Announcing the New Comic Website for Derailed
Hi everyone, I’m Gabriella; this is now the main website for Derailed, my webcomic. You will still be able to find the comic on other platforms, but this new site is now the hub for everything about the comic. Creating my own site to host Derailed allows me to have a central place to share a bunch of extra features with you!
In this announcement, I’ll tell you about the site’s more extensive features, bonus Derailed content, better comic updates, ways to show support, and a better reading experience. On top of that, I’ll let you know about the site’s additional content, the making of the site, and give a special thanks. I’m so excited to share about the site with you, so continue reading to find out more.
More Extensive Features
This new site features an in-depth about page for Derailed. There, you can find a detailed summary, reviews, inspiration, special thanks, and a trailer for the comic. You can also find a cast page where you can read a bit about each comic character in case you need refreshing. Or you can access the archive if you want to find previously published pages.
Bonus Derailed Content
Looking for extra content that contributed to the making of Derailed? Here, there is a page full of extras with drawings and animations of the characters. Any drawings not part of the comic, but still featuring the characters are found there. For example, there are animations, bonus sketches, and concept art. Be sure to check the extras page periodically, as I will continue adding content to it.
Better Comic Notifications
Another awesome thing about having my own website to post Derailed, is that I am able to create better page updates for the comic. You can now subscribe to the email list to get Derailed updates, blog updates, or both. You’ll even get emailed a free welcome gift for subscribing. To get notifications, you can also simply allow browser notifications, or use the RSS feed. What’s an RSS Feed you ask? It’s a really simple way to get browser notifications, or you can download a free RSS app to get notifications on your mobile device. Alternatively, you can follow the comic on Instagram to get weekly reminders.
Ways to Show Support
There is now a place to donate to the comic in order to show your support. There is also a store with content related to the comic. For instance, you will find a phone wallpaper of the main character stuck in a “snow-globe,” and a coloring page of one of the comic’s main scenes. Additionally, you can show your support by voting for Derailed on Top Webcomics. There you can vote for the comic once daily in order to help it gain visibility. And as always, you can share the comic on social media or recommended it to your friends. Any support is totally optional, but super appreciated.
Better Reading Experience
Having my own site to upload Derailed lets me upload the pages at a higher resolution, which makes for a nicer reading experience. Additionally, I customized the site’s entire layout to give a clean appearance and ensure the comic appears at a good size on both desktop and mobile devices. Likewise, I customized the site by adding lots of plugins to make all these new features possible. Another nice feature on this new site is the ability to have quality conversations in the comments. This site let’s me integrate Disqus comments, which allows social media integration, notifications, recommendations, etc.
Additional Website Content
On top of Derailed being shared on this site, I now also have a place to share other drawing content. For example, this site has a blog where you can read announcements and tips about drawing. As time goes on, I will add more blog posts and helpful drawing advice. Additionally, you can view my other webcomic, The Plant Witch. The story is a comedic fantasy adventure drawn traditionally and in black and white. Also, you can read more about me or find links to my social media. Furthermore, here on this site you will find my other illustration work done outside of my comics.
*Update: My comic, Derailed, is now complete. But the days of this website are far from over. There are many helpful resources for artists continuously added to my blog. As well, I am working on my next comic, Kindred Not.
The Making of the Site
I’ve been wanting to make a website for long while. Now that I have multiple comics and lots of art to share I decided it was time. The only thing holding me back before was the skills needed to make one. Sure, I already knew a bit of html and css, but I did not know everything about making a website. However, I did not want to just hire someone to make the site because then I would have a hard time maintaining and adding to it in the future.
So, I scoured Google and YouTube for tutorials, and researched all I could about making a website. This was necessary because I did not want to just make a basic-functioning site; I wanted to give you the best possible website! Finally, after several weeks, the website for Derailed came together. Nonetheless, I’m still no expert at creating a website, so you can let me know if there are any bugs or glitches going on.
Special Thanks
I want to give a shout out to my family members for giving me feedback on the design of the site, as well as helping me test out the website. They just so sweetly and openly gave their time to help me out. Also, I want to thank everyone who supports me by commenting, liking, or sharing my art. The time you take to interact with my drawings does not go unappreciated.
Thanks for Reading About the New Website for Derailed
I hope you enjoy all the new features on this site. And I hope to add more features and content for many years to come. Even after Derailed is completed, I will share future projects her as well. But enough of my rambling, it’s time to head on over to the first page of Derailed, or for current readers, check out the newest page.
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