Troutnut Forum

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Site Update Comments

> New Troutnut version in the works

Regulars might have noticed that I haven't added any new content to Troutnut.com in the past year (May 2021-2022). That's not exactly true—I've added some great new photos throughout the year, but they're all on a private draft version of a completely redesigned website.

Unfortunately, users will have to wait a little longer for the upgrade to see them. I've been so busy with work (lots of exciting research coming together!) that I haven't had time to finish the Troutnut upgrade recently, but it's about 75 % done right now. I've gone long enough without an update here that it seemed like time to at least reveal the plans.

Here are some of the exciting things in store for the upgrade:

• It will have a "responsive design," which in web developer terms means it will make good use of the screen space on your laptop while still looking good on your smartphone.
  
• Pages will load much faster.
  
• Advertisements will be less annoying, and there will be options to get rid of them altogether.
  
• Taxonomic keys are coming! They will largely use the rigorous technical descriptions from the scientific literature, but with a host of design improvements (including clickable definitions) that make that mmuch easier to use than the originals. My vision for this site has always been to make it a resource for identifying bugs, not only browsing or using them as models for fly tying, and the new version finally realizes that goal.
  
• All photos will look better, and much better on high-resolution displays like Apple Retina.
  
• I'm using some new (to me) photography technology to take new bug photos that look much better than the old ones.
  
• Hatch description pages will contain range maps, links to useful biodiversity databases, and other improvements.
  

I'm really excited to share more when it's ready!