Website Report 04-Sep-2016
Contents
This report is a summary of the main activities on the website project, that have taken place since the last Annual General Meeting, on 6th September 2015.
Progress
There's been much behind-the-scenes work, in preparation for what we have planned, but here are some of the more visible changes…
Writers' Resources
We've created a new area on the website for developing a set of useful resources for writers. So far we have:
- The Writing Groups Directory (already present).
- A list of handy first lines, for those stuck with a beginning for their story (coming very soon).
- A story ideas generator. You can randomly combine characters, locations and situations to help with your plot.
Front Page Headlines ↑
To highlight important news, we've made a prominent "headlines" section on the front page. This is updated regularly, so please keep an eye on it.
Social Media ↑
We've begun embracing social media from within the website, starting with Facebook and Twitter. We now have:
- "Share" and "tweet" buttons on every article, making it easier for readers to promote our information on social media.
- Improved integration, so that more relevant titles, descriptions and images are automatically selected when posting or tweeting articles.
Link Magazine Dates ↑
A comprehensive set of dates for Link magazine is now available. These include:
- Submission deadlines,
- Publication dates,
- Availability for downloads.
Navigational Improvements ↑
In order to simplify navigation, we've made some minor changes:
- The category hierarchy has been simplified.
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Some adjustments have been made to the way sets of multiple articles are displayed. This happens, for example, when you search for something or select a category.
The new behaviour is:
- Smaller lists are displayed as excerpts only. This makes it clearer that there are many in the set, without having to scroll.
- Larger lists are displayed in a table and, if necessary, paginated. This saves vertical space and also avoids the need to scroll.
Plans ↑
You can find most of the details of our future plans for the website in the planning area. Here are two things of particular interest to keep an eye on.
Task List ↑
As there's a large number of things to do, it's time consuming to keep all of the documentation up to date. For this reason, the current primary focus is on the task list, which serves as both a driving force and an information radiator.
Restricted Areas ↑
We're particularly keen to provide the ability to have restricted areas on the website. This has many applications, including:
- Members-only areas – where NAWG groups and individuals will be able to collaborate, get more involved and be more interactive using the website.
- Staff-only areas – for centralising our information, making the running of the committee more efficient.