If you like to visit around these parts frequently, you might have been noticing some subtle, and some not-so-subtle changes around the site. What’s going on, you ask, and what else is in the works to make this site more enjoyable?
Here are some of the things we’re working on:
1. Judging A Book
First impressions matter. The site is quite dense and meant for people happy to read a lot. This isn’t most of the general Internet audience. We know this, Alex know this, but the attitude here has always been a bit cavalier about the visual design.
We’re hoping to improve on that front. Better banners, navigation, and font treatments will hopefully help create a more welcoming vibe.
2. Say What?
The FAQ had died a long time ago, and Alex shrugged it off. But the FAQ is pretty important as a quick guide to common questions. We are working on reviving it, along with some other tools to help facilitate community questions.
Find the FAQ link in the top menu, and from there a link to the new Q&A section. Let’s see how that works out!
3. Web Courses
The Web courses still need a whole lot of work, and that’s more of a long term project. They work great already, based on the last few years of feedback.
What we are doing is adding more options in terms of pricing and support, to address some of the ongoing requests we are getting from readers and participants.
4. Free Resources
The blog isn’t really an ideal format for myopia resources. We are serious about having free resources that meaningfully help with improving eyesight. This leaves us in a bit of a tough spot at the moment. Do we make you read through hundreds and hundreds of posts to find eyesight health resources? Yes!
No. :-) Not really. We stared by adding a how-to section to help narrow things down. From there we’ll also be working on a resources section (currently a slightly mangled menu item, clearly a work in progress).
5. Making Fist Fulls Of Cash Money
Some people think this site makes serious bank. Well … it doesn’t. My first order of business was a not insignificant cash donation to the site to get it close to staying afloat. Why? Alex did get overcharged more than a little for Web work. We buy a bunch of ads for awareness. Running the site isn’t exactly free unfortunately, and paid course participation isn’t really astoundingly huge.
We are getting closer to breaking even, and it’s a definite ongoing goal. Fingers crossed!
6. Community Involvement
We are reaching out to other health minded sites and communities to help us share some eyesight health. Some of that depends of course on the points above, having an easy to use site and good resources. It’s a balancing act doing enough of both, a bit complexicated by the fact that we all volunteer free time here. We are making it work!
That’s it, so far. Hopefully you’ll keep being surprised in a good way, as things progress.
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A side note: I know how it is. You come, you read, you click out. It’s what I do on most sites I visit. Still, it’s a little depressing to see a thousand visitors a day in the stats, and not getting any feedback.
Community and social is really the big question mark. I’m stumped and really do appreciate any time you might have to add your thoughts! What would make this site better for you? Twitter feed? Facebook posts? Community things to share with others?
Leave your thoughts in the comments below! :)
