HOMEPAGE:
One thing you will notice is many of the pages won’t have changed all that much. You won’t have to entirely reacquaint yourself with many aspects of the site, but one thing I know many of you will be happy to see is featured story rotation returning to the homepage, which I removed with the most recent design. It will feature five of the most recent stories and will work on all browser platforms, which was the #1 reason I abandoned the Flash version with the last design.
Many of you also commented on how the right column on the homepage changes depending on the day. I did this to offer a fresh experience on a daily basis with things such as reviews on top on Fridays, box-office on top on Sundays, etc., but it seems you would like more consistency. I hear you, understand and you got it. The homepage sections in the right column will always be seen in the same spot every day of the week with only a few popping up at the top on certain days, such as box-office on Sundays and new DVDs and Blu-rays on Tuesdays. That’s it.
Some of you also didn’t like the way the headlines were displayed once you click onto pages 2, 3, 4, etc. of the homepage. That has been changed. The only difference you’ll notice on archive pages beyond the homepage will be the featured story rotation will only show up on the homepage.
NAVIGATION:
Most of you seem to have responded saying you have an easy enough time navigating the website, but you also seem to think the site itself is cluttered and you don’t necessarily use the current navigation for anything more than the top level links or to find the theatrical and DVD/Blu-ray release dates. Essentially, the messy drop down (“messy” being my word since I don’t like it one bit) is a waste.
This was exactly what I assumed, which is why the new navigation will be dramatically simplified and will include the following links:
- HOME
- MOVIES
- This link will change to BLU-RAY on Tuesdays only and will always link to a page with details on the movies (or DVDs and Blu-rays) coming out that week.
- REVIEWS – Will link to the movie reviews homepage where, at the top, will always be featured the three best reviewed movies of the past 60 days.
- RELEASE DATES – Will link to a page with links to browse both the theatrical and DVD/Blu-ray release calendars by month.
- PICTURES – A homepage for all the latest pictures added to the site
- TRAILERS – A homepage for all the latest trailers and video-related articles
- AWARDS – A complete awards hub with links to the Oscars, Golden Globes and SAG Award histories, The Contenders section, Oscar Overture, Oscar Predictions, Awards Season Calendar and latest awards news headlines.
Links to other sections of the site such as Box-Office, The Contenders, MPAA Ratings Bulletin Archives, “Morning 5” Archives, etc. will also be featured on the new RopeofSilicon homepage under the featured story rotation and very easy to find. Based on your response to the new design a few other links may also be added to the homepage, but that will be decided after launch.
SUBSCRIPTIONS:
This was the one portion of the survey many of you seemed to frown on, and understandably so. It’s not the Internet norm and certainly not for movie websites which have grown to become a dime a dozen in the last few years. What? Pay?!? Give me freeeeedom! However, there was a bit of a misunderstanding as to what I was referring to and would potentially be charging for. So let’s clear that up…
First off, many of you wondered “Why would I pay for something here when I can get it free elsewhere?” Good question. The answer is, you won’t.
I won’t ever charge anything for content you can get elsewhere. In fact, at the launch of the new design I won’t be charging anything for any of the content on the site and day-to-day content such as casting news, pictures, trailers, etc. should always be free and always will be free on this site. I’m not interested in charging you something you don’t have to pay for in the first place.
However, in the undecided future, I may, one day, charge a small subscription fee (and I’m talking a tiny monthly and/or annual fee) for content you can’t get anywhere else. Based on the survey results the articles/content you all seem to like best are the extensive editorials, top tens, awards predictions, film dissections, etc. and trust me, these are the articles I like doing more than anything else on this site. They inspire the best conversations and bring us together as a community. However, these articles are also the most difficult and time-consuming pieces to produce.
This is when it all came clear… I have to convince you the content you’d be paying for is worth paying for. I have to work harder to differentiate myself from every other website on the Internet and until I can do that I won’t be charging you a penny. This is my responsibility, not yours. I have to convince you the content is worth your money, and trust me, I’m not talking about a budget-breaking fee here. Something in the $1-$3 per month range with a discount for annual subscribers is what I’m considering at the moment.
I know some of you say you’ll never pay and that’s fair, perhaps all you want is the stuff I will be offering for free. However, it has become more and more clear to me that in order to give you my best, a few changes have to be made.
I have no idea when these changes will be made, but just as I’ve kept you in the loop on this redesign you can rest assured I will keep you in the loop regarding any changes on the site going forward. Nothing will ever come as a surprise.
SO WHAT DO I NEED TO DO?
As far as I see it, I need to do what I’ve been doing, and then some. This redesign has taken me over a year to complete and there is still a portion of it you won’t even see. I’ve done an extensive amount of work making the backend of the website easier for me to bring you content faster and better.
Along with working on the content you want to read, I want this to become a film-loving community. People not only interested in the latest day-to-day casting news, pictures, rumors, reviews, etc. But people that want to openly share thoughts and ideas on films without the worry of being ridiculed and/or put down if you don’t have the popular opinion. Differences of opinion will be celebrated and not looked down upon.
I will aim to take in your input on article ideas, hopefully we’ll expand the conversation on the RopeofSilicon Facebook and Twitter pages. I want us to come together to explore films and I truly believe the launch of the redesigned RopeofSilicon.com is going to make that a possibility.
SO WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO?
Just keep reading and sharing your thoughts on movies and what you’d like to see on the site. Without you there is no RopeofSilicon.com. Many of you said on the survey you felt you were “very much” appreciated as a reader of this site. Most of you said you felt my appreciation for you as a reader was “above average”, but a small percentage said “not at all.” Hopefully, a year from now I can run that same survey and, at the very least, get all of you to give me an “above average” rating. That would make my day.
The next step? Just wait until August 25 (or potentially August 18) when the new site will launch. Shortly thereafter I will begin offering my Fall Movie Preview, then I’ll be heading off to the Toronto Film Festival for just under two weeks and when I return I will be opening the doors to the brand new Contenders section and begin publishing my first round of Oscar predictions in a section of the site I will now be able to run all year round thanks to the new administration I designed.
Now there is one thing you can do to prepare for the redesign. If you haven’t done so yet, visit Gravatar.com and using the email address you use to comment on this site, register for a free Gravatar account and get yourself a commenting avatar.
When the new design launches this is what will be used to automatically assign you an avatar corresponding with the email address you register with. Just remember to use the same email address you comment with and will register with or it won’t work. That way, when the new site launches, you’ll register, log in and already have an avatar ready to go and never have to fill out that commenting form again.
And there you have it. That’s the latest update and the redesign is just around the corner. Feel free to add any comments below and stay tuned.
