New Year…fresh online spaces! Woo! I am so excited to share a big refresh for my blog here, and even a few small updates over on my main website!

For the last few years now, I have completed all of my website updates & refreshes myself. While there is most definitely a place for hiring a professional, learning how to adjust my own website has been such a beneficial investment of my time- as it allows me to make needed changes on my own timeline. While it may still be on my big picture goal list to hand my brand over to an extremely talented graphic designer for a start to finish presentation, I currently have other investments that are priority in 2017, and I am ok with that! Learning new things that will help grow your business can feel overwhelming if you let it, but I always remind myself that I never used to understand a single bit of photoshop either- but I worked at it, watched video tutorials, and slowly learned. I just wanted to share this to encourage you if you’re just starting out, or if you’re feeling like you just aren’t ready to make the large financial investment of a professional designer. There are plenty of places to start out until you’re ready!

My blog got a major facelift thanks to the new ProPhoto 6 update! I have been a ProPhoto for WordPress user for my blog since almost the very beginning. While it may not always have the shiniest new features, the SEO is just unmatched for me. Perhaps it’s because I have been using it for so long, perhaps it’s because I feel confident in how to optimize on this specific platform- but regardless, my client’s ability to find me through their Google searches is something I am not definitely not willing to sacrifice. I would say I have updated my ProPhoto version a few different times now, about every 1-2 years. This was the first update however that REALLY changed the game. It wasn’t just an update, it was a entire new interface to design with!

I am pretty far from having a tech brain, but what I do know, is that I had far more freedom and options in my design and layout (without using any custom css coding), and that my blog is now much more optimized for mobile viewing! Knowing that a lot of my traffic comes from places like Instagram, this was a really important element for me. (As Gary Vaynerchuck says, our phones are the remote control of our life!)

While it’s all fresh in my mind, I was thinking of writing a more detailed post about my experience with ProPhoto 6- the things I really liked, the things that were a bit of a hassle, and also maybe how I would have approached the new design differently if I had to go back and do it again. If that’s a post you would be interested in reading, leave me a comment below! I only want to write it if you’re interested in learning about it.

My main website is hosted on Squarespace. This was a decision I made last year when I knew I wanted both a portfolio site, as well as a blog. I think the simple design, and art focused presentation fits my brand well, so not too much changed over there, just a few design refreshes! It feels SO good to have this project complete and a fresh update for the new year!

I’m happy that you’re here and browsing around! 2017 is going to be the best year yet!

Image shown by Justin & Mary.