Changes on wta.org

Notice anything different today? Wta.org underwent a few changes overnight. A facelift. A redesign. A refreshening. The last major changes to the look and feel of the website took place in 2007, and since then the website has grown both in its content and its audience. We decided it was time for a change.

All of the content you have depend upon is still there - the trip reports, the hiking guide, the trail work schedule and more. Only the package has been updated. Here is brief run-down of what we've done:

New colors, redesigned homepage and social media

The biggest changes are found on the homepage. We've emphasized bigger photos, the Signpost Blog and brought our Trip Reports and Trail Work schedule to front. The homepage is now a one-stop shop for the most relevant and dynamic information on the site. There is less text and more links to the wonderful world of hiking. We encourage you to explore the homepage, and we bet you'll find something you didn't know existed before.

Changes to inside pages are fairly minimal. You'll find new colors. Good-bye red; hello orange. You'll also find that the Signpost Blog encourages all sorts of fun social engagement with comments, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+. We'll be running most of our freshest content through this section of the website, so it may be a good idea to bookmark the page.

We're mobile-friendly!

We've shared your pain when using our site with our phones, so we've done something about it. Text, images and other content should stack much more elegantly when the screen is narrowed.

Streamlined navigation

Oh, how the website has grown over the past five years! The old drop-down navigation grew as well, becoming a bit unwieldy. With the new design, we've brought it back to basics, specifically:

• Creating one place for browsing trip reports: We've operated two views of the trip reports, each carrying about half the audience. To eliminate the duplication, we've brought the best of the two worlds together. The new trip reports page displays the 100 freshest trip reports, with a larger photo, the location of the hike and the ability to expand the text and read the trip report without skipping to a new page.
• Simplifying the volunteer trail work section: You can now find the trail work schedule more easily, as well as self-select for further information about volunteer opportunities for youth and adults.
• Rearranging the youth information: You'll now find all of our youth stewardship opportunities under the Volunteer umbrella. Our Families Go Hiking information can now be located as Hiking with Kids under the Hiking Resources dropdown.

New way to log in

Look along the top navigation bar, and you'll find a prompt to login or create an account for writing trip reports and making comments. It will be easy to do so from any page.

Those are the major changes. We hope you like what you see, and we encourage you to explore the wta.org with new eyes. We also welcome your feedback. Post your thoughts on this blog. Rest assured, we will read them all and give them thoughtful consideration. Enjoy!