As we head into a new year I find it’s always a good idea to have a look around, take stock, and make some adjustments where needed. A growing feeling I’ve had is that the site needs a bit of a refresh. Here’s what I’m thinking about right now.
Sprucing things up
Stormbirds turned eight this past April and that means that in a little over four months it’s going to be nine! Hard to believe! Doing the same project for nine years is a long time and while my commitment overall hasn’t changed, I do feel the need to change things up a bit.
One of the changes I’m working on is a refresh of the visual theme for Stormbirds. I’ve been using the same overall look and feel since the blog launched in 2016 and the same logo since April of 2020. Many have complimented it on the visual appeal and overall look over the years so I’ve been hesitant to change it. And as much as we all fear change, sometimes its a good thing.
I want to offer some alternative options on how the news is displayed. I still fully intend to offer the latest news, in order, on the top of the main page. But I’d also like to offer some features that I see with some of the “magazine” style home pages where you can browse by themes. I don’t want to split it up too much but I can see streams devoted to combat flight sims, civil flight sims and other sims being something that could be on offer.
I am also facing some issues with how ads and ad space is divided up with the current theme. Ad revenue, one of the key ways to keep the blog hosting going, has dropped off recently. I’d like to make them a little less distracting but still visible and relevant. They are, as they say, a necessary evil and the revenue, while not a lot, helps quite a bit.
In the new year I’m also thinking about new video projects (haven’t done one of those for a bit) and maybe even getting back into hosting the odd podcast. Sometimes you need to try new things or mix things up a bit from the past and so 2025 may be one of those years.
None of this is certain but I wanted to let everyone know that I may be putting a fresh coat of paint on the site. But only once I’m happy with what I come up with.
Of course, I love to hear what you folks think so if there’s something you like about the site or don’t like about the site I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. I’ve already heard from some of you that you like the product roadmaps and that you still want to see a stream of all of the latest news up top.
Stormbirds 
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