Explaining the Layout Changes (with pictures!)

As I’ve just finished (I hope) making layout changes here, I figured I would try to explain how things have changed and what to expect in the future. Before that, however, I want to re-iterate what my view for this site has always been, and that is to provide YOU with the most interesting, relevant, and useful content on the web, be it links, videos, or my own writing. I feel that this layout change will provide a better experience and allow for you to view this content easier.

That said, I may still have to make some minor adjustments. In fact, I already had a plugin crash on me… yikes! So, let’s get started (just click on any image below to view a larger version)…

1. All internal links (those for reThinkSurvival.com) are still generally the same and you’ll find them at the top and right-hand side of the page like usual:

2. You can now quickly and easily see current “quick reference” links (right now it’s limited to showing the most recent 25 links). Today I will start adding more links rather than one a day like before. I expect this to be a bit more like PrepperWebsite.com but I probably won’t add more than a handful of the BEST links I find, we’ll see. Note that these links will get published as individual posts like before (so they’ll show up in your email or RSS reader) but instead of having to navigate to the post here and then clicking another link, you can now click on the links here and be immediately taken to the referenced article:

[EDIT: These quick reference links are now NOT shown on any full post article in order to make reading posts easier. In other words, these links should ONLY be shown on the homepage.]

3. All articles that I write (everything except “quick reference” links and “daily youtube” videos) will be prominently displayed in the middle of the screen. The major change here is that instead of reading the entire article on the front page, simply click on the title or “continue reading” link to view the entire article:

4. The daily YouTube videos are another major change as they will no longer be published as an individual post. Instead, I will simply add new videos that I enjoy directly on reThinkSurvival.com. You’ll see the most recent ones on top, older at the bottom. Right now I have the most recent 10 videos showing but may add to that a bit. Regardless, I don’t expect to add more than a few videos a day at most:

5. Fortunately, playing these videos is just like playing any other video found in the “Video Vault”… just click on it and the video will start playing in a popup:

6. I’ve realized that you cannot comment on either “quick reference” or “daily youtube” videos with these changes (you can still comment directly on any articles I write). With this in mind, I’ve opened up comments on the front page so you can still comment if you like. Of course, you would need to indicate which video or referenced link you’re commenting on but that’s the best I think I can do right now.

Hopefully it all makes sense and turns out to be a pleasant change! And choose to give it a few days before choosing to dislike the changes. Last, if you notice any major problems or something not working correctly please let me know. Thank you.