What’s changed?

On opening the new site you will see a modern look with large fonts, large buttons and fresh colours. The top of the site provides for simple navigation and no clutter. There are no side bar ads meaning content is full width and easier to read. Advertising is arranged in a layout that is easy on the eye.
Mostly the site logic, tools and features remain the same but are just presented differently. The layout will change depending on the width of the screen of the device you are using -hence the term “responsive”.
There are a couple of new features worth noting:-
• The first is the inclusion of an arrow under Places which will indicate the direction, distance and type of Places near your current location. A refresh button allows the list to be rebuilt if you move position.
• The other is the inclusion of a highlighted post in the Forum Index view to show which posts are new, or which posts have had new comments since you last opened the post. This feature is only available to registered users.

Work in Progress

Some new site features, as well as some we are used to, are temporarily missing or not displaying as they should. This should be resolved ASAP. These include Photo captions and ratings, Trek Maps & Search for Trek by Map, Blogs Photo View, Locked Blogs cannot be unlocked except by author, States & Regions Articles, Members File Swap cannot upload new files, Search does not include Recipes & Wildflowers and Tyre Size Calculator Article. If you find other errors please let ITBeyond know by posting a message in the System Update Issues Forum Thread.

Why the need for change?

Our old website was based on a very early edition of the ExplorOz software that for various reasons was not updated over time and got to the point where it was struggling to cope with new technologies and the demands placed on it. Change was necessary. Going responsive is a very important step due to the rapid uptake of smartphone and tablet use and the wide range of devices and the resultant variances of screen resolutions and screen widths. Many websites are already responsive whilst others either soon will be or risk failing to meet user demands.
As a result of being responsive, the layout has some tight restrictions that initially users may find adjusting to difficult. However the improvements are worth it. As with all new things, change for some will take some getting used to. For example, Forum users will notice quite a significant change. We simply ask for patience and understanding to allow completion of the roll out before making final judgement.

Greg Trent
President