I’ve decided to ditch the UKPuzzle website and switch everything over to this WP blog. In the process the existing non-crossword content is likely to disappear, although there may be the occasional sudoku or other puzzles depending on what can be uploaded.
UKPuzzle has been useful in terms of making contacts but opportunities to update it have been very rare as the crossword workload increases. There are other reasons:
Visitors reaching the site via search engines have come across malicious links which have made it appear as if UKPuzzle itself is an infected site.
The website as it is has no feedback function other than email. As individual postings/uploads are made here, visitors can respond immediately and visibly – they can also interact with each other and respond to each others’ comments.
WP is free – hosting UKPuzzle costs money.
Right now I’m just starting to explore what WP has to offer, so it’ll be a while before it looks how I want it to look.
Incidentally, as for the crosswords the primary choice will be to upload them as interactive puzzles with printable PDF links. This upload process is an automated one built into Crossword Compiler, but it’s not a very stable one and attempting to upload frequently results in “Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage”.
Anaxcrosswords 
Nice new site. Presumably the DIY COW will be migrating here at some point.
Crikey – I’ve just realised it’ll have to. The original plan was to keep it where it is but, of course, it’s also on my current webhost’s server. That may prove to be a headache. It will carry on in some form or another, but possibly as a separate WP entity.
Congrats on your new site, Anax.
I haven’t been able to open UKPuzzle for many weeks as my browser/antivirus blocks it. Glad to be able to access your site now.
I’ll email you a list of good widgets to install on wordpress 🙂
Good luck with the new site Anax, it will be a relief to see the back of those malicious software warnings. Fingers crossed that the DIY COW move is smooth, you have a sizeable crowd on there now as you know!
G’Luck with the new site. I am sure that some techybods can assist with some of the content migration.
BD’s helping with re-designing this new blog version (I’ve just sent him a revised header image). This particular layout design is quite limiting, so Dave’s taken the basic format of the Tele blog – in terms of content anyway – and adapted it. We might be going all purplish very soon!
…and the Burple has seriously confirmed my need to update my non-interlaced GIF image avatar!!!
Ah! That’s a bit better!
I preferred the burple version!
Quick note on this – is anyone else finding their eyes being burned out from the (lovely) burple to Dark Blue to light text?
Might some softening of hues be appropriate or am I being picky?
The page background burple can be changed gnomey, but as far as I can tell these response boxes are set in (blue) stone.
One of the problems with this scheme is that you can change the background colour (the burple) but not the text colour or the comment background. Unless you use a darkish background you can read nothing.
It is, however, variable width and allows a header image which not many WordPress.com themes have (on my site this is achieved by an extra-cost add-on).
Fairy ‘Nuff – its the text boxes for me. My guitar is the same burple colour – picked by myself!
Nice to see your new site up and running already with a lot of comments and links. And looks like DIYCOW has been put to sleep as of today – the weblink now leads to the webmania service expired page.
Re DIY COW, that wasn’t supposed to happen! I’ll contact them today.
Hmmm. I’m going to hang fire on the crosswords for the time being. Funny thing – just been going through them and, well, to be honest I think most of them are a bit weak. With amendments, some can be brought back to life, but the majority should be left to die quietly in their current UKPuzzle Rest Home Inc.
There are occasions when I set a puzzle intended for a newspaper but decide, for whatever reason, it isn’t quite suitable – so I think those are the ones that should be given an airing here, rather than regurgitating old stuff.