It was quite a surprise when I went to check something on the Laura Ingalls Wilder/Rose Wilder Lane Home and Museum website recently. For many years now this has been their web design and I was a little shocked when I found this instead.
They’ve gone in a completely different direction, my guess is they were from a custom designed website to one they could more easily update themselves, but the look is totally different and, I believe from the design, more mobile device friendly (I didn’t actually try it on a mobile device so somebody do try and report back). It also increases the focus on their online store. I asked when I called and the person answering the phone said since they weren’t sure yet since they had just changed over, but they think the log in at the top is for online store. The site also includes the lovely architectural drawings that will be the future of the site and includes a link to their official Facebook page. Big colorful blocks differentiate the different things you might be looking for on the site. They’ve also embedded the direct link to the future plans Ozark Watch episode (find the version with my helpful time codes and comments here). Take some time and explore it now.
Sarah S. Uthoff blogs at TrundleBed Tales; look for her on Twitter and YouTube and Blog Talk Radio
Laura Ingalls Wilder Legacy and Research Association, Vice-President and Membership Chair
Comments3
I couldn’t open the old site link, but the new one is beautiful on my iPad, and works very well on my iPhone. That’s one of the better sites I’ve seen in terms of mobile device design. Good for them!
Thanks, Sarah, for alerting us to this new website. Quite attractive!
Yes, I tried the new site on my Android and it opened beautifully, navigated perfectly, and re-sized properly when rotating the screen, which is a big plus. The new site is lovely, and much more “homey” looking, as opposed to the more institutional look of its predecessor.
I will say, however, that the focus on donations and online store sales is overdone. Particularly on the Home page, I rather felt a bit assaulted by the constant barrage of “Donate Today!” and “Buy this Video!” and “Every Dollar Makes A Difference!” and the fact that no matter where one navigates throughout the site, there are items featured for sale at the bottom of every single page. That is a bit much, as is the overuse of exclamation points in the text. But maybe I’m just picky.
With a little refinement, though, and a toning-down of the front-page financial appeal to perhaps one or two requests, I’d give it an excellent score.
**Steps down from Cashmere Bouquet packing crate**
Comments are closed.