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New Domain, New Look

Posted by Elise on Mar 10, 2009

Filed under Announcements

New Domain, New Look

Hello everyone! I'm pleased to announce that there are some changes afloat here at Simply Recipes, which I hope you will like as much as we do.

First, Simply Recipes finally now has its own domain name, SimplyRecipes.com. I actually bought the domain name several years ago, and even trademarked it, but have been reluctant to move the site over to the new domain lest the move disrupt the site's searchability in Google. My web designer Jesse and I have been plotting for years, and working for months, to move the site and as of today we have started the transfer. Before today if you typed in simplyrecipes.com into your browser, you would be redirected to elise.com/recipes. But now, simplyrecipes.com has its own page, its own little corner of the Internet. Today, there's only one page at simplyrecipes.com; all of the other pages on the site are still at elise.com/recipes. Over the next few months Jesse and I will be moving the site over to the new domain, section by section. This is an approach that is recommended by Google to minimize disruption in the site showing up in Google's search engine, so I hope it works.

In the meantime, it would really help if you have a website and could link to us at http://simplyrecipes.com. That will help let the search engines know that we really do exist at our new home. If you already link to Simply Recipes, but at the old domain, I would very much appreciate it if you would change the link to reflect the new simplyrecipes.com domain name (thanks!). Update: Those using iGoogle or Google Reader need not make any changes. The RSS feeds haven't been changed to the new domain yet, and when they are, the old feeds will be automatically redirected to the new.

Second, if you go to SimplyRecipes.com you will notice a site design that looks a bit different from what you might be used to here.

elisecom-sr.jpg sr-com.jpg

There actually is some method to this madness. For technical reasons, at least for a few weeks until Google notices us at the new domain, we need to publish two versions of the main page of the site, and those versions need to be clearly different from each other. So, I thought I would take this opportunity to try out a new design and to get your feedback. For now you can still view Simply Recipes by going to elise.com/recipes and you can also view the site at simplyrecipes.com. The design of the new domain is not fixed in stone. It is a work in progress so I would love to get your comments about what you like and what you don't like with the new design. My goal is to make it easier to navigate, read, and digest. (This is a food site, was that a pun?) The good news is that my soon to be 79-yr old dad likes the new site. He thinks the category sidebar is easier to use and I agree. I'm not so sure on the thumbnails (smaller photos) of the recipes, but the benefit is that you get to more quickly scan to see what has been recently added.

So please, if you have a moment, take a look at the new design and let us know what you think. The more specific you are in what it is you like or not, the better. Thanks!

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73 Comments

The new site looks great! I use a gadget on Google and I just looked to see if you had a new one up yet... for now I guess I will use the old one. :)

Yep, one thing at a time. When the site does totally switch over it should be pretty seamless. Google will just take the feed from the new URL. ~Elise

Posted by: Cecelia on March 10, 2009 11:24 PM

The old site wasn't bad at all, but the new one is better! I'm sure all your devotees will continue to get both pleasure and knowledge from the new site. Congratulations!

Posted by: Ruth on March 10, 2009 11:30 PM

The new design is excellent! I agree with your dad, the navigation is much better. And I also like the thumbnails for the previous recipes below the fold. I think I'll visit even MORE now. Keep up the good work.

Posted by: RPF on March 10, 2009 11:45 PM

The changes, albeit minor look great. Overall makes for a far easier to read site. I'm also loving the new food panel for favourites, seasonal and popular.

I'm in agreement with the smaller images - means less scrolling to get to the recipe.

My only gripe is the left column navigation: Recipes by Type. The hover background colour change is too minute to be recognisable on some screens. Might be an idea to make the change in brightness/contrast more noticeable.

Other than that, keep up the great work!

Posted by: Kushal Pisavadia on March 11, 2009 1:45 AM

I've updated my link! Actually, I find the thumbnails are both nice and helpful...

Posted by: Mar on March 11, 2009 2:56 AM

Wow, Elise. The new site looks wonderful. I like how it blends elements of the current one - the comforting color scheme, the easy to find quick links to ingredients and dishes, with a more streamlined layout. And all of the enticing pictures on the list of "previouslys" look fantastic. You and Jesse did a great job!

Posted by: Rose on March 11, 2009 3:33 AM

What about those of us who get to your site via a personalized Google page? I did not input your site address, I just selected your site to be one of the "boxes" on my personalized page, from a list of Google cooking blog options. Will Google automatically change it?

Thanks...I don't want to lose you!

No worries. For the moment, the only thing that has changed is that there is an additional page with a new URL for entering the site. The rest of the site is still on the old domain. When the switch over is complete, Google will just pull information from the new URL. You shouldn't have to do anything. ~Elise

Posted by: Carolie on March 11, 2009 3:54 AM

It all makes sense and wish you the best of luck. I've treasured your site for some time now. As I enter the world of blogging for some of my own passions, I hope it's ok but I've added the new link from my site.

Oh, and my entire family LOVED the Baked Cabbage recipe...and the Reuben Sandwiches the next night were great too....

Links are always welcome, thank you! Glad you liked recipes, ~Elise

Posted by: Jackson Hale on March 11, 2009 4:39 AM

I like the layout of the new site! I also am with Carolie; I subscribe to your site through the "gadgets" area of iGoogle. I definitely want the new site to be a gadget for iGoogle. Thanks! I enjoy the recipes on your site.

Posted by: Stephanie on March 11, 2009 4:58 AM

I love the thumbnail photos and the new look Elise! You will want to remind everyone to change their RSS feedreader links too. Good luck with the details of moving - sounds very involved!

There is no new feed YET for RSS, so nothing to switch. When the time comes the old feed will automatically redirect to the new one, so there shouldn't be an issue. ~Elise

Posted by: Phoo-D on March 11, 2009 5:07 AM

I just tried to change your link in my iGoogle home page, but the system is automatically redirecting the link to elise.com. I've tried to change the url twice, but every time I click on the box it redirects. Any suggestions? It may just take some time for Google to figure out the new domain name?

At the moment, there is only one page on simplyrecipes.com. Over the next weeks and months we will slowly move the rest of the site over, including the feed URLs, and what Google pulls for iGoogle. When that time comes, it will be automatic. Google will just magically get the new domain (not magic really, but an "htaccess redirect" from the old domain) so you won't have to do anything. ~Elise

Posted by: Mitch on March 11, 2009 5:43 AM

For me, it's always been about form, not fashion. Your writing, recipes and beautiful photography would fly on the back of a grocery bag.

And if your dad likes the new design, who am I to argue?

Happy Birthday, Papa Bauer. Just make sure somebody else bakes your cake. You deserve it.

Posted by: jonathan on March 11, 2009 5:45 AM

Hi Elise, This is gonna be a long one.
First, I agree with your dad on the category sidebar. Easier to use, also better aesthetically. I love all the aesthetics of the new site actually, the new design is wonderful. When I first came here about a year ago, I had googled "lasagna recipe." And WOW I, a new cook, made the best lasagna anyone had ever tasted. I have been hooked ever since. There is a point to all this... I first thought this was just a recipe search site (like AllRecipes... *shiver*), so I like that you have your little blurb at the top right, introducing yourself and explaining that this is a blog. And might I add, I love that this is a blog and not a search site, it's much more personal and the community here is outstanding. Next: I love the branding. The Simply Recipes Amazon Store and Simply Recipes for iPhone banners look great and you've really made them your own. I also like the "contributors" section. I never realized before that you had a profile for each contributor, and it's great to be able to get to know them, especially if you haven't had a chance to look at their blogs yet. The twitter feed is a nice addition as well. But now for my one and only dislike: Not sure if you know how to do this, but if you can leave the @Replies off the site's twitter feed, that would be better (in my humble opinion). When we see the @Replies we are only seeing one side of a conversation so it doesn't really make sense. For me personally, I just like seeing what you are up to :). OK one more thing... I also like that there are no ads. Not sure if that is permanent, but hey, who doesn't like a website with fewer ads? ;). Great job on the new site and I look forward to seeing it blossom!

Hi Shelly, thanks for the detailed feedback! Regarding ads, there will definitely be an ad on this page (girl's gotta make a living). I'm just sorting some code issues out, should be an ad up later today. Regarding Twitter, I'm on top of this one, can you believe it? I completely agree. I would rather not see the @replies on the Twitter widget. My brilliant web designer has done a bunch of research and figured out a way to code it so that the @replies are filtered out. What you are seeing are my main Tweets to everyone. Sometimes I want everyone to know about someone on Twitter, or I'm retweeting from someone else, so those @words are still there. But they aren't replies. Thanks again! ~Elise

Posted by: Shelly on March 11, 2009 5:47 AM

Hi Elise,

Best of luck! Moving a website can be a time-consuming process.

I currently link to two specific recipes; I don't think I can update those links to point at your new domain yet, right? I'll keep an eye on your blog (as always) and update the links as soon as they become available on the new domain.

Groetjes,

Martijn.

Hi Martin, no, the recipe links have not been updated to the new domain yet. When the whole site is finally transfered I'll make another announcement. But thank you! ~Elise

Posted by: Martijn on March 11, 2009 5:59 AM

Hi and congrats on the new site! I recently moved my wife's portfolio and used .htaccess rules to forward all old url's to new url's. Your webmaster probably knows all the who's and what's about this. This way until google updates, all searches will still direct correctly to your website.

Also I think (not substantiated) that this redirection alerts google to the fact that the site permanently moved and makes them update their index faster

hope this helps, love your blog ;-)

lior

Posted by: liorshapira on March 11, 2009 6:18 AM

I do like the new design better! I love the way it has one bigger article at the top and then lots of smaller ones below with pics, but just a blurb, then click through to read the whole thing. Gives a person a lot more choices right on the front page.

All the little boxes make everything seem easier to find and just the whole thing looks cleaner overall. Great job!

Posted by: Valerie on March 11, 2009 6:20 AM

Hi Elise,

I really like the new design, especially since you decided to keep the color scheme. These colors automatically make me think of your site. I visit everyday and have found some great inspiration for my own creations. I'll update my bookmarks now.

Best of luck with the redesign.

Cindy

Posted by: Cindy on March 11, 2009 6:30 AM

Updated our link, looks great! Congratulations!

Posted by: katie on March 11, 2009 6:56 AM

Elise, I am sure the new site will be as succesfull as the old one, which I love. I am your devotee since I start my food blog on Brazil also my friends who have food blogs. They have shown me Simply Recipes and since then I am always be you, no matter happens! Congratulations!

Posted by: Claudia on March 11, 2009 7:14 AM

Great idea, hope it doesn't end up causing you too many headaches, but in the end I think it'll be well worth it!

One thing I didn't see mentioned was the rss feeds, will those automatically switch to the new site or will there be a new feed url when the switch happens?

When the rss switch happens, it will be automatic, you won't have to do anything. ~Elise

Posted by: Eagle on March 11, 2009 7:35 AM

hi Elise,

I'm not sure if this is the first time I write in your website, but you can be certain is not the first time I visit it.

I always love it but now I love it even more. I couldn't agree more with your young at heart dad!. He appears to be such a wise man :-) The site is more friendly to use.

About the thumbnails (smaller photos) of the recipes, I personally think is a wonderful idea!!! Pls, don't move it!.

Another one thing I love about this new site is we can see your pic on the right corner, that make us truly feel at home, with family.

Congratulations! Wish you more success than ever.

Heidi

ps. I will link it to my tiny little blog if that helps!
ps2. Saw your ClubMed pictures on Matt's and David's blogs......you look like a model!!

*blushing* ~Elise

Posted by: heidi leon on March 11, 2009 7:38 AM

You need to make sure your web guy understands HTTP 301 redirects.

Then you won't lose any traffic.

Oh yes, we understand those. But even with permanent redirects there can be issues. I redirected another site from one domain to another (using htaccess permanent redirects) and lost 60% of the traffic in 2 weeks. That was a few years ago and supposedly it's less risky now, but still, trying to play it safe here. Thanks! ~Elise

Posted by: Adam S on March 11, 2009 7:40 AM

Hi Elise,

I've been following your blog for a little while and have tried some of your recipes. They turned out delicious. Thank you so much for your blog. I started a new blog this week, something I've wanted to do for a while but just couldn't find the time. Anyways, I've linked to your site as one of the sites I follow and will change the URL. I also linked to your zucchini muffins recipe which I adapted into a carrot/zucchini combination. When should I change the link for that or will I need to do so?

Hi Betty, thank you for your kind words and changing the link. The recipe pages are still on the old domain and will likely be there for a while. When the site is fully ported over, I'll probably make another announcement. Thanks! ~Elise

Posted by: Betty on March 11, 2009 7:47 AM

Really nice new site!!!! I love the thumbnails of the most recent post. Easy to navigate, easy to search. Absolutely a great step forward. Bravo!

Posted by: Karen on March 11, 2009 7:52 AM

Elise - I have enjoyed your blog for several years and have used and loved so many of your recipes. And I love the new design. I somewhere heard an old saying, "you eat first with your eyes," and the inclusion of photos of each recipe on the main page is a great invitation and enticement to try the recipe. They have always been there but required navigation to find them. In fact, navigation to all the treasures included in your blog are much easier to find and use. Looking forward to the big permanent change. Congratulations! Lou

Thanks Lou! Still using your plum conserve recipe, btw, it's a keeper. :-) ~Elise

Posted by: Lou on March 11, 2009 7:52 AM

I LOVE the thumbnails on the new website. Being a visual person myself, I would much rather have a snapshot (using both pictures and a brief description of the recipe) of the most recent posts than having to scroll down a page through entire posts just to see the most recent ones I've missed. So don't get rid of the thumbnails!! :)

I've been a stealth follower of your blog for some time now. Actually, I do believe your blog was the first that opened my eyes to the existence of recipe blogs. And you do a great job of it, from the stories you tell about each recipe to the photos of the recipes to the recipes themselves. And, being born and raised (and still living) in Southern Cali, I love your Mexican food recipes. Whenever I feel like experimenting with Mexican food outside of the taco-and-burrito box, yours is the first site I visit to see what I can find. Thank you for sharing with us your talent. :)

Posted by: Kristen on March 11, 2009 7:57 AM

Hi Elise,

I love the new site design! The thumbnails and blurbs for the recent posts is particularly nice. I do link to you (albeit from a tiny little blog that I am pretty sure only my mom and husband actually read) so I have updated the link. I've been an avid reader of your blog for a while now; I've made a bunch of your recipes and they have all come out great! Your photography is beautiful, also.

Anyway, congrats on getting the new site up and running!

-Shanna

Posted by: Shanna on March 11, 2009 9:02 AM

Congratulations, Elise. The new site looks very nice! Keep up the excellent work!

Posted by: Ari on March 11, 2009 9:26 AM

Nice look Elise. I use Firefox with adblock and the page looks fine. Easy to navigate. Good Job.
Charlie

Posted by: Charlie on March 11, 2009 9:27 AM

Hi Elise,
I have bookmarked many of your recipes as favorites. With the change of your domanin name, will those recipes still be there when I click on one of your bookmarked recipes? BTW, I think your recipes and photos are some of the best! Thanks.
--Becky

Yes, when the full site transfer is complete (may take a few months) any old URLs will automatically redirect to their corresponding pages at the new domain. ~Elise

Posted by: Becky on March 11, 2009 9:31 AM

SWEET. HAPPIER LOOK. THANKS

Posted by: maria on March 11, 2009 9:42 AM

Congrats on you new home:-) I will update the link in my page.

Posted by: Soma on March 11, 2009 9:50 AM

Hi, I love your page layout, now even more. It is SEO friendly with links, ads, adsense neat page source, etc. Have you tried links to DIGG as well as StumbleUpon? You could boost traffic further! I work with Search and have been wishing to create my own food site forever you give me inspiration! Do you have any suggestions as to what content management software I could use as well as hosting? I am a bit familiar with wordpress. Also, in the past I remember sending an email to the designer who created your page following a link from your own site, but I never got a response from them. I guess my message got caught in their filters. Any help will be
greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Heguiberto Souza

Hi Heguiberto - Thanks for the reminder, I may add those links in the future. Regarding content management systems, I've been very happy with Movable Type and I know a lot of people who like Wordpress. My web host is Hurricane Electric and I love them big time. 24x7 phone support, from techs who know what they are doing. Very little down time. Regarding my web designer, as far as I know he is fully booked, overbooked actually, with work, so I would look somewhere else, perhaps Craig's List? ~Elise

Posted by: Heguiberto Souza on March 11, 2009 10:00 AM

Bookmarks, bookmarks, bookmarks!

Elise, please make sure that links to recipe pages on the old site and domain re-direct to the corresponding recipe page on the new domain. I feel this is very crucial for you to have setup correctly when transitioning your recipes to the new site.

There are some articles that you can pass along to your web designer:

http://perishablepress.com/press/2008/01/23/permanent-301-redirect-via-php-or-htaccess/

http://perishablepress.com/press/2008/01/16/comprehensive-htaccess-canonicalization-for-wordpress/

Good luck on the transition, I know these things take time and are difficult.

Hello Eric, yes, you can rest assured that all recipe links will be redirected to their corresponding pages on the new domain. We're actually going to attempt to go about this slowly, just redirecting parts of the site at a time. It's what Google recommends, and it will give me some peace of mind so that if something doesn't work right, it affects just a portion of the site not the whole thing. Thanks for the link recommendations, I'll take a look! ~Elise

Posted by: Eric Ferraiuolo on March 11, 2009 10:37 AM

How funny, I was just going to add your site to my blogroll. I will make sure to use the new url. Hope there's not too much trouble with the switch.

Kalinda

Posted by: Kalinda on March 11, 2009 10:47 AM

I love the "recently" section with the thumbnails. Bravo!

Posted by: Kim on March 11, 2009 10:55 AM

I really like both the left and right sidebars. I think the updated design is gorgeous, and I love the welcome area with your photo. The only thing I don't like are the thumbnails. To me, those make the page too busy or something—they give it a different feel that strikes me as maybe less personal/inviting. I like seeing your beautiful photos at the larger size on the front page.

Thanks Lisa, yes there are pros and cons to the thumbnails. Renders pretty well on smaller resolution screens and looks a bit busy on the larger resolutions screens. ~Elise

Posted by: Lisa on March 11, 2009 11:11 AM

What a beautiful new website! Congrats!

Posted by: Vincci on March 11, 2009 11:36 AM

Elise - Normally, I'm not one for commenting, but I had to come out of hiding to say it looks wonderful! I think the thumbnails are a great new feature. It's also nice to see the contributors, as well as favorite/seasonal/popular recipes. And please don't make the images smaller, that's something I so much enjoy about the blog - clear, crisp, beautiful pictures that excite me to cook. Congratuations on all your hard work!

Posted by: Lauren on March 11, 2009 11:56 AM

Elise, I love the new layout. Change is (almost) always good, especially when it's for the better. Keep up the great site and good luck with the move!

Posted by: Amy on March 11, 2009 12:23 PM

The new right sidebar looks great. I never actually used anything on the old right sidebar, but I expect to get a lot of use out of the new one. I especially like the Favorites/Seasonal/Popular panel. I like the way that whole sidebar is organized and designed. It looks sleek and modern, including the contributors' section.

I also like the new thumbnails in the center of the main page. It makes it far easier to scroll through the page. I visit your website every day, so I often don't scroll down to check if there was more than one new post. Having the new thumbnails will make it easier for me to see "at a glance" whether there was more than one new post that day.

The only part of the revamp that I'm not sure about is the "Recipes by Type" portion of the left sidebar. To me, this part of the new sidebar looks less modern than the old one. I also really like the type of bulletpoint used on the old "Recipes by Type" area and still in use elsewhere on your site. I prefer the same style panel as used for "Cooking and Food Blogs" on the new site. But maybe you're just trying to mix things up so that not every panel looks the same. :) At any rate, overall I like the changes and absolutely love your site!

Posted by: Melinda on March 11, 2009 12:30 PM

I hate change so I was all set to dislike the new format. But I love that I can glance at all the current posts. Makes me remember easily what you've done previously (and reminds me of items I wanted to make) at a glance. Thanks!

Posted by: Mrs. L on March 11, 2009 1:23 PM

I like the new design! It makes me feel nostalgic, though - the old design feels like a simple blog, the new design is almost a magazine. Feels like Simply Recipes is growing up!(sniff... I remember when the blog was only THIS big...)

Oh yes, remember the days? ~Elise

Posted by: melissa on March 11, 2009 1:30 PM

Congratulations on starting the move to your new domain, Elise! I've updated the link from my blog and it works :). Love the thumbnail / condensed look of the recent posts. Easier navigation!

Posted by: Piegirl on March 11, 2009 1:35 PM

Just my too cents, but I like the new design better and really do like the small thumbnails with the previous posts. I like the ability to scan recent material quickly.

This is great balance of the old with the new. Good luck with new domain!

Posted by: Jeremy on March 11, 2009 3:16 PM

You know, I've never noticed before that the top menu bar was actually a very subtle plaid until I looked at the new design. It somehow pops out just a bit more, but just enough to show the same attention to detail you have for your recipes. I like it much more than the plain reddish bar I always thought you had, though as I compare to the old site, had already been there.

I like the overall look, it blends better. Somehow that ad bar from google always stuck out like a sore thumb, so it looks much more encorporated now. As ads come back in - I understand they have to eventually - hopefully they will find themselves their own little spot, not looking like a tossed on extra like a bad parsley sprig.

I like the menu break down of Recipes by Type, and that the email subscription moved over - no more accidently doing my recipe searches in there!

The smaller icons on the home page for past recipes means less scrolling to see all that I've missed, as well as the Favourites bar on the right, and the two new categories of Seasonal and Popular. Great idea for finding new ideas on the page when you aren't sure what you'd be interested in.

And I love the Contributors section; I don't remember ever seeing that before on the old page, and I like how it quickly links me to other recipes they've done.

Overall, I love it! Great work both, and congratulations! I have no clue what all the behind-the-scenes work involves, but I know it takes a lot of it to get a site looking this professional and overall great! I remember you had an older design that you had converted from, though I no longer remember what it looked like. It would be an interesting post to see snapshots of the various renovations this site has gone through over the years.

Posted by: Karen R on March 11, 2009 3:17 PM

Nice new site! I like it! I really like the thumbnails with the previous posts on the menu. Personally, I like seeing several of the most recent posts above the "recently on simply recipes" list, instead of just the single most recent post.

I admit to having a picture fetish, so I like the larger pictures, but that's just me.

Posted by: Stacia on March 11, 2009 6:48 PM

The new site looks amazing. The only thing I would wish for would be that when I hit the print button, it would include your wonderful anecdotes. That disappeared with the last changeover. :( What I do is to hit print, then use 'File/Save as' to save the recipe, and again, before the last changeover I would just then point to the folder I wanted to save it in and click save. That kept all the 'SR' files in one area. Now I have to cut the SR tag from the end of the file name and paste it in front.

Still, I love the new look! Just a few cents from a fan. :)

Thanks! BTW, I think if you just go to the recipe page of the recipe you want to print, and print from the browser (not using the print button or link on the page) you'll print the story and the recipe. No ads and I think no comments. :-) ~Elise

Posted by: Tres Amie on March 11, 2009 7:37 PM

I love the new site design. It's fantastic. Love the new right sidebar elements, love the shorter articles with photos below so I can quick-scan recent posts.

Your website is a huge resource for me. I generally blog about pregnancy and motherhood, and insert recipes because I am an avid cook. Up to now, my resources blog roll has only included the mom/baby type links, but today, I added simplyrecipes.com because you asked -- and because I'd be lying if it weren't included in that list; I just didn't think of it before!

Thanks for the link! ~Elise

Posted by: Julie @ the calm before the stork on March 11, 2009 8:16 PM

I definitely love everyhing on your site... Old and new!
I was wondering... Did you finished your dad's new kitchen? I would love to see a pic of the outcome ;)

Almost! A week or two more. Will post an update when finished. ~Elise

Posted by: patty on March 11, 2009 8:42 PM

It's gorgeous! I love it.

By the way, you know that your site isn't ONLY accessible by iphone? I have a blackberry and can access it just fine. Just wanted to let you know in case others who have internet enabled phones don't bother to try and b/c your link only says iphone.

Good point, thanks! ~Elise

Posted by: Nicole on March 11, 2009 9:23 PM

I like all the new additions, especially the thumbnails, but why can't the main center column (and photo of the recipe) be as wide as it was previously? I don't see the reason the right hand column (with your picture and message) needs to compete (almost the same width) with the recipe column.

Posted by: Lynne Peterson on March 11, 2009 10:04 PM

A new change with really nice handy updates while still preserving the warm, attractive loveble cozy and family theme of simply recipes that made us all hooked up on the site, great work, expecting the best always Elise :D

Posted by: Sherihan on March 12, 2009 4:35 AM

I agree with everyone else, the new site has a cleaner more streamline look. Also, I really like how you used a more toned down peach color on the new site.

I also agree with the perious poster - it does seem that the right column is a little too large... jmho :) But other wise the new site looks great!

Posted by: Soyon on March 12, 2009 6:05 AM

Hi Elise,

Your new site looks beautiful. I have to agree with someone else who said your photography and great recipes are welcome in any format, but that being said, the new site is quite aesthetically pleasing.

(You probably don't remember me, but I met you at the Fancy Food Show several years back when I worked for Niman Ranch. I took your picture with Paul Willis. I've been a huge fan of yours ever since.) :)

Congrats!

Adriene

Oh wow, that was a while ago! ~Elise

Posted by: Adriene Rathbun on March 12, 2009 8:06 AM

Elise,

I Love the new look!! It is great! I always like to try your recipes. Some can be a bit tricky to get the right ingredients, but it is always worth the extra effort. Thank you so much for your site!!

You Rock!!

Posted by: Tauna on March 12, 2009 9:00 AM

I've been lurking for a while now and wanted to say that I love the new layout! I've also signed up for the email updates.

Posted by: Sabrina on March 12, 2009 10:15 AM

Hi Elise,
The new site looks great. The changes to the new layout are minor, which is a good thing, because your old site looked great to begin with - "if it ain't broke...". Your site has alway been aesthetically pleasing both in terms of the colour scheme and the site navigation.

Anyway here are my humble criticisms:-
The "Recipes by Type" top left column now doesn't seem to look quite right after making the the font bigger and removing the bullet symbol. You could possibly remove a few of the lesser used items from "Recipes by Type" e.g. Turkey, and Superbowl.

I really like the new tabbed selection panel on the right.

Pictures. I love pictures. A Picture is worth a thousand words. As someone mentioned earlier you eat with your eyes first. Its also why we watch so many cookery programs.For me if a recipe doesn't have a picture it will not be made. So for me the new thumbnail pictures after the recipe are a good idea but they should be a little bigger. You are a great photographer and these thumbnails do not do them justice. Do you really need to show the number of comments and the recipe date?

A minor gripe I had with the old site, and maybe this is a good time to fix it, is that recipes listed by going via the "Recipe Index" are not in alphabetical order e.g. if you click on "Salad" from the "Recipes by Type" column and then compare that to "Recipe Index" -> "Salad" you see the difference.

Once again you have a great site that has inspired us to start our own.

Hi Anjay, thanks for the detailed feedback! I forgot that the Superbowl recipes were still on this page, have updated it to St. Pat's recipes. The issue with alphabetizing the index has to do with the specific type of code that I am using to create that index. It's different from the pages created in Recipes by Type. Last I checked we just couldn't get those in alpha order easily, but we'll take another look when my web designer gets back from SXSW. I agree, I would like to see those in alpha order too. ~Elise

Posted by: Anjay on March 12, 2009 10:48 AM

Hi Elise - just out of curiosity, why aren't you just doing a google-friendly 301 redirect?

If you (intelligently on apache, preserving deeplinks) 301 elise->SR you'll preserve your existing links, build new ones and alert google to fact that you've got a new domain. Plus you only have to maintain one site!

Do you or jesse have an "in" with the kids in Mountain View? and they are telling you otherwise? if so, share!

Yes, we will be doing this, but only one section of the site at a time, as per the recommended guidelines at Google Webmaster Central. As for now, Jesse is on a plane to SXSW, so I'm going to wait until he gets back to start moving more of the site over. The domain simplyrecipes.com used to be on a permanent redirect to elise.com/recipes. I was advised by an exec at Google to create a standalone page first, so that Google could see that the permanent redirect was no longer in place. The last time I undid a permanent redirect it took about 3 weeks for Google to recognize. This time, it took half a day! So, now Google knows that simplyrecipes.com exists. The next step is to start moving sections of the site over. What's cool about what we are doing is that I am only maintaining one site. I have 2 domains running on one implementation of Movable Type. When I publish a new post it appears on both elise.com/recipes and simplyrecipes.com. Some major apache work by my webhost Hurricane Electric (love them) and some htaccess redirect stuff by Jesse and it just works. :-) ~Elise

Posted by: Chad on March 12, 2009 1:07 PM

I didn't think you could improve on what you had, but you've done it again, Elise! The new format is very readable and user-friendly. Hugs, Evie

Posted by: Evie on March 12, 2009 2:45 PM

Congratulations! I know you've been working on this a long time, and I really like the new look. I'm always amazed by your technological prowess (among your other many fine traits!)

Rand and Bradley have been talking with me about changing my blog to three column sizes for more flexibility, so I love seeing how well it's working on your new site. (Also, maybe I can watch how you do it and get enough courage to finally move my own site. Thanks for the inspiration, although I have a lot to learn before I would dare attempt it!)

Will go and change my link right now.

Posted by: Kalyn on March 13, 2009 8:14 AM

I too like the thumbnails. It's faster/easier for me to skim the images than the titles.

Posted by: Mary on March 13, 2009 3:17 PM

Hi Elise,

I love the new site and it is so easy to get around. The thumbnails are really nice as well - especially since I am a visual person.

I did have a bit of a problem trying to get the link thing situation w/google, so I just cut & pasted your new site into our fave page. I am still figuring out this google stuff so it is probably a user problem! ;)

Keep up the great job!

Posted by: Chez Us on March 13, 2009 5:40 PM

I also use the "Gadget" form for your recipes and have them on my "Home Page".
I look forward to viewing them and have emailed them to many fammily members.
I've also printed some and have made a recipe booklet strickly of your recipes. I might even try your web site someday. You are a good worker. Good luck in your endeavors now and in the future. Jackie DeSmyter

Posted by: Jackie DeSmyter on March 14, 2009 2:52 PM

I like the new look. I like the thumbnails because I enjoy seeing a picture of the food you feature along with seeing more of them at one time! Thanks for your hard work.

Posted by: Emily on March 15, 2009 5:36 PM

I love the new look! It's still has the essence of what makes your site great, but now has some newer, easy to navigate features. I can spend hours here.

Posted by: White On Rice Couple on March 16, 2009 12:04 AM

I like the new look, very crisp and clean. It just looks like you decluttered the old site. Everything is still very organized and searchable.

Posted by: kanth7 on March 19, 2009 9:20 AM

I like that you have gone to a more "magazine" style layout than a pure blog layout. I also like that you made the categories stand out more on the left sidebar.

Could you cut the number of articles on the front page to five, and put pagination ( 1, 2, 3,... ) at the bottom?

Probably won't cut the number of articles, but will eventually put some pagination in. ~Elise

Posted by: Nate on March 19, 2009 10:02 AM

Hi Elise,

Congratulations! That's a great news!

I can imagine what a huge feat to move your whole blog to SimplyRecipes.com. I ported mine from Blogger to WP and it is still a work-in-progress and my blog is probably 1/20th your size. Sooooo much manual work and I am working after work into midnights and endless weekends. :(

Good luck!

Posted by: Rasa Malaysia on March 21, 2009 12:05 PM

Congratulations, Elise! I think it's a great move. I actually bought homecookingrocks.com and .net about 2 months ago and had been planning on moving but the amount of work involved, especially the technical part, is scary. I hope yours go as smoothly and as painlessly as possible.

Posted by: Connie on March 23, 2009 3:13 AM

Love, love, love the new look!

Posted by: Toni Scott on March 24, 2009 3:58 PM

I love the new look! Great job!

Posted by: Maria K. on March 28, 2009 11:41 AM

Hey Elise : Congratulations on the new site! :) It looks great. I have updated the links on my blog to the new one!

FSK

Posted by: FSK on March 30, 2009 11:24 AM

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