Why I Re-designed My Blog (and How to Know When You’re Ready)

Why I re-designed my blog, how to know when you’re ready to, and what to do in the meantime.

Why I Re-Designed My Blog, and How to Know When You're Ready

In September of 2013, I created an account on WordPress.com, not knowing what I was getting myself into. I sifted through the internet to figure out how to get this ‘blog’ thing set up; I was completely lost. I’d been reading blogs for a while, and had developed a circle of favorite food and fitness bloggers. I loved their recipes, their workouts, their voices, and simply how their websites looked. But seeing something and forming a liking to it is completely different from understanding how that person got to that point, and executing to achieve what you’re looking for.

I knew what my taste was, I knew which blogs I’d enjoyed and liked to look at, but I had no idea how to make mine look like that. I can enjoy a Georgia O’Keefe painting all I want, but there’s no way in hell I could replicate it.

Of course, it’s a little more difficult to customize a website when you’re using WordPress.com instead of WordPress.org. WordPress.com doesn’t allow theme customization – so, there I was, scrolling through the free section of WordPress themes, trying to choose which one would be my suitor. By the way – if you’re a new blogger, for the love of God, go with WordPress.org. I was lucky enough to meet a web developer at a UF football game who ended up switching my website to .org from .com for free. When I was trying to do it myself, the migraines that ensued were indescribable.

I chose a theme and went with it. And if I recall, I lost count of how many times I’d changed my theme. At that point, it didn’t really matter because nobody was reading my blog. *sob* But the point was, I was never happy with how my website looked. I was not proud of my design or my theme. Additionally, I felt like it was holding me back.

Then, in October, my beautiful friend Georgie made me a gorgeous, custom logo! It was the first time I’d had anything that was all mine to symbolize my brand and my blog. I’ll never forget being in our hotel in Banff when I received her email containing the logo files; excited is an understatement. Georgie was kind enough to make me that beautiful logo, and it’s been repping the T-B-B for nine months now.

Why I Redesigned My Blog

But that logo didn’t foresee the life transition I would experience.

To be frank, it was a little hard for me to let go of it. When discussing this re-design with Jenn, she’d asked me if I was going to go with the logo change, which was a piece of the package she was offering. I hesitated. I told her my reservations. I was transparent in my reluctance.

But, per usual throughout this whole process, Jenn made me feel at ease. She ensured me that, when going through a re-design process, a logo change is recommended. I’m not just changing my design, but I’m changing my brand, my goals, my outlook, and my future. I thought: okay, I’ll do the whole shebang. The words came out of my mouth, and my mind was trying to reel them in like a fisherman catching dinner. But, once I gave her that answer, I realized it was the right decision.

Usually, if something scares me, it ends up being the right choice. In other words, I over think everything all the time everyday in my entire life. So for once, I took a note from Phil Knight and just did it.

So, now that you have the backstory…

The Blissful Balance

Why I Re-designed My Blog

I’m going through some changes.

Monday was my first day dropping down to part-time from my full-time job. Which is so weird for me to post on the internet for the world to see, but it’s true. And I have absolutely no plan. Which has not only been a source of stress in the back of my mind, but it is so unlike me. I’ve quit a job before (I did not quit this time, but you know what I mean) because I loathed that job and had a plan to start a new job. But this is a different story. I don’t hate my job. The people at my job have become like my family. I’ve known them since I was a 21-year old intern. I’ve watched the business from pivot to pivot, changing business models, growing and learning, to now having almost twenty employees and a user base that grows by the minute. Truly – an amazing thing to witness and be a part of. The startup experience is unlike any other. They’ve been great to me, are great to me, and I am forever grateful for their compassion and flexibility.

However, I have passions that I can no longer ignore. The fact that I took this step, especially without a concrete, written-in-stone, signed and notarized plan, is really telling. It may not seem like a huge step to some, but it’s a huge step to me. I am the poster child for Type A personalities. This is the real deal.

With this transition, I felt a re-design was appropriate. I’ve been wanting a custom website design for almost three years, and this felt like the right time. Similar to the power of going from long hair to a chin-length bob, I needed this haircut. Change ya hair, change ya life.

[Tweet “Change ya hair, change ya life.”]

^Anyone who tweets that, you’re the coolest.

I’m ready to take this relationship to the next level.

To piggy-back off of my recent job change, I am ready to take my business to the next level. With that, I did not feel as though my previous design was at the level of professionalism I am looking for. While I classify as a blogger, I feel like I am much more than that (nothing wrong with being a blogger, obviously, since I run a blog and stuff). My website screamed “blogger”, while my heart, my work, the value I believe I bring, my goals, scream “business owner”. Essentially, I wanted to go from blog to business; I wanted something more sophisticated and professional. I needed my training wheels removed, ya girl is ready for the open road.

I needed to zero in on my goals and brand definition.

Since 2013, my blog, brand, and business, has felt a bit foggy. While I have my purpose as my foundation, I’ve felt like my niche was a gray area. I make recipes, I’m a food blogger, but I felt like I’ve lacked focus. I’ve tried and tried, and simply could not figure out what the heck my ‘thing’ was.

This process reminded me of group fitness. Humor me. When I exercise on my own, I am a slaaaaaacker. I simply do not work as hard, I horse around, I straight. up. SLACK. Yet, when I have friends holding me accountable, and someone next to me trying to do more burpees than me, I work my ass off and get a hell of a good sweat in.

This whole time I’ve been trying to figure out what I’m doing. Working with Jenn, going through the branding process, I was almost forced to give her narrowed down information. I had to tell her what I was all about. And all of a sudden, it was more clear than ever. Major face palm, my friends. I think I needed that push. As I’m entering into a world of uncertainty, I needed clarity with The Blissful Balance. This re-design gave it to me.

[Tweet “How a website re-design can give you brand purpose and clarity”]

I believe in business investments.

So far, all of the investments I’ve made for my blog have been worth it (in my opinion). Like I said in this post, I’m not a big spender by any means. However, I’ve proven to myself that these are investments in my future. I was terrified when I purchased my DSLR camera. That was more money than I’d spent in a long time, and doing so made me palpably nervous. However, that was one of the best decisions I’ve made for my blog and business. It took everything to the next level.

I believe in this redesign as an investment in my business, and I feel it’s something that will propel me forward.

 

When is it Time to Re-Design?

Like I said, I started my blog in September 2013. This is the first time I am investing money into a custom design. Almost three years later.

A re-design isn’t something you do often. It requires a lot of thought, money, and is of the utmost importance. Additionally, changing your branding too much can result in brand inconsistency and a lack of brand identity. With that said, it can be difficult to understand when it might be time for you to do the same, or when you should hold off. In addition to the four things I just listed as reasons why I re-designed, these are a few other questions that came to mind when deciding to take the leap:

Is your website running okay?

My website was running very slow. This was due to ads, to unnecessary plug-ins, to images, etc. When going through my initial design audit, it was something Jenn pointed out right away, and something that I’ve actually been told on various occasions. Weirdly enough, my site has never been slow on my own computer, so it wasn’t something in my face everyday that motivated me to do anything about it. So, I’ve never really taken the time to investigate. However, I felt that a re-design and clean sweep would help this problem.

Is your website user-friendly and intuitive?

If your website is cluttered and difficult for brand new users to navigate, it might be time to re-design, or at least restructure. Nobody wants to have to exert energy to be able to find what they came for; a website that’s complicated or not user-friendly is an equation for low engagement, and people leaving without giving you a chance, and maybe never coming back. I felt that my website lacked the ease of navigation. My sidebar felt cluttered and I simply wanted a cleaner, more sophisticated look.

Does your offering seem unclear?

With my blog, I felt like it was unclear what my purpose was, or what I was offering to visitors. Through a few Peek User Testing sessions, I found that people would arrive to my site, and not really understand what it was. Of course, this blew my mind because to me, *duh* it’s a food blog. But I had to put my mind into that of stranger’s: what do they think when they get to my website?

Are you financially ready?

A big part of the reason I’ve waited so long to re-design my website is the obvious monetary reason. Graphic and web design is expensive. I wanted to make sure that I found right designer, that I understood what I wanted, why I wanted it, and that I was simply making the right choice. I felt almost like I was searching for my wedding dress. I came across countless designers and I just never got that ‘this is the one’ feeling. But once I had Jenn do my design audit, I knew I’d found the person that would design my website.

Does your brand lack consistency?

Mine did. I had too many different colors in my graphics, I had sidebar images and plugins that didn’t match my branding, yadda yadda. It just wasn’t cohesive. Brand consistency is important because it sets you apart. Branding can go so far as to inspire a sense of trust in readers and newcomers alike. I felt like I understood brand consistency, I understood the importance of finding a style on my website, but I wouldn’t achieve exactly what I wanted without a custom website.

These were all things I thought about before making my decision. Something else I recommend? Really doing your research. Don’t just pick any designer. Get recommendations. Read reviews and testimonials. Sift through portfolios.

And if you’re a new blogger, someone not ready to go full custom website and pay a designer to give you a branding package, here are a few steps you can take to enhance your brand cohesiveness and website usability.

Why I Re-Designed my Blog

Quick Design Tips for New Bloggers

I am guilty of almost all of these, and have learned along the way.

Remove any social media feed plugins from your sidebar.

Each social media platform has its own logo, which is almost always displayed in their feed-type plugins. I recommend removing any Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram ‘feeds’ or ‘sliders’ from your sidebar. It takes away from your brand consistency (are you tired of hearing that yet?) and it’s sort of redundant – if you already have your social media icons on your website, there is no need to have these feeds taking up room. If somebody wants to follow you on social media, they will find you, they will use your buttons.

Page sequence matters.

To increase usability, I recommend auditing the sequence in which your pages are listed. If you’re a food blogger, for instance, place your “About” page first, then your recipes, any other categories, your “Services” or “Work with Me” page, and finally, your contact page. Think about how people would sift through your website naturally.

Use two to three fonts.

The more simple, the better. When creating graphics or simply choosing what fonts to use as your headers, sub-headers, and paragraph fonts, choose two to three fonts for simplicity. Too many fonts leads to a crowded-looking website, and is simply not pleasing to look at.

Relocate your blog network badges.

Your sidebar is important real estate on your blog, and there are many ways to utilize it. Many bloggers (including me) fill up their sidebars with badges for blog networks they are a part of. Some networks require this, and some don’t. I don’t think they should be removed altogether, but maybe placed elsewhere on your blog. I believe it’s a good idea to make a graphic containing all of those badges and place them into your “work with me” or “press” page, indicated as “networks I work with” or “communities I belong to” (still working on this). While us bloggers know what those networks represent, the average blog visitor (say, someone who’s simply looking for a recipe) doesn’t know what those are, and to them, it’s just clutter. If someone wants to know what networks you belong to, they are probably someone who would be clicking to your “work with me” or “press” page, regardless.

Why I Re-Designed my Blog

Takeaway

There you have it, folks. The who, what, where, when, and why I redesigned my blog, how to know when you’re ready, and what to do in the meantime. While a blog redesign might not seem like a big deal to some, it is to me, as it’s been a decision in the making for a long, long time. Thank you to Jenn who has been such a source of inspiration throughout this process! Who knew I’d gain a friend from redesigning my blog!?

 

Join the conversation:

Have you ever thought about re-branding/designing your website? What’s holding you back?
What is one website you find totally inspiring?

Comments

  1. says

    The new look is AWESOME Christina!! I absolutely love it! It’s almost my 2 year blogiversary so I’ve been thinking about redesigning my blog and switch to WordPress.org or Bluehost. I think I tried to switch to Bluehost once and i did something wrong so I panicked and switched back, but I’m definitely ready too!

  2. says

    Looks gorgeous Christina!!! I completely understand how you feel about website screaming “blogger” and how it held you back a bit, because I feel the same way!!! Love this post! You’re always great at breaking things down for all of us to reflect and think about next steps for ourselves as well. Thanks girl!

  3. says

    The new site looks SO amazing! I really love the logo and can’t wait to see what you have coming up next. Congratulations on making the decision to cut back to part time. I know that must have been a huge decision but you have big things coming up and I applaud you for making that leap of faith! Best of luck to you :)

  4. says

    Christinaaaaa!!!! I am loving this new look – your homepage is the epitome of blogger orgasms (is that a thing?). Honestly it’s so freaking great and i am sooo excited for ya. Also loved this post, loved reading about your past three years and everything that took you to get to this final decision to change. Can’t wait to see you grow more and more xx

  5. says

    I love the new design! Especially the logo! I’m going through that redesign phase at the moment – just feel I’m ready to make my blog more business ready rather than hobby ready! But alas, money! I love the really simple themes, like Minimalist Baker theme, but also a theme that is a little rustic as well like My Name is Yeh! Thanks for the tips and advice!

  6. says

    I’m obsessing over that logo font right now. Seriously though. I think everything you said makes so much sense and if you’re feeling a major or even slight rebrand, it’s nice to have a new design go along with it. I’m already thinking up my next one…. not for anytime soon, but I think it’s fun to switch things up. Also expensive sooooo…. I can wait :) PS congrats on going down to part time!! Yes it’s scary (trust me I know), but so, so worth it.

    • says

      Aw thank you so much Erin!! Yes it’s so fun to switch things up, it’s been hard for me to stick with one theme lol but now (since I’ve paid for it) hahah I’m gonna keep this for a while. <3 (and because I love it duhh)

  7. says

    Oh my gosh, I LOVED reading this post. Firstly, your site looks AMAZING! I love the unique layout, the quality photos everywhere, and gah it just makes me happy.
    I don’t think I’m ready for a re-design/re-branding yet. I don’t know where I want to take this blog yet, and I’m still employed full-time. May consider things in the future, and I feel weird saying that I’m “settling” right now (not 100% happy with my blog layout, etc) but it’ll do!
    XOXO

  8. says

    LOVE the new look friend! :) Change is good and when it comes to changing the look of your brand and site, it can definitely be a challenge, sometimes frustrating, but also so exciting. I have gone through many changes with my own brand and I can finally say that I am happy now with the way it looks, because I am happy with where I am physically. CONGRATS! :)

  9. says

    I love your new design–it is so beautiful! :) I also pinned this because I’m always struggling on what to put in my side bar, organize things, etc. This is great information! This spring I moved from Blogger to WordPress, and learning how to use WP has been a major struggle for me.

  10. says

    Absolutely freakin love this! I am so inspired reading about your job changes and your ambitions. After I got my bachelors degree and an office job that was NOT for me, I went back to school to become a dietitian. Food and nutrition (mostly food) are my passion. And now, blogging is becoming my passion too. I can totally see where you’re going, and how TBB will become a business. Congrats!

  11. says

    Christina – I LOVE the redesign. I love the new logo and the colors! And thanks for all the awesome tips. I’m definitely not ready for a full custom made site just yet, but I’m hoping to get there some day!

  12. says

    I absolutely love the re-design, Christina! I also love how you shared the story behind your decision to change things around and that you were open about your hesitancy too. Congrats with this new chapter of The Blissful Balance!

  13. says

    I love the new design! Congrats on the ability to recognize the need to make life changes. I am constantly working on that for myself!

  14. says

    Oh my gosh I have so many things to say but I’ll keep it short for this. I LOVE YOUR FRONT PAGE. Like woah. I love the font. I love the colors. I pretty much love everything. I also got a little teary-eyed reading about your recent switch to part-time. ALL to familiar for me after leaving my company. But man, you have got this. I am so so so excited for you.
    I’ve definitely thought about a re-design recently, but not sure if I am quite ready yet… I might have to pick your brain <3

    • says

      Thank you so much Ash!!! It’s been a rough year with this company but it’s one of those things where ‘it’s just business’ and in the end we are like family so it was definitely a tough decision and I’m so lucky that they are so flexible with me. So so lucky. <3 Thank you again for your sweet words!

  15. says

    This is so awesome! I love the new design, congratulations Christina. I think it’s awesome that you took the jump and listened to your heart. I know it will all work out incredibly for you :)

  16. says

    Oh this is beautiful! I work as a full time graphic designer and spend my free time as a very part time blogger and I can attest that there is truly nothing more agonizing than trying to conceptualize your own brand. It’s so worth it to go with your gut while getting input from knowledgeable partners. It’s so exciting when all your hard work pays off, Congratulations!

  17. says

    Wow you are my hero. So much wisdom Christina. I’ve been counting down till your re-launch because I’ve been wanting that banana, choc chip muffin recipe the whole week! So hooray I’m so pleased you are back. Your site looks amazing too.

  18. says

    This is most definitely something I want to do in the future, and Christina, you clarified everything so well. You got me to go and take the Instagram feed off of the side of my blog. I think I lacked confidence that people would ‘ever’ see my Instagram if it wasn’t there, but you encouragement to ‘clean’ really made me want to be cleaner in my blog too. I have been wanting to see your re-launch like Megan, and I’m going to read this post in depth again cause it’s almost midnight, BUT… I did not give it justice. Thank you for pouring your heart and soul into this blog. It truly shows your love and dedication. You are at the next step, and that is EXCITING !

    • says

      Thank you so much, as always, for your sweet words Emily. You truly always remind me why I do what I do, and it makes my day to know that I helped you/anyone in any way. I hope you liked the post and I wish you the best of luck in your blogging endeavors <3

  19. says

    Christina! Your new website looks SO AMAZING!!! Congrats on taking the leap, I know it will pay off in the future. Thanks for those website tips for new bloggers, I am going to go implement a couple of these ideas right now!

  20. says

    Christina I loved reading about why you decided to redesign now- and tips for others looking to redesign! so glad you love it, and thanks for the help <3

  21. says

    I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to comment but I absolutely love this post and loved how you not only explained your own process but walk people through how to know when the time is right. You inspire me on the daily unicorn xox

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