The Storyfeather site has been around since 2013, but hasn’t changed much since then.
I’ve made some major changes to the site over the recent few weeks, both aesthetically and functionally. Some changes were out of necessity, and some for enjoyment. Here are the changes I’ve made and why I’ve made them.
LEGALS
I’ve sent a separate and brief post about the set of policy documents I released. I wanted to make sure that the information about the legal policies and functions added to the site wasn’t buried amid other updates. If you missed that post, please find it here: Storyfeather New Legal Policies
The policy links are also located in the site footer.
Now on to the fun changes.
THEME
The most visible change is the theme, so I’ll start with that. The theme I’d been using since 2013 has been retired for a while. This year, I really started noticing some issues, minor ones, but it became clear that it was time to switch. I chose an exciting and epic new theme, and a color scheme that looks significantly different from the old one. The site should look good on various devices now, and the reading and browsing experience should be more pleasant. (And now I can put things in the footer. Thrilling!)
NAVIGATION
Over the last year, I introduced a few navigation aids, such as trailers, to help visitors sample stories and podcast episodes. The all-new “Start Here” page extends that aim. It provides brief explanations, visuals, and links to everything that Storyfeather currently has to offer all in one place. Please check it out here:
The main menu has been pared down. I’ll start adding redundant links in the footer for convenience.
The sidebar is now a slide-out. It’s been updated to remove legacy widgets, which were either recreated or replaced. One of the major changes made was to remove the individual links to each story, and replace them with buttons that lead to a Hub page for each story year. These Hub pages briefly explain the theme of the year and contain titles, taglines, and links to the stories.
Video descriptions: I’ve recently starting hiding the video description text in a collapsible field under the videos on the Trailers page. (Bear with me, I’ll manually go back and do this for all other pages containing videos.)
Story images link to story information page (let’s call it the Story Portal page?). For this year’s stories, and most of last year’s, the image at the top of the story post is a hyperlink that leads to a page where you can watch a trailer for the story and learn a bit more about the story. (I activate that link once I create the trailer, so it won’t be present for freshly posted stories.)
STORYFEATHER GAZETTE!
In a couple of weeks, I’ll be launching the Storyfeather Gazette. Every month, I’ll recap the stories, podcast episodes, and trailers that were recently released, and may include other news and updates, like telling you about any fiction-related stuff I may be up to (e.g., if I’m doing an art challenge).
You can sign up starting now to receive the Gazette by email.
On the sign-up form, you can also choose to receive other types of email from me, such as weekly notifications when a podcast episode is released, or immediate notifications of merch releases (so you can take advantage of the sales price for newly released designs). Here’s the form, if you’d like to join the Gazette. Please do!
NOSTALGIA
This is probably just for me, but I created a “Historical Archives” page with screenshots and videos of how the site used to look with the old theme. Memories, sigh.
The About page has been updated for the first time since 2013. Check it out!
UPCOMING
I beg your patience while I continue to clean up and adjust various things. I expect to have one more update, and hopefully only one more in about a week or so.
In the meantime, if you have any questions, concerns, corrections, or suggestions, please feel free to reach out to me. You can comment publicly below, email me at nila@storyfeather.com, or reach me through the new Contact page.
Thanks for your interest in Storyfeather!
Nila
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