BETA site in the works – a Sneek Peak

We’ve been working hard on some major upgrades to Autisable.

Above is what we have so far in terms of our sites new look and feel.   Now this may not be what you finally see, but it gives you an idea as to the direction we are going with our website.  There may be some minor changes as we dive into the finer points of developing the site.

One of the things you may notice is our old tag line has been removed.

We’ve removed the tagline for several reasons:

1. It is old and outdated – We’ve had this same tagline since the site was launched in 2009.   It was time for a change.
2. Some found it offensive and we want to be sensitive to unify the Autism community, and not have something that could be viewed as divisive.
3. The puzzle logo we have is part of our branding, as the puzzle piece concept is highly associated with Autism on a global scale.  We won’t remove our logo- but we don’t want to call individuals with Autism (or those who consider themselves Autistic) a puzzle.
4. Our puzzle logo is all aspects of the community coming together – pointing to Autism – providing a platform where we are able to discuss and encourage one another – hence the name of Autisable is a combination of the words Autism and Able.   Simply providing a place online where we are Able to Discuss all aspects of Autism.

Beyond our main page is the aspect of being able to easily connect with other social media sites we are on –  with people also having the option to log into Autisable via Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

The social component of the site, where folks can have their own account and connect with each other is also in the process of being developed.

With the above picture being the top half of the main page, here is the bottom half (as seen on a PC):

The site is responsive, meaning it is easily viewed on PC/Mac and Mobile/Tablet devices without any major issues.   In short, the site is more ‘responsive’ and user friendly on more devices.

All this said, we are really most excited about connected the Autism community!

We want to highlight even more bloggers and non-profits, and share more of what each of you are doing within the community.

Of course we’ll feature some content like we’ve always done, but we want to present more content on our main page in a way that will highlight more people’s blog posts.

We’re already connected to hundreds of bloggers and non-profits, and we’ve only highlighted a few posts a day in the past.   This led to us having a serious backlog of blog posts and articles, sometimes leaving us with several months worth of content that we weren’t able to present in a more timely fashion. Sometimes we’d highlight a blog post several months to a year after it was published.    This led for some of our bloggers wondering why we highlighted such an old post.   This new design will allow us to share more on our main page, along with having content that is more relevant to what is going on within the same month.   In short, the new design allows us to serve the community better.

Also, having a main page that shows we aren’t “just a blog” – will help new folks more easily understand more of what we are doing, and that there are hundreds of people sharing their journey on the site.

There’s a lot more that we’re working on for the site to help promote our bloggers and non-profits websites and social media accounts.  We are making a lot of progress in this area, and will share more in future updates.

Now our mission hasn’t changed – bringing the Autism community together.

We all have a different experience with Autism.  It’s these different perspectives and opinions that can help us understand our community, and as a result, will help us understand our friends and loved ones even more.    Over the years this concept has not only helped our family, but many others, overcome some of the stigma and fear that many may have regarding the word ‘Autism’, and allowed families to come together to help each other in a more meaningful way.

Since Autisable is a for profit company with a philanthropic vision – we aim to work with advertisers who have a heart for the Autism community.   This will allow Autisable to remain free to use.  This also means that we will continue to set aside 10% of what we earn and donate it to a non-profit that benefits Autism families and individuals directly.   As we grow, we will increase our ability to give back to the community.

We love hearing from you!

Feel free to ask questions, make comments and suggestions.

Thank you for your continued encouragement and support as we move through all these transitions/changes.

-Sincerely,

The Autisable Team

Joel Manzer

Husband to an Amazing Wife, and Father of a Child with Autism. Founding Lead Editor of this site called Autisable. Click here to join Autisable!