Re: discovering comics outside of Tapas
- I personally discovered more comics I liked through links pages on webcomic sites (such as these ex.1, ex.2 and ex.3), than I ever did through Tapas. Personally a recommendation like that from a creator I trust wieghs a lot higher than a little square with a random face that doesn't tell me anything.
I'm gonna file that under individual preference, though.
Re: loading single pages
- Many a webcomic site has arrow key navigation implemented, unfortunately that doesn't go for all. I prefer that way of reading, though, because it gives off more of a book vibe than scrolling through it single file, being interrupted by comments I don't want to read on a binge read. (It's also better than having Tapas crash your browser because the workload seems too high for some reason or jumping back to the previous episode out of the blue.) (filing this under "mostly preference", because bugs aren't exclusive to Tapas)
Re: people forgetting about your comic on a lonely website
- I have way more readers and way more interaction on my main website than I ever had on Tapas, it's all a question about reaching out and making sure readers DO NOT forget and give them a reason to come back at whatever intervall your update schedule is. Notifications are nice, for sure, but they tend to let creators forget about pushing their presence on the web.
As is probably obvious I'm pro reading comics in their natural environment rather than forcing them onto a rigid template, that they may or may not work well with. On their individual websites, though, you experience them the way they are meant to be read. I'm more likely to be passionate about a comic if the surrounding webdesign elevate the content rather than being the same for all.
As both a creator who can plug opportunities of support more organically and a reader who just also gets all the extra content, I very much prefer individual sites.