I've learned the hard way that the best way to upgrade our website is in little chunks. So rather than unveil a sprawling redesign of our entire site I'm going to be phasing in changes bit by bit. Here's what's new today:

• Simpler search box. Our archive now has just one search box on the left, rather than two. Either type in the date of the strip you want, or some text contained therein. The right thing will happen. Hopefully.
• New banner format. We've made our sponsorship banner a little shorter and a little wider in order to make it easier for sponsors to use standard-sized banners. In a month or two I hope to drop the other shoe by making our comic strip wider to match.
• Sponsor archive. I was surprised (but pleased) to hear that many of you wanted to find sponsors from past weeks. So our comic strip archive will now also include sponsor banners for a full four weeks from the first time they're run.

I also fixed a few bugs and laid the groundwork for our first One Book A Day promotion next week.

I think this new minimalist approach is really paying off. Watch this space for more improvements!

Today and tomorrow I'll be testing some new code on our website. Knowing me, there will be short periods when things are broken. If so, please wait half an hour and try again. I'll make another announcement when I think things are working, and at that time I'll let you know what's new!

Thank you for your patience.

Our friends at Shelf Awareness are running a special issue today devoted to Harper Studio, a new imprint that is determined to shake up traditional publishing. Interesting stuff!