WatsonsWander
  • Travel Journal
  • Our Airstream
  • Live Infographic
  • About Us
  • RV Resources
  • Contact

WatsonsWander

  • Travel Journal
  • Our Airstream
  • Live Infographic
  • About Us
  • RV Resources
  • Contact

Blog Updates

written by Amanda June 12, 2014

For the last month or so we’ve been working on some design changes, updates, and new features for the blog. Today is the day we roll them out! You won’t see any of these changes if you only read the blog through your email or a feedreader, so click on over to see what’s new. In this post you’ll get a quick overview of the changes and new features.

New Header: We gave the header a slightly new look. Basically, you still get all the same stuff with a sleeker design.

New Header

Redesigned Front Page: The front page now shows snippets of the most recent six posts. To see a full post simply click “Continued”. You will also notice that our overall layout is bit wider which means bigger photos and easier to read text.

Home Page

Updated Sidebar: The side bar has been updated with a bunch of new features, starting with a small explanation of who we are, and what this blog is all about. We’ve even included a photo so you never forget what we look like.

About Us

Recent Posts: A small visual change to our list of recent posts now shows photos along with each post, date, & location.

Recent Posts
Explore & Search: These two areas look the same on the side bar, but their results pages have been updated. For example, if you click on the drop down category menu under Explore and choose Airstream, you will see a list all the posts tagged Airstream accompanied by a photo and a partial post. You can read the full post by either clicking on the title, or the words “continued”. Likewise, if you type a term or place in the search box, the same type of list will appear.

Category PageSearch Results Page

Blogs We Love: The final update to the sidebar is a brand new way to share all the wonderful blogs from our fellow travelers. Instead of listing all the blogs we love on the side bar (which would take up way to much space), we are now only showing three at a time. These three are randomly pulled from our full list. Every time the page is reloaded a new set of three will appear.

Blogs We Love sidebar
To see the full list simply click on the words “List of Favorite Blogs” and you will be taken to a page that currently lists over 50 blogs. The list is in alphabetical order so you know we’re not picking favorites. In addition to a photo, small blurb, and link to each blog, we’ve also created categories. The categories tell you a little more about each blog by indicating if it’s about travelers who work, are retired, are families on the road, solo travelers, full or part-time, and of course, if they travel in an Airstream.

*By the way if you’re on this list and want us to change your photo or description, please let us know. Also if you’re not on the list and would like to be, send us an email with your info and we’ll be happy to add you.

Travel Blogs We Love Page

Footer: At the bottom of the page we now have a footer that shows a list of the most Popular Posts, more ways to Connect With Us, and a Navigation Menu.

Footer
The Navigation Menu has the same Who, What, Where, and Why pages that you can access from the header, as well as an additional way to access the Blogs We Love page. It also has a link to our Recommended Products page. This page is our Amazon Affiliate store where we share with you many of the products that we love and use. Over time we will continue to add products to this page.

Product Page

Amazon Ads: Which brings me to the final new feature. Our own custom Amazon ads. You will see one of these ads at the bottom of each page, or in the case of the home page, in the middle, as well as one on the side bar. If you click on an ad you will be taken to Amazon.com. If you then buy that product, or anything else from Amazon during that session, we will receive a small percentage of your total purchase. The prices are no different than if you buy straight from Amazon. We thank you in advance for your support.

 

So what do you think? Do you like the changes, hate them, or couldn’t care less? Any feedback is appreciated. Also we ask for your patience as there are bound to be a few glitches here and there, especially with some of the older posts.

21 comments
0
Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
Amanda

previous post
Red River & The Enchanted Circle
next post
Two Years On The Road

You may also like

Be Merry

December 24, 2014

Who Are We?

February 11, 2014

Thoughts on Blogging

November 20, 2015

Couch to 5K & Beyond

May 14, 2014

Future Plans

January 15, 2015

Future Plans: Where Will 2016 Bring Us?

March 19, 2016

21 comments

Marshall June 12, 2014 - 8:35 am

Love the redesign!

Thanks for including me in your list of blogs you love! I am very honored to be there.

Reply
Amanda June 12, 2014 - 5:43 pm

Of course we included you! We especially want to share the blogs of people who we’ve met in person.

Reply
Jim and Gayle June 12, 2014 - 8:46 am

You’ve been busy! The new design looks great. I barely seem to find time to do a new post, let alone redesign the entire blog.
Gayle

Reply
Amanda June 12, 2014 - 5:54 pm

Thanks! We have been busy. Tim enjoys playing around with web stuff, and I enjoy bossing him around, so it works out well for us :)

Reply
Jodee Gravel June 12, 2014 - 9:57 am

The new format is very nice and will really showcase the great pics you and Tim share with us. Because my arms are getting shorter I appreciate the bigger “screen” as well :-). I’d love to be on your blog roll (yours was one of the first on mine) – it should motivate me to post more often!

Reply
Amanda June 12, 2014 - 5:56 pm

Thanks Jodee! I am glad you appreciate the bigger format. I wouldn’t want to make you stretch your arms ;) Just added your blog to list!

Reply
Ingrid June 12, 2014 - 10:28 am

Looks great. Thanks for including us in your list of blogs. I think I’ll spend the next hour perusing some of those blogs as at least 1/2 are new to me. Well done :-)

Reply
Amanda June 12, 2014 - 6:04 pm

So glad you like the changes! Always happy to share new blogs with other bloggers. Hope you find some new ones that you like!

Reply
LuAnn June 12, 2014 - 2:07 pm

Love the redesign. So impressed with you techie folks out on the road. :) Thanks so much for including us in your list of blogs. Looking forward to following your ongoing adventures.

Reply
Amanda June 12, 2014 - 6:06 pm

Well, the truth is that Tim is the only true techie one in this family. I just write the content and he makes it look good! Your blog is one of my favorites so it was my pleasure to add it to our list.

Reply
LaneVids June 12, 2014 - 3:31 pm

Updates look nice! I read on an iPhone, and the page seemed to load faster as well! Anyone else experience that?

Reply
Amanda June 12, 2014 - 6:09 pm

Thanks! I am glad you mentioned that it now loads quicker on the phone. I forgot to put in the post that we also updated to a responsive design which means it will look better on all mobile devices.

Reply
Wheelingit June 12, 2014 - 10:21 pm

New design looks great! Good job!
Nina

Reply
Amanda June 13, 2014 - 10:05 am

Thanks Nina!

Reply
Karen from NM June 12, 2014 - 10:56 pm

Love the new design! Looks fantastic on a tablet. Thanks for including us in the blog list.

Reply
Amanda June 13, 2014 - 10:06 am

Happy to hear that it looks good on a tablet. That was one of the updates I forgot to mention in the post.

Reply
Leigh June 13, 2014 - 1:08 pm

I love the blog about 2 humans and 2 dogs! Looks good you guys. :)

Reply
Amanda June 13, 2014 - 4:39 pm

Thanks! That’s my favorite description as well. Leave it to those two to have a quirky saying on the front page of their blog :)

Reply
MonaLiza June 19, 2014 - 2:38 pm

Good job on the redesign, easy to navigate, simple and to the point. And oh, thanks for including us in your list. Now I know why all of a sudden I got a surge of views, thank you.
By the way, Steve will attempt your grilled pizza, will let you know how it went.

Reply
Amanda June 20, 2014 - 3:25 pm

So happy you like the new design. Let me know how the pizza comes out!

Reply
Colleen June 20, 2014 - 9:56 am

We are considering an Airstream purchase (currently looking at a 2004 Classic) and your blog has inspired me. Thanks for all the great ideas!

Reply

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

days on the road

About The Watsons

About The Watsons

This is the story of Tim & Amanda. Since 2012, we have traveled the U.S. while living and working from our renovated 25-foot Airstream. Follow us on our crazy journey in search of beautiful scenery, fun adventures, interesting people, tasty foods, and more…

Keep in touch

Facebook Instagram Pinterest Email

Subscribe by Email

* indicates required

Wandering Threads Embroidery

Wandering Threads Embroidery
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Email

@2017 - PenciDesign. All Right Reserved. Designed and Developed by PenciDesign


Back To Top