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Is AALBC.com Mobile Ready?


Troy

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Google recently announced that they will penalize sites that are not optimized for mobile.   Google pulls the strings and we jump  :(   Ideally they want a URL or webpage called up on a desktop computer will render differently than the same URL brought up on a cell phone.  This is something I can do, but I'm contemplating if it is worth the effort.  I think AALBC.com pages come up find just as it is now.  I can turn the phone sideways to get a better view or even increase the size of the screen.

 

I'm also not keen on making the changes as the additional complexity will make the site more difficult to maintain.  Consider that I already make sure the site displays on Internet Explorer, Safari, Fire Fox, Chrome, (just the most recent versions) and on my cell phone and IPad.  The mobile specific versions will just add another level of compatibility testing.

 

I know that 27% of my visitors in via a tablet or desktop device today.  Facebook told us in a presentation I attended yesterday the they make up 20% of all data traffic over the cellular network.

 

Ok, ok, I know that is already too much detail.  So if you can let me know if the AALBC.com is viewable on your mobile device, I'd appreciate it. 

 

aalbc-is-mobile.jpg

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  • 3 weeks later...

I actually revised the site a couple of weeks ago to display differently for visitors who want to print an AALBC.com page (I really should have done this a long time ago) and for visitors with very narrow screens (some mobile devices or older monitors).  Looking and the Wil Haygood page above we have three different flavors of the website

 

Normal Display
This is what the vast majority of visitors to the page will see when the visit.
 

wil-normal.jpg

 

Printed Version 
Now when a visitor prints the page unnecessary things for the printed page, like the navigation menus, search box, advertisements, videos are removed.  The URL for links are revealed as an additional convenience.

wil-print.jpg

 

Display for Narrow Screens (mostly handheld devices)
The menu is converted into a list of links and all the images and video are re-sized to fit into the screen.  The text also wraps to fit the available screen width.  The ads are removed as well in this format.  Interestingly, Apple devices handle the resizing automatically (as in the screen shot from the earlier post).

wil-narrow.jpg

 

This is just one of several behind the scenes updates I made to AALBC.com recently.  The next set of changes will be to completely redesign all of the main pages and the homepage.  I have not decided exactly what I will do but it will be more visual lest text dense with much of the content currently on the homepage being puished down to the main category pages authors, books, resources, events, etc...

 

Here is what AALBC.com looked like in 1997

 

aalbcm1.jpg

 

I started AALBC.com 16 years ago to the day.  There have been countless changes to the design and features of this website over the years. 

 

Click here if you want to see more changes to AALBC.com over the last 16 years.
 

 

 

 

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Congrats on your 16th year in the business, Troy!  Kudos to you and your successful efforts to provide a service and a source of information.  You are a friend to both aspiring black self-published authors and established ones as well. Your selfless dedication to uplifting your race and filling a void in the literary field is commendable.  You are a capable, exemplary black man who can be pointed to with pride.  Keep up the good work!

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That is quite a tribute Cynique -- thank you so much! 

 

It is one of the reasons I don't mind struggling doing what I do rather than living more comfortably working for a corporation doing something has absolutely no value to myself or my community. 

 

But if I had not worked for a corporation I would never would have had the resources to do what I do -- or to be able to make the distinction in personal satisfaction. 

 

Also, I save information like this here, not so much because I think folks want to read the gory details about maintaining AALBC.com, but because it serves as a historical archive.

 

In the future, I'm going to begin to share information about Black books called 15 years ago today and highlight event or miles stones from the website here on the site.

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