Yes, as seems to be the case every year, I have once again redesigned the site, though this time it was more a stripping down than a redesign. The goal here was to remove anything that wasn’t necessary to the user experience from each page. This includes Facebook and Twitter code, the related news widget below each post and the pop up login form, all of which either slowed down the site or made it more difficult for you to get to the content you came to see.
The next goal was to make the experience reading RopeofSilicon.com easy no matter what device you are reading it on. The new responsive design now conforms to the size of your browser window. Seriously, go ahead and try shrinking the window size by making the browser window smaller, or rotate your mobile device. portions of the site will shrink and move to make sure the content is always visible and always in a way that’s easy to read and consume.
Finally, it’s time to finally open up paid subscriptions, and I’m starting small, but when it comes to speed those of you that choose one of the two subscription options are going to see a big boost.
To start, you can purchase either a monthly or yearly subscription option, both of which offer you the chance to not only support the site, but view each page completely advertising free*. This means paid subscribers will no longer see banner ads, pop up ads or even preroll ads in front of RopeofSilicon-hosted (i.e. non YouTube, Yahoo, MSN, etc.) trailers. Not only does this mean the ads won’t appear, but the code that serves the ads will also be stripped from each page, which is what contributes to the speed in which the page loads.
For more information on subscriptions and pricing click here and to view complete details and the FAQ click here.
Why Subscriptions?
The subscription option has been put into place largely out of necessity. It’s a way for me to offer not only the day-to-day news, trailers, pictures, etc. you expect, but also do more original content, more Best Movies posts, more essays and conversation pieces that take more time to write.
The Internet has become a realm where pageviews dominate and content matters little. It’s why Entertainment Weekly is firing their movie reviewers and “hiring” unpaid interns to write their blog posts. I could sit here and regurgitate every little movement in comic book movies, look for plot details in toys, post rumors, casting, etc. and do just fine when it comes to pageviews and advertising, but then there is zero differential between this site and the others and, on top of that, I’m getting older and a lot of that content is largely useless hit bait.
You can still expect me to do the some amount of the content I just described, if not more, because let’s face it… some of it is fun and interesting to dissect. However, my goal is to do more original pieces, which don’t always get as many pageviews because they aren’t the easily digested pictures, posters and casting blurbs, which means less advertising money.
So your subscription, which monthly is less than the cost of a latte and the yearly option is an even better deal than that, will not only give you the chance to view a much faster, less annoying website, but support the site in a way that will allow me the financial security to spend more time writing the pieces many of you have come to want to read.
Of course, the subscription isn’t a requirement. Right now, all the same content will be offered for free, though the next step will be to write some articles meant for paid subscribers only, Oscar predictions may be moving in the same direction as well. I know the overwhelming consensus is everything on the Internet should be free, but financially I can’t look at it that way any longer and it also doesn’t make for the best content. My goal has been to always offer the very best I can in terms of content and user experience and your small subscription fees will go a long way to making this an even better website.
Thanks for visiting, I hope you enjoy and as an introductory offer, all monthly subscribers that choose the auto renew option will get their first month for only $0.99, get the details here.
Also, do note, all prices are introductory and subject to change. Lock in your subscription now for what I currently have established as a Level 2 subscription.
* See complete subscription details and frequently asked questions answered here.
