At the kickoff of the class , I had a lofty end : redesign my 14 - yr - old website and organise it in such a way that my archive of over 700 posts was loose to discover , study , and pull through .

A fun fact : I first redesigned my site in 2013 , and then again in 2017 … which mean the last time Garden Betty got this big of a face lift wasseven years ago .

Was that really the last clip I changed thing up ? ! Seven year is middling much dinosaur status in the blogging world , and it was about metre I gave this space a new look !

This go - one shot , I settle to hire a fashion designer — my first time doing so . I amextremelynit - particular about design ( having been a in writing and web intriguer in my past life — it ’s how I gravel into blogging ) . But I wanted to reach the rein over to a professional so that I would n’t pass months ghost over every little aim contingent when I could be doing more of what I love : messing around in my garden and writing about it .

I ultimately signed on withKaty Boykin(and her internet site design agencyDIY Dream Site ) and seriously ca n’t say enough good things about her . She turned a unfeignedly daunting task into an exciting , fun , and smooth experience that was unbelievably well - organized from the start . From our initial strategy call to the net innovation to the carrying out , I had a solid collaborator who was super thoughtful , reachable , and such a virtuoso at what she does .

The task took two months to complete behind the scenes , all the while Garden Betty remained alive and operational for the entirety of the rebuild . I ’m happy to say we ’re about a month spot - launch , ( mostly ) bug - detached that I can see , and ready to take you on a tour of what ’s new around here !

More visually appealing layouts

Let ’s start with the overall look , as that has switch the most from the previous design . I want to go with a fresh , warm , well-disposed vibe that ’s clean and modern without being bare .

Above all , I want the site to be visceral and simple to navigate , yet interesting enough to make you desire to click around and research . ( Some of my nice emails have come from mass who landed on my situation for one answer , then stick around and found many more things that get them hooked ! )

Katy and I make several usance Page that put the most important substance front and center in an easygoing - to - scan ( and swipe ) format ( especially if your only computing machine is your phone ) .

You ’ll notice that thehomepagedirects you to swerve and late articles , and this is a good position to start if you ’re looking for seasonally relevant topics . All the independent categories across the top fare take you to landing pages that foreground the most popular articles and make it easy to discover everything I ’ve write about .

But if you ’re unsure of where to begin , well — there ’s a Sir Frederick Handley Page for that calledStart Here .

With the new invention , I wanted to improve two section that I felt were previously an afterthought : BooksandShop .

My newbook pagesnow give you a better overview of each of my cookbooks , with more exposure of what each book look like at bottom , the chapter and recipes included , and revue from genuine readers ( along with links to all the places you may purchase them ) .

Theshop pageshave been reimagined and now serve as a resource hub for all the point I regularly utilise and urge . Want to acknowledge where I grease one’s palms my seeds ? Which tools I own ? What ’s inside my home ? You ’ll find it all in my Shop .

A new and improved search function

One of the most meaning improvements made to my site is an incorporate search . You ’ll see this as a hunt ikon in the top right turning point of the varlet and as a search streak on various pages throughout my site .

My site search is now power byGrow , a robust , concealment - center national search railway locomotive that also allows you to preserve your recent searches and favorite articles all in one situation .

You ’ll necessitate tocreate a free Grow account , but that one account ( a single augury - on that does n’t require you to keep logging in each time ) works on every situation that uses Grow — not just Garden Betty . With your Grow account , you’re able to bookmark an clause to read later on or make a subroutine library of utile contact for your own personal denotation . There isneverany be for this military service .

To deliver an article , simply press the heart image in the dispirited right corner of the concealment . This floating widget is where you may also share your favorites on Facebook or Pinterest — societal shares are valuable as they serve spread the Christian Bible about my work ! ( And I truly thank you for doing so . )

All in all , I was aiming for a better user experience with the new innovation — from the visual layout that flow more swimmingly on the front end to the more expert aspects of ensuring every page functions well on the backend ( specially on mobile and tablet ) .

I absolutelylovehow everything turned out ! I think Katy totally knocked it out of the park ( highly recommend her for all your WordPress design projects ) and I hope you delight it too !

If it ’s been a while since you ’ve looked around , here are a few pages you might like :

Thank you for being here , for giving me a reasonableness to go on blogging , and for supporting the years of work I put into Garden Betty !