If you are reading this and you have visited Ann Arbor with Kids before today, you probably are noticing that the site looks different than it has before. The changes are more than cosmetic with several key upgrades in the functionality.
Front Page Layout
The new Front Page of Ann Arbor with Kids highlights several featured posts with a slider than will scroll through the featured posts. Below the slider, you will find a series of posts highlighted by categories. The new layout will is more visual, so expect to see more pictures on posts going forward.
Drop-Down Menus
With the old website, we were limited to top level menus which only allowed for at most 10 menu items. The new site supports multi-level drop-down menus allowing for better access to information.
Event Calendar
One of the main goals of my site upgrade was an improved calendar functionality. When you select the top level of the Events menu you will see all of the events sorted by day. You can use the drop-down menus to filter events by age range, category, or location. There is also an option to submit your own event to the calendar. Submitted events will be reviewed and edited before publication. Events will be added directly to the calendar instead of as individual blog posts.
Mobile Support
The old site offered a limited mobile layout for use on a mobile display, but was not able to provide a full robust experience without loading the full desktop site. The new site will adapt it’s layout to a mobile device while still providing consistent access to all of the site features.
Upcoming
I have migrated the site to the new back-end and the new front-end. Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll be refining the menu structures and possibly even the front-page categories to provide the best experience to my readers.
Feedback
What do you think of the new site? Leave us a comment below or on Facebook. If you have any suggestions for further improvements, please let me know.
