As some of you may have read, I am changing some things around here. While it may not be the best decision, I have decided to start implementing some of these changes in real-time. I frankly do not particularly enjoy using this method for changing things on a website, but for various reasons, this seems to be the best way to go.
I will hopefully be discussing some additional ideas tomorrow or Monday with a couple colleagues of mine. Nonetheless, I would love to hear what you think about how the home page has changed, what you would like to see in this site, what you think it is lacking and what you absolutely hate about it.
I am going to keep this post up until the dust settles. Please do participate in your thoughts - all comments and critiques are welcome.
Update 1
I have successfully turned this blog into a complete mess for the time being. So, yes, I am fully aware that this site is messy and I will be chipping away at it throughout the week. Nonetheless, I had a great conversation with some colleagues who brought up some great thoughts on how to improve the site to meet some of my goals. Those changes will be rolled out throughout the week.
On the bright side, there seems to be a relatively solid drop in my bounce rate already. Considering the fact that my site is in shambles, this frankly surprises me. I am hoping that by the end of the rehaul, I will notice a strong 15% drop in bounces. I’ll keep that statistic updated throughout the month.
Update 2
I just noticed that the home page had been hijacked by my old Movable Type implementation that decides to write a new index.html file every now and then… Honestly, how appropriate and well-timed.
Update 3
The site is still a mess, but things are starting to come together. I have been getting some absolutely great comments from folks on their thoughts on how the changes are moving. By all means, leave your thoughts as well. As I have continued to point out, the numbers are coming in and are very encouraging. I will be doing a write-up later on about it. Until then, I still have many pages that are broken due to the changes to the template. After blatant breaks in the site are addressed, I am going to start adding features and toning down some of the ones I have already implemented.
Update 4
Another day, another round of changes. I have yet the implement them, but I am starting to get an idea in my head of a nice common ground between the visual, functional and experiential design direction I want to head towards. I have also come up with an idea that I think is going to dramatically increase user participation and the overall cool-factor of this site. Stay tuned.
Update 5
Domestic issues have taken center stage for the last two days. We had a very good discussion with Kellie about some design ideas as well as larger ideas about the blog. I have since then come up with some other facets of the template which will be changing in the next couple days. In addition, that idea I spoke of in the last update is becoming larger and more ambitious by the day.
Update 6
The further I get myself into this rehaul, the bigger a hole I seem to be digging. Still, things are progressing nicely in concept at least. I have a whole new slew of issues I need to fix, but I am going to continue to press ahead until I reach a few goals. As you may have noticed, the header has two new slots, one of which contains some cryptic information. Both areas are there for very specific reasons and will have very specific purposes. My wife and I had a very long brainstorm about how this new idea would work and while in some respects it has become less ambitious, it has become much more feasible. This may be one of the few updates this week as work is going to be ramping up. Still, I will be attempting to push some more ideas out onto the site soon.
Update 7
Next to nothing was accomplished this weekend as work has been downright all-consuming. I have a lot in the queue, and I am putting a lot of consideration into the aspect of timing. The header is moving, albeit slowly, in a different direction and the navigation is next on the list. I feel somewhat disapointed that so much time has been wasted on relatively superficial facets of the website considering the fact that there are some real interesting changes that I feel will impact this site much more. However, if timing is critical for anything, it will be for that. So please, be patient. I can assure you this is bothering me more than anyone. 
Update 8
The updates continue… The header changed dramatically - it is still going to evolve a bit more, but this is the general direction I will be going in. I have held up on putting the fifth navigation item up because I still have some planning and implementing that I need to do. Many facets of the site still need minor tweaks if not major fixes, but at least forward motion is still being made. Visually, there are also a couple facets that need to be injected here and there. Still, I think the major change from this site rehaul will not be visual. More updates this weekend.
Update 9
Things continue to progress forward slowly. Expect some more changes this weekend. As you can see, there is something a little out of the ordinary at the top of the page now. I will begin to explain what is going on in further detail very soon.blog, bounce rate, design, redesign, rehaul, shambles wordpress
