Every so often, I get fidgety about my current site design and start thinking about a change. That happened again recently, and, as a result, a new site design went up last night. I wanted a lighter, three-column design that could accomodate advertising and sidebar information (previously contained in the footer) without being overwhelmingly cluttered. The clutter was starting to be a problem in the previous design.

I’ve also taken this opportunity to shuffle the ads. I’ve dropped the non-performing AdBrite section and added an eBay affiliate ad that links to antique map auctions. At the moment, all ads are either Google AdSense or affiliate programs, and the advertising content is mostly (except for the choice of affiliate programs, and the choice of books linked to) out of my hands. Other than the Google ads, I receive no compensation unless signups or purchases are made through the ads.

The new design is wider than 800×600 screens. I have no idea how many of you are still using that resolution. I may try and code up a fix, but in the meantime, all it cuts off are the ads on the right column. And, for a change, I’ve tested it against Internet Explorer for Windows, so there shouldn’t be any surprises for you if you persist in using that browser, though there are a couple of minor quirks.

Let me know if you experience any problems. I’ll try to squash any remaining bugs in the design over the next couple of days.