This time last year I did a little write up for the 6-month anniversary of my site. As the half-yearly anniversary falls on June 25th I affectionately dub it Switch 625 Day. Today, on the 18th month anniversary of my site's launch it really is Switch 625 day in every sense because today's the day that Steve Clark In Loving Memory switches to its restructured version (you won't notice any difference whatsoever, but it will make things easier for me!)

Why the change?

When I first started my site I never imagined it growing to this size but it has. It was in desperate need of some behind-the-scenes restructuring to make it more manageable for myself to work on. (This is important for me because as anyone who's depressed will tell you, doing something technical like webmastering this site really takes it out of you when you're low. My concentration is fleeting and it takes so much longer to do anything at all when I'm really low. With that in mind work has been going on, on and off, since Steve's birthday because I knew it would take this long. At the time of writing this it still isn't complete (so please excuse any broken links for a short while - everything will be fixed shortly... I hope).

As there is important information on this site for those suffering from the issues that affected Steve I didn't want to have to take my site down for maintenance for even one day let alone the amount of time it would take to restructure. Taking into consideration other visitors to my site as well who don't need the Get Informed section, I can't imagine that seeing 'This Site Is Closed For Maintenance' on the main page would be much fun.

I thought I had found a way to work around the problem. Originally I considered doubling up the files and working away at them one by one, rearranging the site structure as I went. By doing this, the site would be unaffected - it would have allowed me to keep the 'original' up until it was ready to switch over to the new site structure but due to the size of my site this was impossible. There just wasn't enough room to work it that way and it would have been even more confusing.

The way I have been working however, has allowed me to give you uninterrupted access to the site.

It should be the best of everything: I haven't had to take any part of the site down (so the information has been constantly available for everyone who needs it); I haven't had to remove my tribute to the man I love, for even one second, and I got to sort out the technical stuff in much easier surroundings. Only one problem... I miss my old URL. It has a special place in my heart for personal reasons.

What's actually changed?

For everyone that takes the time to remember Steve by visiting my site, absolutely nothing's changed save for having to adjust your bookmark or favourite if you're a regular visitor. You should notice no difference whatsoever, but for me it makes managing my site a lot easier. If you could have seen what I was faced with when working in some of the subdirectories of this site you would understand why this has had to be done!

The work that I've been putting into the move is mainly technical - the site still looks pretty much the same except for a couple of changes to some pages. I'm still in the process of making little adjustments to the look of the site as I said in One Year On, 6 months ago. Basically, it's a lot of technical work that doesn't show up to the general visitor but it will make it easier for me to update and make additions to the site (after I've had a rest from all the technical stuff first).

Have I finished the techie stuff?

Nope. Not all of it - there's still more to be done (Amongst other behind-the-scenes improvements, I'm always looking for ways to make sure my site downloads faster for you. When my health allows, I make little alterations to try and improve your experience here.) If you happen to stumble across any links that don't work, please be patient as this is the downside of restructuring. (This hopefully will only affect the links in the Updates page for the time I'm working on it). If you do come across any links that aren't working properly and it has been a while since I posted this, please feel free to email me via the email link below.

My labour of love for Steve still continues,

Thank you, as always, for visiting and remembering the great man.

The Webmistress
Dedicated - as ever - with love to Stephen Maynard Clark.