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Changes for 2023

gdazegodgdazegod Antipodes
in INDUSTRY NEWS:

The new year will see a raft of changes being introduced for the GDM site.

  1. Our current platform Vanilla Forums is getting long in the tooth and technical support is falling away. Our current build is at risk of a security compromise due to the lack of security updates, plus some of the plugins we use are now being deprecated.
  2. It is very likely we will shift to a new platform, of which a decision has yet to be made. Its looking like it could be WordPress as it has all the bells and whistles we need but there are a couple of things I need to address before we go further, the most important is the requirement to edit data/files offline on a laptop or mobile.
  3. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is my biggest headache, esp around the changing rules from Google. SEO has never worked that well on Vanilla, hence another reason to ditch it.
  4. There maybe a slight alteration to the Domain name required. Google currently has indexed pages going back to our PHP Fusion platform long before Vanilla arrived, which is not good. Probably best to start with a clean slate. I'll advise once I've got an idea as to what it is.

Stay tuned.
George

Comments

  • gdazegodgdazegod Antipodes

    As at Dec 2022, all registrations of new users for this site will cease.
    We have a new website, I have been testing the last few days and things are coming together nicely.

    I have begun porting content over to the new site and things are looking flash, and yet also very familiar. Here's a screenshot.

    There are numerous benefits. Our SEO is working well and visually the site's front page is looking stunning, employing a 4 column by 5 row grid with album covers and text snippets used.

    More soon.
    George

  • gdazegodgdazegod Antipodes

    We are moving to:

    https://gdmonline.info, using a WordPress platform. No problems thus far. Everything coming together like a jigsaw.

  • gdazegodgdazegod Antipodes
    edited December 2022
    1. So far, the content is being added from oldest to recent. Thus will take some time but I'll be adding links to the more recent years through our site directory.
    2. At this point, I am backloading all the content under the sole admin account, but everyone who has originally written the article will be mentioned in the article itself, plus they will be added as a tag just like it is under the current site.
    3. The building blocks are fusing together nicely, and what you see on the new site is the result of two days work.
    4. All new reviews will be posted to the new site, thus includes all forthcoming 2023 articles.
    5. Emojis in all their visual glory work like a charm.
    6. Feedback would be appreciated. I'll be testing the layout on my laptop tomorrow. Everything you see has been assembled via a mobile phone. Impressive!
  • CandymanCandyman Australia

    Looks really good m8

  • NickCNickC
    edited December 2022

    Just been on and I like it, registered there :) Only had a quick peruse but will there be a general discussion board like here ? I couldn't see one.

  • gdazegodgdazegod Antipodes

    Yes, you read my mind Nick. There is one now, called GDM Discussions, accessible from the Sidebar.
    Cheers G

  • DEMONAORDEMONAOR Ås,Akershus, Norway

    Looks great George.

  • gdazegodgdazegod Antipodes
    edited January 29

    This website will be switched off when the reviews total gets to 500. As at now, we are at 343.
    The data here will still be available in the backend, but won't be made public.
    I'll put a redirection URL so that users who come here will be transferred automatically.
    Cheers
    George

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