NEW eWRITABLE WEBSITE

Today sees the launch of my new website redesign: eWritable.NET.

This website (eWritable.COM) will still be accessible for a while.

But, it will no longer be being updated, and it will be turned off section-by-section as I gradually transition to the new domain.

Why I changed from .COM to .NET

There were several reasons for this change.

Firstly, I wanted to design a better website that was faster, cleaner, and suffered from less bugs.

I also wanted a more elegant semi-monochromatic design.

And, there were lots of issues behind the scenes that gave me lots of headaches. For example, my tablet reviews covered both the hardware and software so the release of a new firmware version would make multiple tablet reviews out-of-date. This was particularly painful for brands such as Boox that have a wide product range – one firmware update and I would have to update several tablet reviews (and admittedly I didn’t always find the time).

I’ve now split up hardware and software reviews so that I can update new firmware releases in a single place.

One other reason for the change in domain name is that back in March 24, Google Search (for some explicable algorithmic reason) shadow-banned eWritable.com, making all pages suddenly drop down several pages in the search results. This appears to be a domain-wide issue, so I’m hoping that a change of domain name will solve this. If not, it’s not a massive issue because I don’t have to rely on Google Search (but it does make it a lot easier for people to randomly stumble on the website!).

As a sidenote, have you seen some of the shit that Google spouts out for its top search results? I don’t presume to be the best e-ink device reviewer but I know my reviews are far better than some I’ve seen. Many are obviously written by ChatGPT and there is no evidence that the author has even used the device they are supposedly reviewing (no pictures, no unique perspectives etc.) Some articles are very cleverly crafted to give just enough of an impression that they have some expertise (to someone that is still learning about the products) – but it is obvious to those that have some experience of e-ink tablets that they are just bullshitting to scam a bit of money from their ads. I felt that if Google were doing this for a product type I know a fair bit about, I’m probably getting hoodwinked when I search for information about products of which I know very little. Needless to say, I don’t use Google anymore!

So, what’s new?

First of all, the design is slicker and cleaner. It also runs a lot faster (particularly when using the comparison tables).

I’ve also spent a lot of time organising and structuring the website to make it much easier to find the information you’re looking for. As mentioned before, I’ve split up tablets and firmware, but also provided brand overviews as well. To keep it intuitive and on-topic, there is no longer a section for e-readers, but this is maybe something I will come back to at a later date.

I’ve added a LOT more search filters to the comparison table. And I’ve also conducted tests on battery life and CPU performance on the tablets that I own (and a few others).

I’ve gone back over all my reviews and pillar articles and updated them to ensure that they are still current.

I’ve also made affiliate links clearer and more transparent so that you will know if it is an affiliate link or not before clicking it. I can earn a commission if someone clicks an affiliate link and goes on to make a purchase (it doesn’t cost they buyer anything extra). Of course, I want you to click these links because this is how I finance buying the tablets I review, but at least you now have the informed choice to support the website or not.

On the subject of finance, I’ve also removed all the display advertisements from eWritable (at least for the time-being). Personally, I hate seeing ads when I am looking for information, but it has been a necessary evil in the past for eWritable to be financially viable. I’m hoping the aforementioned affiliate links will earn enough to support eWritable going forward so that it can remain ad-free.