As you have noticed, the AISG website is undergoing a transformation. Of course, the obvious sign of this is the new site layout and design, but there are some other new features as well (with more to come as soon as we can muster it).
One of the main goals has been to add more value to the artist memberships. The old site had been more or less languishing for a while, and the justifications for renewal were limited by this. As a result, you may have noticed that our active artist list has been whittled down to just under half the amount it appeared to be only a few days ago. We think that this is only temporary as we have been working on a number of new features to help increase membership, including:
Other features that will be implemented shortly include:
It is also our intention to keep the home page "buzzing" with new articles & information on a frequent basis. We also intend to publish articles and news items from the artists. A site with frequently updated content will attract more visitors, which means more eyes for your artwork (we currently average over 12,000 visits per month).
The most controversial move has been the introduction of Google™ AdSense advertising on some of the pages on the site. The current situation at AISG demanded that we look at different ways to support the continued development and maintenance of the site, as member support alone (currently 22 registered artists) could not justify those costs. We are aware that the displayed ads are not always relevant, and can distract visitors from the site, and as such we are doing the following:
Finally, we understand that any change in the status quo can be difficult to adjust to, especially initially. We hope that you understand that this is a work in progress and that all of these changes are being implemented to increase the value of this site for our artists & visitors. Please feel free to discuss the re-design at the forum, or by email with the web manager.