FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Cyndi's List Launches a New Web Site
A major upgrade to celebrate 15 years of service
EDGEWOOD, WASHINGTON (June 6, 2011) Cyndi's List is proud to announce
a newly upgraded web site. With improved navigation, a custom database,
and a custom administrative interface, the upgrade means that everything
will be quicker and easier for both visitors and for the site's owner
and administrator, Cyndi Ingle Howells. The upgrade has been done by
fusionSpan of Maryland. Their staff worked closely with Cyndi to make
improvements and to implement new technology and new ideas designed
specifically for Cyndi’s List and for the genealogical community.
Part of the upgrade was made possible by donations from generous users
of Cyndi’s List. To date, 20% of what was accomplished in the project
was thanks to them. Donors have been listed on the web site.
What's New with the Upgrade:
* The front page of the Cyndi's List site has a rolling genealogy news
feed and a link to The Cyndi’s List Daily, a daily dose of family
history news as tagged in Twitter and Facebook. Start each day with the
front page of Cyndi's List and read the current genealogy news stories.
* The links are now contained within a database and pages will be
dynamically loaded on each visit.
* The custom database and administration interface means that
maintaining the link list will be much easier for Cyndi, which
ultimately benefits the user with faster and more frequent updates.
* The new interface means that the backlog of uncategorized links can be
processed much faster. The goal is to get the entire backlog done by the
end of this year.
* New links will be reviewed, approved, and categorized within 24-72
hours after submission by visitors.
* Updates made to Cyndi's List will be immediately available to the public.
* Previous to the upgrade, the "What's New" page and mailing list post
contained only new links submitted by visitors. The new "What's New"
page and e-mail will contain those, as well as links added to the site
during the day by Cyndi, *and* existing links that have been updated
throughout the site (new addresses, updated descriptions, etc.).
* Across the site links have been labeled with graphics as "new" or
"updated" when appropriate. With the upgrade these will now be
text-based notations (easily spotted in green), which means that you can
search on a page for "new" or "updated" with the Edit>Find function in
your web browser.
* Now sub-categories within a category heading each have their own page.
And each page displays 20 links, with pagination in place to go to the
next page and so on. This means there will be a lot less scrolling
through long pages as in the past. Shorter pages mean faster load time
in the browser as well.
* Intuitive navigation at the top of the category makes it easy to find
your way to previous category headings.
* The number of links within each category/sub-category is displayed at
the top right on each page.
* Each of the U.S. counties (more than 3,100) now has a designated page
of its own.
* URLs (addresses) for the pages have changed so bookmarks, favorites,
and links to Cyndi's List will need to be updated.
* Opportunities to shop, support, or donate are highlighted on each page.
What Has Stayed the Same?
* The category and sub-category names are all the same.
* Related Categories are highlighted at the top right on each category.
* The layout and format of the links are the same.
* The policies, procedures, and disclaimers for maintaining the link
list are the same.
* The Cyndi's List Mailing List will still distribute a daily What's New
e-mail and a daily Link Activity e-mail. However, the What’s New e-mail
will contain information about all new and updated links.
* You can still follow Cyndi's List on Facebook and Twitter.
* The purpose and intent of Cyndi's List is to be a free jumping-off
point for your daily genealogical research.
* Cyndi’s List remains free for everyone to use just as it has for the
past 15 years.
* This is still just a one-woman show!
"I started doing genealogy research in earnest back in 1998 and Cyndi's
List has always been one of my very favorite websites. It is on my 'Go
To' list because I always find so much good information there.” --Kay F.
"I've relied on your website as THE best resource on the 'net to help
with my research..." --Jan J.
"Where can you get at all things genealogical in one fell swoop?
Everyone knows it's CyndisList.com. Every genealogist who uses the web
MUST use Cyndi's List." --Polly K.
About CyndisList.com
CyndisList.com is the world's largest one-woman family history resource,
with more than 300,000 categorized links for genealogical research. For
more than 15 years Cyndi's List has helped hundreds of thousands of
people with their online journey to trace their family history. The site
averages 275,000 unique visitors and 5,000,000 page hits every month.
Cyndi's List has won numerous awards and consistently remains one of the
top genealogical portals for beginners, intermediate, and veteran
researchers.
About fusionSpan
fusionSpan is a start-up consulting firm focused on serving the
comprehensive needs of non-profit associations and commercial
organizations in the full range of the business cycle. With a core staff
of highly experienced professionals from non-profit associations and a
team approach to most consulting projects, fusionSpan will be able to
offer a more balanced quality service and sustainable solution than many
of its competitors. Our expertise covers the entire range of the web
site and application development process: Strategy, Design, Development,
Hosting, and Maintenance. For more information, visit www.fusionSpan.com
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