Usually with all of my sites there are little tweaks or things I want to change. With ThinkComputers there was been many things that I have wanted to get done, but I just haven’t had the time. Finally last weekend I took the time to fix a lot of the little problems with ThinkComputers and add a few new things too.
The Newsletter
I had a newsletter going for a while, but I took down the signup form when ThinkComputers got its new layout. I finally put the signup form back in and Justin was nice enough to write me a script that adds e-mails into a database. Since I put it up I have about 15 people signed up for the newsletter. If you want to know when we post a review, or when something is going on make sure you sign up for the newsletter.
Revamping The Reviews Section
The reviews section of the ThinkComputers has been the same since the new layout. You would see the latest 5 reviews and then icons for each review section. Each review section would contain a list of reviews of that specific section. First I switched it around and put the review sections first. There is a list of the latest 5 reviews on the front page as well as a list of the latest 10 on the side of the page so having the latest 5 reviews on the reviews page is not that important, so they are at the bottom. Having the review sections first will hopefully allow users to check out some of our older reviews. In each review section I have added a picture and description of the latest 5 reviews of that section. Before it was just a straight list, I think that having a picture and description will make more people want to check out the reviews. I also added a few new sections to the review page, Bags, Displays and Full Systems / Laptops, and the review page photos are all updated to newer photos.
Ads
There are a few ad updates. First all of the ad sections are run on OpenAds. It is a really powerful program that allows you to input ads into the system and they are stored in a database. So for each ad spot on my page I can have many ads rotating and enable and disable certain ads. The system also tracks impressions and clicks so if I have private advertising they can see how their ads are performing. I have signed up for 2 new advertising companies. I have had Text Link Ads on my blog for a while now, but haven’t had really any luck. I figured I would give it a try on ThinkComputers. I have already sold 1 link at $75, hopefully more come along. The second company is Auction Ads. I have heard some good things about Auction Ads so I decided to give them a try. It’s too early to see how well they will perform, but I will keep you updated on that.
So those are some of the little tweaks and updates I have done to make ThinkComputers a little more user friendly and easier to manage. Have a great Friday everyone!