The past nine months have been a hive of activity here at PhotoArk as once again we have been working on a major site update creatively dubbed ‘V4.0’! This unintentionally seems to have become an annual thing for us and I’m sure your asking, why another update?
For almost three years now PhotoArk has been running on the same core framework providing compatibility for both newer and older browsers such a Internet Explorer 8. Maintaining this level of compatibility prevents us from adopting the latest web standards which in turn stops us from implementing some really cool features. But with Microsoft axing support for XP & IE8 in 2014 and Google following suite later this year we feel now is the right time for us to join them in ending support for IE8.
Updating PhotoArk’s core framework has been a mammoth task, after all it powers everything you see including our site template, image libraries, exhibitions & slideshows. Consequently we have had to re-develop everything from the ground up, giving us the perfect opportunity to improve and innovate. Here’s a taste of what’s included in the V4.0 update:
- New look & feel
- A new logo!
- Much faster loading times
- Significantly improved mobile site
- New Image Library format offering easier navigation and selection
- New image sorting tools in the libraries
- Shopping for images has been uncoupled from the libraries and moved into our shop (coming soon!)
- New ‘My Account’ & ‘Downloads’ page (for registered users)
- Images in Libraries and Exhibitions are twice the resolution for enhanced viewing experience
- Blog & Review Hub has been renamed to Articles and has been restructured
- New ‘Toggle’ control for removing image info/captions in the libraries/exhibitions
- Image of the Months downloads are now provided in JPG instead of ZIP
- Lots of bug fixes!!!
Currently our Specials & Postage Stamps Libraries are offline as we are still re-working them however we hope to have them back online soon. We are also hoping to online our new shop system sometime in the near future where you can now purchase images, canvas prints and much more.
We have done our fair share of bug testing but its no uncommon for a few to slip through the cracks, if you spot one please let us know by emailing