You read that title correctly. It got to where I hated my blog for so many reasons. The first was I had found a theme I thought was perfect only to discover after purchasing it would not work for me. It wouldn’t show things all nice and pretty the way the demo did. I could go on and on but let’s say things weren’t working.
I had changed colors only to discover that a few ended up far too harsh on the eyes on some devices. I wanted to cry. I hated to come over here and work because things were looking so bad and I wasn’t happy. In fact, I ended up behind in some work because I hated the blog so much. There were other issues to that, but it was a big part. This blog was my baby. I had nurtured it from nothing. I spent years pouring my heart and soul into it only to despise it.
Something had to change. Not just on the blog but personally for me. At first, I was going to just change things and that be that but I stopped myself. I knew I needed to not do something in haste so I researched. What I did was a make a list of all the things I hated about the blog at this moment. The list wasn’t long but there was so much that I wasn’t loving.
Look and Feel
The look and feel was the biggest. Everything else falls is secondary once you see that. My blog and brand needed an update. How do I do that? How do I decide the look and feel of my brand? Not knowing what to do I went in search of the answers. I found so many courses, worksheets, and other stuff to help me. For me some worked, some didn’t, so I set them aside and wrote out my wants.
I wanted Rita Reviews to be a place where my readers came for information on the products I use, read blogging tips, to enter the giveaways, and to catch up with my family life. Okay so I needed a new tagline, maybe. I came up with:
Rita Reviews: Life with a Southern Flair
I wanted readers to look at the blog and say it is so pretty without being overpowering or too much. I have never put a lot of pop-ups or many ads it takes an hour for the page to load. That drives me crazy with some websites. I want to read an article but the four ads on the page won’t load or are taking a while to load. I will leave the page first. That isn’t something I wanted.
Notes
That paper I wrote, I kept on my desk adding notes as I needed to. If I was in the shower and thought of something when I got done I came out and wrote it down. I spend weeks going over each thing. What parts of it didn’t I like, what parts did I. Did something not work at all or would a little tweaking help? I almost gave up on it all and said never mind.
I had planned on doing a whole series, talking things out, sharing things. Then the day came to schedule everything and I just wanted it changed and looking pretty so I changed it. I may every well still run the other parts that I wrote just to share the journey with y’all but tomorrow there will be a giveaway to showcase the new look.
Are there things you want to see changed? Let me know in the comments.
I live in a small Georgia town that you most likely have never heard of and I LOVE it! My house is more than full as I am a single mother of four & caregiver to my aging mother and uncle. Lover of all things Outlander. Goes to the beat of her own drum woman.
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I like it the way it is.
thank you. there are a few tweaks left and then it is 100% for me. Most of these are small and just something my ocd requires me to do.
I think it looks nice. I can relate to this post so much. I have a blog and have gotten to the same place. I am not very good at creating a blog stuff. I really need to sit down and do the same and make a list of things I want to change. Research it, then do it.
That list made all the difference. i spent a good hour going over every single aspect and writing what i liked, what i hated, etc. I also made one with the reasons to give up vs. the REASONS to carry on.
when i was done, i went through it item on my list and wrote out how i would change it or what i could do. this gave me an action plan. that plan allowed me to get to a better place where i feel i made better decisions.
one huge thing has been learning how to archive old posts a little better. i haven’t done that in the past.
My blog is just a hobby, something I do for fun, so I don’t worry about it too much. I don’t like pop-ups, though, so I agree with you on that point!
tHIS BLOG IS WELL DESIGNED AND ARRANGED. i WOULD LIKE MORE SIMPLE BACKGROUND COLOURS FOR YOUR POSTS. fIRST IMPRESSION REALLY MATTERS. I REALLY LOVED THE WAY YOUR BLOG LOOKS. SO KEEP IT SIMPLE.
Thank you so much.
THIS IS MY FIRST VISIT TO YOUR BLOG…i LIKE WHAT i SEE…life IS A WORK IN PROGRESS…YOUR CHILDREN GROW AND CHANGE, reaching new milestones often…SO WILL YOUR BLOG…REVISITING YOUR INITIAL VISION FOR YOUR BLOG IS WISE…THIS enables you to see how far you have come and the direction in which you’d like to continue and the changes you’d like to make…learning to prioritizing, setting constraints and making sure that Joy is enabled are so important…I know I will enjoy repeat visits to your blog.
wishing you well, In kindness Chris
The new look is clean and crisp, I think is much more attractive. It’s easy to navigate and has a more personal, friendly feel to it.
I love the new look – i completely understand the frustrations of trying to get your site exactly as you like – i have the same issues with my company website.
I think your blog is very pretty. I am like you. I appreciate no pop ups while getting a quaint ed with a site . I also like the pink links with blue accent text. If it was not something you liked before, I think you fixed it nicely.