We are going to be rolling out a new website in the next day or so. Don’t worry, all the same information will still be there, along with some new stuff! And you won’t have to update your bookmarks; we’ll still be at www.ben-hur.com. We are changing the site’s appearance, but the menu structure has a similar design as the old website. You shouldn’t have to update any links if you’ve been linking to our website. We’ll be using the name page names as far as possible.
So why change things, you’re probably wondering?
Over 35% of our 2013 website traffic so far has come from mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets; unfortunately, our old website wasn’t built with a design that would respond to the various screen sizes–it just wasn’t something we had to worry about back then. Our new design will adapt the display for optimal viewing across devices from iPhones to iPads to 23″ computer monitors.
Here’s the biggest change for you blog readers–our blog will no longer be located here at wallacestudy.blogspot.com but will be self-hosted at www.ben-hur.com/blog. If you use a feed-reader to keep up with our posts, you’ll need to update your feed. To make it simple, we have a little RSS icon in the right sidebar of our blog page. If you’d prefer, you’ll also be able to subscribe to our blog via email and have our entries sent straight to your inbox.
Our new site design will eventually incorporate an online gift shop and e-book sales. Our presence on social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest will be better integrated with our website as well as the blog. We will continue to support online memberships and online donations, and this year for the first time Holiday Tea tickets are available to purchase by credit card on our website at www.ben-hur.com/programs/holiday-tea/.
I hope you like the new website design. If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, I’m always happy to receive feedback from our members, supporters, and friends. Comment here, at the new blog, or email me with any feedback.
