simplicity
This theme, while quite complex on the back end, looks really simple at face value. I love this. There is nothing excessive about this theme. You want to read about who I am? Click the “About” button. You want to see where else I hang out on the internet? Check out the “Follow Me” buttons in the sidebar. You want to see only the newest photos? Hover over the “Archives” button and choose “Photos” from the drop down menu. There’s no noise on this site. It doesn’t have so many elements that they compete for your attention. It’s just there. I like that.

The Versatility
One of the things I’ve been struggling with recently is the pressure to always write full posts when sometimes all I want to do is share a photo or a quote or a quick note. This theme allows me to post quick photos without explanations, quick quotes without much formatting, a video I like without a whole post explaining why I like it. (I’m pretty sure this just means I am a lazy blogger, but oh well.)

The Beauty
It is kind of pretty, isn’t it?

A few more minor changes may occur over the next few weeks, but likely nothing that will really disrupt your reading. Be sure to check a few posts back because I did post some stuff while the blog was down so that there would be new content up for you.

Comments are welcome, so let me know what you think of the new look!