Out with the old, in with the new

So what’s the deal with this new website and blog, you may wonder? The short answer is, I’m a hypocrite. Over the years, many kind people have offered to revamp or otherwise improve my existing website. But I’ve always declined – politely, I hope – because I have preferred to maintain hands-on control of the content. I have had a web presence since 1995, back when you had to do all the HTML coding yourself, and while my site has moved from one server to another over the years, there has always been that continuity. On the other hand, I have often seen slick, third-party author websites which look great to begin with, but eventually end up static and unmaintained, presumably because of a breakdown in communications between the writer and their web specialist.

Last year, though, I became frustrated with one or more aspects of Tripod’s web template, and also realised that I wished to consolidate my blog and website in the same place. Unable to achieve this myself, I contacted Creo, a local web design firm, and talked to them about my needs. We agreed to come up with a complete overhaul of the website, going for an admittedly more professional feel than I’d achieved before, and to also introduce a blog within the same site.

The new website uses the existing domain name – www.alastairreynolds.com – and, while it looks different, it does in fact incorporate much of the old content, as well as quite a lot of new stuff. Over time, there will be more. This will now be my primary blogging point of call, but I’ll continue to cross-post to the old blog – approachingpavonis.blogspot.co.uk – for at least a while, and perhaps indefinitely.

In the meantime, I hope the change isn’t too jarring. There will inevitably be glitches and omissions to begin with, but hopefully nothing too serious. Thanks for visiting!

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