Happy New Year. Well, it's finally here..my new website is up and running. I wrote back in July about my need to "bite the bullet" and move my website to a new platform. There were a number of issues with the software I was using, including the concern about whether the company was still in business. I liked the software because it was easy to use; it was an application on my computer which I uploaded to GoDaddy. But the survey many of you completed in July confirmed it's shortcomings, especially the ability to find information in my blogs. In addition, my site was not "mobile friendly." I tried a couple of different platforms and decided on Wix, as it was the only one I was able to use immediately (I'm not one for spending a lot of time reading manuals.😀)
That's not to say that the move was easy. I've been frustrated trying to get the software to act like my old software and do the things I'm used to doing. A heart to heart talk with two of my daughters over Christmas, both of whom are involved with technology, web design and email marketing, was painful but necessary. When I complained about not being able to size graphics and to use superscripts for footnotes, their responses were almost identical. "Mom, that's the old way of doing things...it's not like that anymore." It seems the graphics issue was one of the things that kept my site from being mobile friendly. And the footnotes, well that's just old...we now just use links.
The other issue that kept me up at nights was how did I cut over from my existing site at moughty.com to my new Wix site. I'd been using a free version for the site during development which had ads and a weird URL. I own moughty.com but once I moved the domain I would lose over 10 years of blogs (currently more than 700). I did bring over all of the blogs from 2018, but each one had to be manually copied, pasted and edited which took between 15-30 minutes each! There was no way I could bring over all 700. My daughter, Meagan, scared me when she talked about how great my SEO was and how I would lose that with a new site (greek to me). So she helped me develop a migration path.
The new site, as you can see is now live and will be the only place where I am updating information. The domain has changed to IrishFamilyRoots.com. The old site, however, is still up and running. This allows me to link to older posts in my new blogs and leaves all 700 blogs available. You can still search the older material is the same clunky way, by using Google search. Just type your search term, followed by "site:moughty.com/blog" (without the quotes). In 2017 I had a year long focus on Strategies for Researching Your Irish Ancestors. Since two years is a long time with lots of new information, I've decided to re-do that series in 2019 with updated information. For those of you just starting your Irish research, it will be a step by step primer. For those of you who have been doing this a while, hopefully you'll find it a good refresher with new information.
Based on those of you who completed the survey, 78% of you are notified of new blogs via email. Here's where you need to do something. You need to set up a log in to the website (everything is still free) and subscribe to the blog. This also has the added benefit of allowing you to make comments on the blog, another feature I was looking for). Comments are very helpful, not only as feedback to me, but also for others who read the blogs. You might have additional information or suggestions that could help the entire community. So here's how you to it.
In the upper right corner of any page is a "Log In" box. Click on it and you will get a Sign Up screen. Add your email and password (remember, everything is still free).
If you are already a member and your system doesn't automatically log you in, you can click "Log in" from this screen as well. Click, "Sign Up."
Now the "Log In" message at the upper right changes and there is a drop down menu. Select, "Profile."
You can add whatever information here you would like, but the important next step is to click on "Settings." This is where you sign up for email notifications of the blog.
Click on "Subscribe" to be added to the blog mailing list. You can choose whatever other notifications you like. Remember, you can always change these.
You can expect to see changes in the next few weeks. There are still some things I haven't gotten quite right. Explore the site and if you come across some thing that doesn't work or that you find confusing or difficult, please let me know. Since this blog has gotten a bit long, I'll add another to discuss how to use the Categories in the blog and/or search for something specific.
Happy Hunting!
Interested in researching in Ireland next October? Check out the Ireland Research Trips. Both trips are more than half booked, so don't wait too long to register!