Right now things are plugging along and I’ve been typing and photoshopping my fingers to the bone in order to make this blog look shiny and make the already available resources even easier for YOU to find!
So that it doesn’t go unnoticed a blog post is the best way to update you on these improvements. I’m pretty excited about them.
For years I’ve been periodically updating my Cloth Diaper Video Reviews page by manually uploading a thumbnail and linking the image to the review. The HTML in this table always looks fine but it would randomly have gaps that I could never close. A new system is in place that will automatically add videos to the page when they’ve posted here on the blog so it will never go *cough 6 months cough* between updates again. I’m so sorry…. I just can’t do it all. Now I don’t have to worry with it! In addition, the reviews are ordered by alphabetical order and not chronological order, if you’re hoping I’ve done a video on a diaper just scroll the list in the library and if it is there I have, if not- sorry! Videos of diapers that are no longer being made or that have a newer version out have been marked as “deceased” and live in a graveyard that is under the library. You can still find the videos and view them but they won’t muck up the list anymore.
The other neglected page here was Cloth Diapers Made in USA/Canada, it hadn’t been updated since 2012 and I’m owning it. Again… It’s pretty much just me running the “DDL Empire” so things get neglected, like remembering to feed myself or update a page. Previously it was a list of links- womp womp that is boring- so I used the same technology for the video page. This required me to make a blog post for each brand that the thumbnails could link to and that is awesome because now you can click each brand listed as Made in the US or Canada, learn more about their history, and if I’ve reviewed the brand’s diaper(s) the links to reviews are right there. Super handy, right?
Coming soon…
I’ve been hinting at some upcoming projects in the works. One of the projects has been a long process that is almost complete- the Cloth Diaper Finder. This database was launched in 2011 to a lot of fanfare and excitement because it was amazing. It was my dream, I came up with the concept and planned out each painstaking detail to create the first and only all inclusive searchable cloth diaper database. It was my way of putting my vast knowledge of cloth diapers to great use. It started with about 100 diapers in the database and grew over time. The years haven’t been kind to my poor database- the person who coded it didn’t do it in a way that aged well and it broke, often. It was expensive to fix and wound up costing me more than it ever earned but it was mine and I loved it. Months ago I posted here asking “What should I DO?” My blog was being held hostage to the tendrils of the database that prevented me from updating it and I was very close to removing it and calling it a failed project.
I had a few people email offering to help and found a developer who was within a price range I could afford so off I went on another adventure, working with him and my husband to re-develop the database to be a stand alone website and making it much easier to use. It will now even work on MOBILE! Yes! The new Cloth Diaper Finder will no longer show discontinued diapers unless this option is activated, something I’m really excited about. Tons of the diapers in the database are no longer being made and they’re mucking up the database. Seeing a trend? #inthediaperbusinesstoolong The logo got a facelift too!
What else is there to look forward to? A ton!
I have a new page launching soon, probably after the Cloth Diaper Finder has launched, that is the result of years of work. You can probably already guess so I might as well make this public and say that it is going to be THE resource for the history of cloth diapers. I hope at least a few of you think this is as interesting as I do….
Plus I’m going to hit 200 video reviews and celebrate my 6 Year Blogiversary next month! Two big milestones are approaching and I’m going to celebrate them! You know what that means….. it is almost time to party!
I’m working hard to make sure that DDL is still your favorite cloth diaper resource and I hope these new changes will improve your experience!