If you've landed on this page there's a very good chance that you've noticed that the website looks and feels a little different. In early August our webhosts, where our website has lived for the last 17 years, was hit by a ransomware attack and chaos ensued. While the webhosts had a backup on a server that was isolated from the rest of the network it meant that both the site and email server were out of action for several days. While the site returned the layout was broken in desktop view and manually repairing it was going to be a long job.
The answer, we decided, was to turn this disaster into an opportunity; instead of trying to fix a 10 year old site built on a framework that stopped being supported 3 years ago we opted for a new site in the latest version of the software, built from scratch. This gives us the chance to implement changes we'd long wanted to make the site more user-friendly with advanced search and links to any specific author's work, along with a simpler style. Changes in the back end to the SEO, with an AI agent constantly checking for missing links and duplicates, mean we should become more visible too, and hopefully the new design will be faster loading and maybe a bit more aesthetically satisfying.
Rebuilding the site from scratch after 10 years of using sticking plasters on it are also a perfect time to look ahead, and the next couple of years are going to see major changes at MyOutdoors. There's no getting away from the fact that I'm getting older, and in less than 2 years I'll be hitting retirement age. It's time to start thinking of exit strategies and hand-overs. So in 23 months time I will be stepping back from the day to day business of running MyOutdoors and my son, Chris, will be taking over the reins. He's not spent the last 40+ years in the outdoor industry and journalism but he does bring a whole new skill-set, including the ability to design and build the new site. Although Chris will be taking over I'll still be around, both in a "consultancy" capacity and on hand if needed for a bit of extra content. We'll also continue to work with some of the best outdoor and adventure journalists around as we have done for the last 17 years. Over the next year or so Chris will be joining me at trade shows and press gatherings so that he can get to know the brands and PRs, and so that when the changeover date comes around he can slide into the Editor's chair smoothly.
It's still almost 2 years away but the new site design will give Chris new opportunities to lead in new directions, should he wish. Between now and then we'll be working together to make the most of the new opportunities the new site brings, but keeping to our core concept of providing independent news and reviews that aren't trying to push you to buy a specific product because we don't have a stake in selling products.
Dave
Editor
