Carrie sent an email showing how to sort the images which I used to good effect when I replaced the three new ones. Disruptions to the site really take it out of me and, alas, I tend to send some incoherent emails as I grapple with what needs to be done. The upsets this time and in 2024 are likely due to WordPress having to support so many images online, a seemingly inherent fault of the site. Watch this space. PS 9.3.26 Carrie emailed me, explaining that large image libraries can make management a little more cumbersome, but is a fairly common situation rather than a fundamental problem, which is good to know. WordPress remains the most popular format globally, for creating websites.
I emailed Carrie Wilson of Scenic Rim Design, accepting her Hosting and Care plan for my website which she sent an hour ago, but could not attend to immediately. Keer Moriarty, the editor of the Tamborine Mountain News, gave me Carrie’s contact information on 13.2.26 and Carrie and I have exchanged numerous emails since, which included a most helpful one on 24.2.26 which at last enabled me to upload three new images. Unfortunately, one of them ended up behind an image from last year and I could not find a means to change the sort order. There is a Sort Images panel at the top of the gallery, which I opened and foolishly hit on the first of the four options. Immediately the gallery was made unrecognisable and it became clear that the only way order could be restored was for Carrie to install the website database to 26.2.26 which she did on 4.3.26, requesting confirmation that the Albums are in the correct sort order, which I provided.
Further texts were exchanged about the admin site and I told Jackie that I would rather not hand over a site with such a glaring fault to a new developer and that I would pursue contacts after my return from New Zealand.
After a deal of texting about the admin site gallery problems, Jackie texted me to say that she can no longer look after me and offered to find a new developer. I believe her work situation has changed, but she gave no reason.
Having alerted Jackie, I was puzzled by a text she sent me, but checking the website I was relieved to see that it was in full working order. However, when I got home, I found that the admin site Gallery was unrecognisable. The layout was alien, the text was superimposed on the enlargement and lacked the scientific name, and I could not find a means of adding an image.
A year since the images-enlargement error was fixed, a new one has arisen. While googling my website at a family gathering, I was dumbfounded to be shown a dark screen with the legend, ‘not a valid template’, instead of the bird for which I was searching.
Today I successfully renewed my domain name for two years from May 1 2025, having been reassured that it could be renewed, when I phoned Melbourne IT on receipt of a renewal reminder at the beginning of March. PS On April 3, I was shocked to get an email about updating my ABN (Australian Business Number) with a graphic of a sand timer glass next to the words: ‘Your Domain will Expire This Week’. I could not renew my previous domain name because I no longer had a valid ABN, and in any case, my site is no longer used for business purposes. Fortunately, a very helpful lady replied promptly to the email I sent to the support team about receiving such a dire warning. She apologised for the email which was auto-generated because I was mistakenly flagged as being ineligible to own the name. She assured me that Melbourne IT had updated the eligibility criteria on the name and that this will not happen again.
Yesterday I received an email from Melbourne IT about my domain name renewal which is due by May 1. It was the first in a series of monthly ’reminder’ emails. It emphasised that I check my eligibility to renew the name. This terrified me, because I was told the current name, unlike the one it replaced, did not require an active Australian Business Number. The first person I spoke to this morning said he would call back in an hour or two to confirm my eligibility. I phoned again in the afternoon and was told that I was eligible to renew the name. Previously I would renew the name for two years. Because of the change, I only registered the name for a year. I will revert to the two year renewal nearer the time.
The website gremlin saga was becoming a tad self-indulgent. I hadn’t heard from Jackie for a month. Her last email assured me that the matter would be fixed before Christmas. Today, after returning from the coast having driven through a cloudburst for twenty five minutes from a liquor store to a shopping centre, I uploaded a photo taken the previous day, and checking how it looked on the web page, I had to do a double take because the text accompanying the enlargement had been restored to the status quo. I emailed Jackie to let her know, saying that her actions spoke louder than the words I never heard from her and that it is demoralising when one’s website isn’t working properly. I had emailed Jackie on January 7, telling her that on the 10th I was due to pay my credit card for the plugin upgrade and that I had nothing to show for the expense. In my long experience of dealing with them, web builders are lousy communicators and do not look after their customers in the way most service providers do.
I have just bought an upgraded version of the plugin at a greatly reduced Black Friday sale price and emailed Jackie the login information. Jackie assured me that this is a one-off purchase. She thanked me for supplying the information and said that she will get this sorted. Watch this space.