Basically, Blogger, which we have been hosting this site on since inception, has served this site well enough for (over) ten years. It has been a free, low-pressure platform to drop things on. But, over 11,000 articles later and with the kind of growth that we’ve seen, it’s just no longer sufficient. In the recent DDNet survey we ran, a Website facelift was overwhelmingly the thing you all wanted to see us do the most (and it’s hard to disagree with that). We did need more control of the site to continue to grow it, and what we’re doing with it.
And so, we’re moving to our own host platform. That means a brand new (and gorgeous) website, better integration with our YouTube videos, podcast, Patreon, Itch.io, RedBubble and magazine platforms, and so much more. Basically, the site you love is about to graduate!
In the nature of full transparency: it’s going to be a process. The Web development company that we’ve contracted is telling me 6-8 weeks. In that time you’re going to see the kind of mild disruption that you are currently, but please bear with us because I know it looks really ugly. I apologise, but I would rather invest my efforts into getting the new site live ASAP rather than fix a site that was already decrepit. We’ll continue to publish reviews, news and other such articles, as well as the Dee Dee Zine and YouTube videos. I also (still) have that visual novel to get back on track. So we’re not disappearing by any means.
It’s just that things might be a little slower while we make the move, as I do need to dedicate (a lot of) time to this new site. It’s going to be worth it, though. I really believe that you’re going to love it, and DDNet is going to be so much better for it. I will keep you in the loop as we go along.
It’s no exaggeration to say that this is the most exciting new step that this site has taken since I started it!
– Matt S.
Editor-in-Chief
Find me on Twitter: @mattsainsb
