Big Updates, Bigger Wins: More Work On A Rainy Day

We’ve been busy behind the scenes, giving both our website and app some love. You might notice things are a little lighter and sleeker now. But don’t worry—we didn’t just chop stuff off for the sake of it. It’s all part of making sure the important bits shine, with some extras saved for later when they’ve found their perfect spot.

So, let’s dive into the good stuff:

The Latest:

1. Sidebar Slim Down: Less is more, right? We gave the sidebar a quick trim so it’s lean, clean, and all about the essentials. Now, you’ll find Home, About Us, Glossary, Login, and a link to our Ghost Blog—all in a layout that’s easier on the eyes (and way easier to navigate). The clutter? Gone. The important stuff? Front and center.

2. Accessibility FTW! We ran a Lighthouse review on our public pages, and guess what? We hit a perfect 100% for accessibility! 🎉 That means no matter who you are or how you browse, navigating our site just got a whole lot easier. A big win for inclusion and usability—we’re pumped about it!

3. Image Overhaul for Speed: If you’ve ever felt like the internet was moving at a snail’s pace, we hear you. We’ve started converting all our images from the trusty JPG and PNG formats to the shiny new WebP. Why? WebP gives you better compression without sacrificing quality, meaning faster load times without pixelating your favorite images. It’s like upgrading from a bicycle to a rocket.

4. Compression Supercharge: Not content with just faster images, we also amped up our compression game. GZIP on the web server? Check. Brotli compression through Cloudflare? Double check. Translation: our pages now load faster and use less bandwidth. Your browser’s basically running on caffeine at this point—zippy, efficient, and ready to go!

5. Registration Time-Out: We’ve hit pause on new user sign-ups for now while we tidy up a few things behind the scenes. Instead of signing up for the app, visitors are being directed to subscribe to our newsletter. This way, you’ll still be in the loop, and we can focus on rolling out something even better when the time’s right. Stay tuned!

UI/UX Deep Dive:

We’re all about making your experience smoother, which is why I’ve been digging into some top-notch UI/UX reads. Here’s what’s inspiring our next moves:

• Just Enough Research by Erika Hall: This gem is all about doing just enough research to really understand our users. No overkill, just the insights we need to make smart design decisions. It’s helping us zero in on what matters most to you.
• Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug: If there’s one UX rule to live by, it’s this: make everything so simple that users don’t have to stop and, well, think. We’re embracing that ethos hard, stripping away any complexity and keeping things intuitive, so navigating our site feels like second nature.
• Forms That Work by Caroline Jarrett and Gerry Gaffney: Let’s be honest, filling out forms can be a drag. But this book has some solid tips on how to make forms that are painless, quick, and user-friendly. As we rework user flows, these insights are gold. Fewer clicks, less confusion—everyone’s happy.

Looking Ahead:

This is just the beginning. Our UI/UX revamp is in full swing, and with the recent updates and a few great reads guiding us, we’re well on our way to delivering an even better experience. As always, we’re building this with you in mind—so don’t be shy! We love your feedback and we’re all ears as we push forward.

And before you go, here’s a quick joke to brighten your day: Why don’t websites ever argue?
Because they always redirect.

We’re just getting started. Stick around, because there’s more exciting stuff on the horizon!