When This Site Sucks, Please Let Me Know

When my site looks weird, when my content isn't making sense, when I have typos… let me know. I am a one-woman show unlike the majority of my peers. I write my content, I schedule it, and I am the one who is in charge of the ads and how things look. My view, even when I change browsers, will not look like yours. I look at my content so long my eyes blur and I miss things. I never want this site to be hard to read or provide misinformation. When this site sucks, please let me know because it is NEVER my intention to have that happen.

Two weeks ago, a brand shared they were having a sale coming up. It was a sale I had written about two years ago. It makes more sense for me to update the old post and republish it than make a new post and have the old one floating around on the internet with old dates and links. So with the information they provided, I updated it. And then I got additional information that was more detailed and I found more aspects of the sale changed from two years ago so I updated again. But I missed some places.

• The “intro” you get in newsletters is the snippet that is in the sidebar of my WordPress dashboard. Not only is it not quickly visible (I have to click settings to get to it), back in the day (yes, two years ago feels like back in the day) I rarely used it and let the newsletter use the article's first paragraph. I forgot to update it, and that's why it had such wrong information.
• The first paragraph of the post had old information. I updated it, and then I missed updating it a second time. It had the wrong date and the wrong price in it. That was me rushing and lacking attention to detail and just not cool.

This was messy and unprofessional and I apologize. It's not my normal quality of work and I can only use it as a lesson and create a checklist to ensure things like this don't happen again when updating old content. I thank those who notified me; I had edited this article so many times it was blurring and I would not have even seen those errors at this point. I have updated the post, but unfortunately newsletters cannot be edited once delivered.

Since 2017, I have been with Mediavine for the ads on Wardrobe Oxygen. This October, I switched to Raptive for my ads. I still have the utmost respect for Mediavine, but wished to try a network not so focused on food bloggers, one that my peers have been really enjoying and saying were great with customer service and have been forefront in fighting AI and the issues with Google.

The switch is complicated, but Raptive said they would keep the same settings and during the preliminary period, I am unable to change the ad settings so they can get a baseline. The ads from one network to another are going to look different: they will be placed in different places, have different sensitivity when hovering over them, may be different sizes. And from what I am hearing, the Raptive ads on some of your mobile devices have made reading and commenting on Wardrobe Oxygen difficult.

This feedback is imperative because I never wish to make this site hard to read. I do not necessarily have the same device or browser or settings as you and what you see isn't what I see or even what others see. Providing me with feedback on your experience along with your device, browser, and even screenshots helps me and my ad network tinker with settings so the site is more functional for you.

As that I am in the preliminary period with my ad network, I am unable to change settings myself. However, for those of you who provided feedback and screenshots, I have gathered it and sent it to them and we will work on it together to improve the situation. Thank you for helping to keep Wardrobe Oxygen a useful, accessible, and enjoyable resource. I truly cannot do it without you.

I know I speak for most website owners that we never want ads, popups for newsletters, videos, or any other feature to inhibit you from enjoying our content. There is no point in having a site if we don't have you.

I need ads to afford to keep this site up on the internet; it's not like Y2K blogging that was essentially free. This site costs thousands just to be hosted, protected from hackers and spammers, updated with the newest settings and technology so it loads quickly, can have this many photos, and be compatible with so many different browsers and devices.

However, I have learned in the past almost-decade of having ads on Wardrobe Oxygen that it can be done without being so intrusive. But honestly, I learned that because of you. Your feedback, your screenshots, your desire to make this site better. So please, keep it coming, and please know when this site sucks, it's not on purpose and it's not permanent.

The internet is a confusing and sketchy place, especially during the holiday season. It seems everyone is just trying to make a buck. And sure, Wardrobe Oxygen is my job and I make an income off it, but I would rather make less money than have you not enjoy the experience here. I will be having a reader survey after the holidays to gather feedback on several aspects of Wardrobe Oxygen, but never hesitate to drop me an email, a comment or DM on social media, or a comment here on a blog post and let me know your thoughts. I really do care, and I am so appreciative you care too. Thank you!