Hello friends! It sure has been a while, hasn’t it? While I may have taken a break from publishing new blog posts, I have actually been pretty busy working behind the scenes!
Lots of time has been spent deleting old blog posts that just don’t fit the blog anymore, re-writing posts that I enjoyed, but just didn’t have much meat to them, and also updating old posts that were okay, but could use a facelift.
That means lots of old blog posts are updated with fresh information and are much more up to date. No one wants to read about a destination with outdated info do they? I thought not!
You may also notice that the blog looks a little different.
The old design didn’t feel like me anymore. I originally loved the simplicity, however, after a few years it began to feel a bit dull.
I had no clue how to go about creating my perfect website, so thankfully I found a post that Kara Blythe had written in a Facebook group that we’re both part of, looking for anybody interested in having a new website built for them, free of charge. Did my dreams just come true?! If you don’t know, getting websites built is expensive. I know you need to spend money to make money, so I began slowly thinking of ideas when I saw her post.
She decided to do this because she was looking to build her portfolio while also helping out fellow travel bloggers with their sites.
She was incredible to work with!
I’m a bit of a scatter brain when it comes to explaining my ideas properly. I get an idea of what I may like, but am not the greatest at fully forming those ideas and thoughts, and expressing them to others.
I gave Kara a color scheme I would love, and lots of info about my blog and where I hope for it to go. I showed her what I enjoy about other blogs and what I would like for my own.
And guys, she did it!
My New Blog Design
I really love my new landing page (Home page) which is what you see when you land on my blog.
I chose to have a short blurb, and when you click Start Here, that takes you to my new About page, with posts that have been updated.
Next up is Must Reads. These are some featured blog posts, and will be changing every so often, so there will be different posts for you to read there.
After the Must Reads is my latest post. This is here so you can quickly and easily get to the latest blog post I have posted, and will of course change with each new blog post posted. I really dislike when I go to blogs, but finding the latest blog post is so hard. I usually just end leaving the blog altogether. Here, it is easy to find the latest blog post, so you won’t need to spend forever trying to find it!
Underneath the Latest Post you’ll find my Top Categories. For these I chose Travel Stories, Tips & Tricks, Guides, and Recipes.
The reason for these categories is because these are personally the types of posts I love to read on blogs. I love reading travel stories because this is a person way to get to know the blogger, while also reading a story about being on the road. For those who have been reading travel blogs for years, you may remember that a lot of old travel blogs started by posting their own travel stories, and these are my favorite posts to write.
Some of my favorite Travel stories that I’ve written are That time I vomited at the Australia Zoo, Being a Hobbit at Hobbiton, bungee jumping in Taupo New Zealand, and That time I nearly missed my Hobbiton visit.
Next up we have Tips & Tricks. I personally believe that this is needed for any blogger. We all have tips & tricks that are unique to us, and I love reading these types of posts from others. Often times they can cover something that you never even thought of!
Guides. Being a travel blogger, guides are a big part of the job. You can link to other posts you’ve written, creating a big resource for the readers looking into those destinations. I love reading a good guide and learning as much as I can!
And lastly recipes. No I am not a food blogger, but it has always been a bit of a dream of mine! I absolutely love cooking, so when I find something really good, I have to share!
Under my Top Categories I have a small Meet the Blogger section. It’s just a short blurb letting you know what you can expect by visiting this site, and for you to hopefully get a small introduction to me.
Next up is a short Travel Highlights section, showcasing a few important trips for me.
Now depending on what type of device you are on it may look a bit different.
On phones there are 3 little lines up at the top right hand corner that brings you to the main menu. From here you can choose to go to several different pages. These pages are About, Destinations, Recipes, Lifestyle, and Blog.
On a laptop or desktop computer, these pages are displayed along the top of the screen, and you can click directly into each one.
All I’m waiting on now is a new logo, which I cannot wait to display up top, and some new updated photos of myself.
Didn’t Kara do a fantastic job?! I could never have done this myself, and I am so grateful to her for this opportunity. I think my new blog design looks incredible, and she did so much more than I could have hoped.
Thank you Kara!
Find Kara’s website here, and she also runs a podcast called Travel Business Lounge, where she interviews successful female entrepreneurs in different fields of the travel industry! You can find the podcast on all major podcast platforms.
