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Our move to a new, improved, upgraded BlackFives.com website is almost ready to go.

That is to say, we’re not only moving to a new server, but also creating an entirely new site.

There are many reasons for this, and they are the usual ones so I won’t list them.

The new site will have more information, and more things to do and to see.  It will also be easier to get around within the site.

And the underlying “technology” makes it easier to add new features in the future, which means that there will be more possibilities for us to be creative and fun.

On the move part, we’re almost all packed up, so to speak.  And the new “house” — the new website — is going through final inspections.

Any website move is an intense process.  It is all-consuming.

That’s why there were no new posts last week.

For example, we have to check each feature to make sure it works in both Mac and Internet Explorer browsers.

There are over 100 new pages, about 200 re-directs, over 300 new URLs, and over 500 internal links that have to be defined and double-checked to make sure there are no broken links or “page not found” errors.

Then, dozens of plug-ins and settings and configurations and gateways and scripts.

Then, thousands of words of text and descriptions and captions.  Hundreds of images, video clips, and audio clips.  Proper formatting of them all.

There are dozens of products, prices, quantities, and sizes.

New ads and banners.

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And organizing and keeping track of it all.

But I have to say, despite how challenging I’m making this sound, that it’s been very easy.  Yes, easy! And fun.  Yes, fun!

That’s because, rather than build a new website, we’re using standard blog software to create a stand-alone website with static pages.

We’re using WordPress, which is the feature-rich, state-of-the-art, yet easy-to-use blogging software of choice for serious bloggers and data managers. And, it’s free.

So, our new website requires little or no programming skill.  And at minimal cost, if any.

The hardest part is the organizing and the tediousness of managing and repetitively handling large quantities of tiny pieces of information.

In fact, it’s a lot like a jigsaw puzzle — but not like a needle in a haystack — in that one knows where all the pieces are … the hard part is having the patience to put them all together.

After this, I’ll probably be able to teach a short course or write an article on how to do all of this!  More on that some other time.

Meanwhile, all this to say, thank you for your patience.