Well...I decided it was time to update TheWesternShop.com. Here is a blow by blow account of the changes and introductions to the new site in the style of a BLOG. It's basically a diary of the evolution into the site as you see it today. 

I'd appreciate any comments, suggestions etc. 

It's in reverse chronological order (latest first) so you can see the most recent developments first.

It is also easier for the 10% of visitors who have smaller screen resolutions and gives more prominence to the banner advertising.

2006-05-18 - Installed a simple 'Personal Photo Gallery' for registered users. When logged in click your Avatar to go to your profile and you will see the 'My Gallery' tab. You can create a gallery of up to 10 images totaling 1 mega byte. Just for fun!!!

2006-05-05 - Installed a 'Latest Comments' panel on the left of all pages for quick access to...well...latest comments!

2006-04-22 - Installed a 'shopping cart' to facilitate the purchase of both classified ad additions and site banner advertising. This will also be useful for any future expansion needs.   

2006-04-20 - Created a couple of tutorials to the help 'Authors' understand the process.

2006-04-04 - Upgraded the classified ads to provide 'Sticky' ads that always display on the first page of the listing. More features to come here...
Also provided a contact form instead of a users email address being shown on the site...this will protect the advertiser from spam emails originating for the site. 

2006-04-02 - Introduced 'Picture Blogs'. The ability to send text and photos from mobile phones via MMS for on the fly content updates to the website. This is also available via standard email using a pre-configured email address.

2006-04-01 - Redesigned the site layout into three columns so that we have distinct areas. Left column for site login, information, quick links etc. Centre area for main pages, articles, stories. Right column for advertising space.

2006-03-28 - Ok We have 100th Registered user in just 16 days.

2006-03-25 - Have added the ability for users to create newsletters and sales lists to which other users can subscribe (in their profile) . The required newsletter or sales list will then be emailed to the subscriber periodically.

2006-03-24 - Have finished the profiles so far. There is still more that can be done but I will leave it as is for a while and let users update the current information.

2006-03-22 - Have been working on a user profile system called 'Community Builder' it integrates perfectly with the other components of the site, allowing user to see what article submissions, forum post, picture galleries, classified ads, other users have placed plus lost more including building a personal profile for yourself. It should help generate that 'community' effect I am looking for.

2006-03-18 - Well it appears that the Simple Machines Forum was not so simple for some users.  I have therefore replaced it with a simpler but still capable forum.  It also integrates with the rest of the site very well.

2006-03-17 - OK! Found a much better editor for the site.  It totally works better and allow file upload, resizing etc. Also has the ability to use different fonts, sizes and colours. In essence it is a complete WYSIWYG / HTML edior and as such you can create just about any page layout you like. including smilies

2006-03-15 - Still looking for a better article editor... that allows better image handling.

2006-03-14 - Installed a basic banner advertising system to show banners either at the top (below the logo) or at the bottom of a section. If you want to place a banner, please contact me here.

2006-03-12  - Installed a neat private messaging system so Ya'all can keep in touch with each other on or off line.

2006-03-11 - Ok! Its Live. Site is now up and running as of 14:00. I guess there will be bugs and mistakes so please let me know!

2006-03-10  - Scrapped the classified ads software for something I believe is very easy to use and visually better. It also has the ability to show a summary af recent ads on other pages too!

2006-03-09 - Included a mini calendar on the sidebar of the site to access the calendar events. Also now have the capability to display Upcoming events.

2006-03-07 - Still not totally happy with the picture gallery so will continue to either modify it or source a replacement.
Have come across another ads program that looks good but am having trouble getting it to work as I would like.
Have integrated a file upload download feature that could be used to leave show schedules on the site for users to download. Possible to have downloadable help files for the various sections of the site. Could also be used for other media such as video clips from shows.

2006-03-05  - That just about does it. Now starting intensive testing... and hope to have it on-line within the next week.

2006-03-04  - Installed menu system that allows navigation to all sections and features. Menus and menu options will be different for general users, registered users and authors.

2006-03-03 - Scrapped the image gallery software I was using in favour of something else. This is again free open source software that can be modified to suit your own needs. Registered users 'Community Members ' can now create galleries of pictures. Once these have been created and media (photos) uploaded, that media can be used to illustrate articles published later on. This could overcome the current inflexible 'include image' feature in the standard publishing software.

2006-02-26 - Redesigned the Forum template to be cleaner and match the general site theme.
 - Added a 'User Blog' section.
 - Working on the image gallery installation but have come across a bug that is stopping me finishing the integration.

2006-02-25 - Have today installed the weblink/bookmarking software this will replace to old web links directory allowing registered users to submit links to other websites. Again you will only have to login to the main site once to enable this and all the other contributing features.
Not satisfied with the way images are used for articles so I am looking for a better solution. 

2006-02-22 - Have integrated  a new calendar and classifieds program so that once registered and signed in, users are automatically signed into these programs.

2006-02-22 - Have integrated  a new calendar and classifieds program so that once registered and signed in, users are automatically signed into these programs.

2006-02-20 - Got the basics of how this will go together now and have integrated Simple Machines Forum. Looking around at other software so I can update the event calendar and classified ads too.

2006-02-18 - In the above process I decided it would be great to use a completely new approach for the site, one that would make site maintenance easy and quick and allow the publishing aspect that I always wanted for TheWesternShop.com.  So here it is!

2006-02-17 - Decided to upgrade the forum on TheWesternShop.com. Looked at various free/open source software and have settled on using Simple Machines Forum. This is totally free to use on any website and is very, very good with more features that you can shake a stick at, maybe too many but we will see how users think.