Animation prototype

Animation is probably the single thing we have been asked for most in this toolset. As it required making changes to the server it has taken time to accomplish.

Two basic prototypes are now available, which generate animated banner images for a single book or an author banner featuring several titles.

Animated banner generator

Any feedback would be welcome.

April Figures and an update

We are looking at migrating this blog to the SmashingReads website and allowing users to sign up for email updates when there is a new post.

Meanwhile here are the figures so far:

	Uniques	Visits	Widgets
Jan 2012	55	180	3,146
Feb 2012	460	756	6,394
Mar 2012	5,385	9,231	62,702
Apr 2012	6,696	10,596	60,148

Key:
Uniques: Unique visitors not returning in 30 days.
Visits: All visitors.
Widgets: Widgets served.
These figures exclude bots.

The bandwidth cost has also gone up significantly. Back in January it was 12MBs, but not only are more widgets being served, but complex ones like the e-reader and store (which are becoming more popular) use more bandwidth. For the moment, we are covering the extra by adding Project Wonderful ads to the site.

In terms of widget progress, we now have animation support installed. It will take time to develop widgets that use it, but animated banners and buttons are in the works. If there is something you would like to see let us know.