Mythcreants has now been running for eight years. When we launched in 2013, our boxy placemat-style layout was the height of fashion. Back then, people loved that menu at the top that was designed to look like tabs. But as we grew and added new content offerings, that menu and everything else became too tight to fit.
When we first launched, phone compatibility was a new concern, and it wasn’t clear what technical solution for serving phones would win out. Because I have to make everything complicated, I chose the more powerful option of creating a separate mobile site at an “m” subdomain. The rest of the web* soon realized that creating a single morphing layout was faster and cheaper. The single layout became standard, and today Cyberspace Overlord Google demands it.
Even so, with all the other work involved in running Mythcreants, I put off redoing the website until it felt like the biggest thing holding us back. We finally reached that point two years ago.
Why did it take so long to get a new one? The site is now so big and complex that it wouldn’t normally be rebuilt by a single person, much less a person who was also busy blogging every week on top of the work that pays her bills. In the end, I had to sacrifice my fiction writing time and also take time off of paid work to get it done. Not to mention, let go of lots of cool features I was planning on building. I did say I make everything too complicated, right?
Happily, the result of all that work is a website that fits the Mythcreants of today much better than the old one did. Different types of content now have tailored layouts, we have easy ways to credit people for narration, illustration, and consulting, and we have more room to show the full breadth of who we are.
To me, the new design is a mix between a conventionally modern look and my personal brand of weird, with some stubbornly retro elements thrown in. These days, websites are starting to forgo the right column, partly because phones don’t have room for two columns. Perhaps someday Mythcreants will follow suit, but that day is not today.
I still have more work to do post launch, and big new things always come with some rough areas. So I’m putting a form at the bottom for you to report errors and submit feedback. Of course, you can provide feedback in the comments too, but casual comments may not provide the information I need to troubleshoot a problem. I can’t promise to address everything you mention via the form, but I’ll consider it.
You can help us make improvements like these by becoming a patron at whatever level is affordable to you. Unlike our other modest methods of financial support, our Patreon proceeds support our free content without making us spend our limited time on other activities.
Thanks to all of you for hanging out with us these past eight years. May the next era of Mythcreants be just as bright!
I like the new design … had to change my avatar, thanks for sending me the transparent one <3
… although it obviously needs some work. Right now, I’m still seeing the white edges, but I just changed it. It’s possible it’ll show the right one in a bit…
Ah, now it has changed.
They grow up so fast-
Gonna take a little while to get used to this one after browsing the old layout for 5 years – but it looks wonderful!
New page is really pretty!
I’m already nostalgic for some of the article-region aesthetics, but I was also pleasantly shocked by how quickly the site loaded, so I’ll take function over form.
This astral comments section is pretty neat though.
Spaaaaace.
Yes, the site loads nice and quick now and the space background for the comments looks just so cool.
I definitely agree. It was quite the shock to see it changed, but the astral comments section is quickly winning me over.
I was just about to say myself how much I like the starscape.
Takes a little getting used to, but it has *A E S T H E T I C*
I love the new look. As the best colour, more purple was really the only choice ;)
The only thing I noticed is how far I have to scroll to reach the comments section on my phone now (I can’t tell if it’s just because there’s more suggested lists or because the suggestions themselves got bigger?).
As a longtime reader, thank you for all the work you put into Mythcreants. It’s an absolutely fantastic site.
Thanks! On mobile there’s a “Jump to Comments” link at the bottom of articles, but right now it’s beneath the related posts section, so it’s easy to miss. I’ll consider moving that up.
The new site looks great! I confess a nostalgic attachment to the old one, but easier phone viewing is great, and the background behind the comment section is stunning. Kudos!
I’m currently reading on a tablet and it’s much better. My day job is in web design so I really appreciate the updated look, but I also understand what a daunting task it must have been!
Took a bit to get used to it but I’m really loving it !
THIS IS EXCITING!!! I was not expecting this when I clicked my bookmarked Mythcreants.com link.
Not sure I like the comment entry field on the bottom, though!
Great job! Amazing!
For a second I thought I was on the wrong website!
I like it, though.
Congrats on the new website! The hard work paid off, it looks great!!! :)
Now that I’ve gotten used to the new look, I like it
Will there ever be any way to edit our posts?
As it stands, typos live forever
You mean a way to edit comments? I’d pretty much need to give commenters user accounts for that, and lots of user accounts is something I’m avoiding until it’s really necessary. Not to mention that comment editing could be used for evil. But if a typo is really bugging you, you can email us or use the contact form and ask us to edit it for you.
Also, is there a way to find subtopics, such as Storytelling, Fight Scenes, Space, etc., from the main page? If so, I don’t see it
One of the items on my todo list that got pushed out until after launch is to make a “Browse All Topics” page that will be at the bottom of the Topics menu. That page will include subtopics. I’ll get to it once I’m done squishing bugs.
I see you added Browse All Topics to the Topics tab on the header
Cool!
Thank you!
I used to come periodically to read the articles and I really loved the discussion in comments. However the new “white on black” comments make the rows burn into my eyes in under a minute and sadly won’t be able to get the expanding exchange of opinions that was more than half the fun in the site.
If the text is too bright, I could soften it a little.
I’ve just recently started to browse on my phone
Your site works very well on mobile
Some other sites… not so much
Some are much more difficult to navigate. A few are completely unusable
But Mythcreants is just fine
So, kudos
Thank you!