This blog has been going for about 18 months now and has gone from strength to strength, and since then things have changed, evolved and developed. I have lots of plans for next year and some exciting things in the pipeline, so in keeping with that I am looking for a bit of a blog makeover.
If you know of, or can recommend anybody who would be up for the job please send them my way.
I need somebody who is highly skilled in the following areas:
- Website Design
- Graphic Design
- Branding/Marketing
- Social Media
- Wordpress
I'd also love to hear what you think I can change and improve about the blog, in either look, feel, function or anything else you can contribute!
Thank you all for your lovely comments and feedback left on the blog, Facebook etc, in response to the giveaway. Such wonderful things to hear, and greatly appreciated. So nice to hear why you follow and what you like and good to know I'm on the right track.
I did hear a few people say they haven't been able to comment, or had skipped emails and missed posts, so if you have any of those problems please let me know.
Also, if you are anonymous and don't have a google account, or aren't on any social media (I hear you Tammy!), then don't worry, if you leave your name at the bottom of your comment you will of course still be entered in the draw!
Hopefully you wont go the wordpress way. I find it very distracting all the blinking of ads and layout terrible. I have really gone off some of the blogs that have changed recently because of new format.
ReplyDeleteHi Leah, The idea of Wordpress and the reason I'm thinking of changing over is that it's meant to be more user and design friendly, more professional looking and easier to work with and add to. I gives the blogger more creative flexibility and functionality, whereas blogger is considered more of a hobby platform in blogging circles. It's also meant to be a better platform for growing blogs into commercial enterprises which plenty of people want to do. Displaying flashing and rotating ads and sponsors buttons etc isn't exclusive to Wordpress, as there are millions of Blogger blogs with ads on them. It's just the personal preference of the blogger, not so much the platform. I don't want to go down that path anyway, of having ads on my blog because I think it spoils the look, but simply want to clean up my blog so that it looks cleaner and is easier to navigate around and use for my followers. I'm a complete nong when it comes to tech stuff like that so want a professional to set it all up for me and put me on the right track. Nothing major. Hopefully you'll like what I do and stick around!
DeleteI'm mostly a lurker here, but had to chime in on this post...
DeleteI've been blogging since 2004 on blogger, and their most recent changes were what tipped the bucket for me to move to WP.
As for the comment about "blinking" ads - that's not something that every WP site has; it's the choice of the blog owner.
I love the functionality of WP, and the fact that it gives me so many more options than blogger does. I completely changed the theme on my blog myself - something that I wouldn't have been able to do on a blogger blog.
I don't think you will regret making the move. I know I didn't.
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ReplyDeleteHi Caroline, I was wondering what you were up to as I haven't heard from you for ages. Glad to see An Adelaide Girl again! In response to Leah above and your comments, this is my response......
DeleteThe idea of Wordpress and the reason I'm thinking of changing over is that it's meant to be more user and design friendly, more professional looking and easier to work with and add to. I gives the blogger more creative flexibility and functionality, whereas blogger is considered more of a hobby platform in blogging circles. It's also meant to be a better platform for growing blogs into commercial enterprises which plenty of people want to do, although I don't at this stage. Displaying flashing and rotating ads and sponsors buttons etc isn't exclusive to Wordpress, as there are millions of Blogger blogs with ads on them. Perhaps it's because many people swap to WP when they want to earn an income from their blog from ads, which I think is fine, that makes it seem like it's just a WP feature. Good on them if they can, I wish I could as it is a full-time job and not getting any remuneration can be tough. At the end of the day, it's just the personal preference of the blogger, not so much the platform. I don't want to go down the ad path anyway, of having ads on my blog because I think it spoils the look, but simply want to clean up my blog so that it looks cleaner and is easier to navigate around and use for my followers. But I am certainly going to be looking at ways of being recompensed for the time and effort I put into the blog, so that I can continue to grow it and maintain the quality. I'm a complete nong when it comes to tech stuff like that so want a professional to set it all up for me and put me on the right track. Nothing major. Hopefully you'll like what I do and stick around! Nice to hear from you though, Mel.x
Hi Mel
ReplyDeleteTry Belgrin for your blog/social media requirements and ask for Maria. Make sure you let her know I sent you! http://www.belgrin.com.au/en/services/
Good luck with the transformation, it's time consuming but well worth the effort.
Jennifer xx
Great, thanks for the tip Jennifer. Will check it out.
DeleteHi Mel,
ReplyDeleteTry Belgrin http://www.belgrin.com.au/en/services/ for your Blog/Social Media requirements. Make sure you ask for Maria and tell her I sent you. Good luck with it all, it's time consuming and frustrating but well worth the effort.
Jennifer xx
Just stumbled upon your blog. It's lovely! I do not think you need improvements!
ReplyDeleteHi Mel,
ReplyDeleteNot sure if you have had a chance to have a look at my new blog site on Wordpress now.
I recently posted about my designer and who she is and what she is about.
Basically she is about the blogger wishing to move professional.
I can not say to you enough - Move to WP before too much more time passes.
Professional bloggers in the UK and the US only use the platform.
Google frustrated me no end with the faults - and that is what ultimately happens with free.
Here is the link to the recent post.
http://www.hereiamloulou.com/2012/11/i-moved-to-my-new-home-meet-my-builder-acumen-creative/
PS: she is knowledgeable about coding and building not just pretty colours and the visual which a lot of designers are.
Everyone is an expert at times but I hope my 2 cents worth has helped - email me if I can be of any further help
x
Loulou
Thanks Loulou, great advice and thanks for the tip. Been meaning to make the move for the past year, but haven't had the time. But more and more are doing it, and love the change. I think it's the way to go moving forward. You site is looking lovely.
DeleteHi Mel, I can highly recommend my WP blog designer, Katrina. She is so good at coding that her blogs even look great on mobile devices.... which is where blogging is heading ....according to the goss I picked up at BlogHer NYC. This is the biggest litmus test... mobile device friendly, ie, ads showing, format similar to desktop/laptop. Katrina does coding as well as 'pretty colours'.... what a combo! Wrt ads, my ads blinked on Blogger before they blinked on Wordpress. Don't let that put you off. You can show static ads. There are so many Blogger blogs out there covered in advertising. It's all down to the design, not the platform. My advertising pays for the time I put into my blog and business, covers my business running costs (warehouse and blog and store hosting) which enables me to be more competitive in my consulting fees and product prices. It would be nice to be able to do it all for free... just for inspiration! Wordpress has so much more functionality than blogger too, not to mention, self hosted, you own your content. I know so many Blogger bloggers who have lost their entire Blogger blogs overnight. After 5 years of building my business and blog profile, I just couldn't afford to take the risk of having it all vanish overnight. A-M xx PS. At BlogHer, NYC, Blogger blogs didn't even rate a mention, the future and the now is Wordpress. Every session focussed on Wordpress functionality.
ReplyDeleteThanks A-M, great to hear it from the horse's mouth so to speak. This affirms all I have heard about WP and convinces me to make the move. Even a year ago or more when I was planning this website, people were saying I should start off in WP because Blogger was on the way out and that if I wanted a blog platform that would cater for my growth and expansion then I would be better off starting out the right way. I went the easy option because it seemed more user friendly and quicker to learn and get up. But I have regretted it ever since and been trying to find the time. Blogger has been good for me to this point, because it has been relatively easy to use, but has so many problems and limitations and restrictions and I want my blog to offer my readers the best it can, and I believe that I can only do what now with Wordpress. We all put so much time and effort into our blogs and I think that it is only fair that we can expect some remuneration and payment for our endeavours, because it is free to our readers, therefore we need to be recompensed in another way. Otherwise, the blogs just become casual and part time and adhoc, which is not where most of us want to go. I know I put in a full day's work on my blog and reading/commenting on other blogs, to the deficit of my family and life, so I think it isn't unreasonable to want to earn some money from it at least to cover costs. Thanks for being so honest and open about your experiences. Your blog looks fab. X
DeleteWould love to be able to suggest someone here in the States but we've bootstrapped our blog all along... We think you're fabulous, just the way you are but we can't wait to see what you do! Power is finally back - yeah.
ReplyDeletexxoo
C + C
G'day Melinda,
ReplyDeleteI'm Sarah Allen and I work with businesses like yours to provide social media advice (& brand advice) - a friend forwarded me your blog looking for web / social media help! Take a look at my site www.sarahallenconsulting.com.au (it's wordpress!) and see if the Hour of Power would suit you... http://sarahallenconsulting.com.au/hour-of-power.
Recently I built a site with Squarespace (see www.intrepidallen.com) and found that to be even easier to use than Wordpress. I worked with a designer to implement a custom look and feel that was based on one of their templates. And their support desk is fabulous too for any little quirks that we all have with new websites.
www.squarespace.com.
All the best!
Sar
Hi there,
ReplyDeleteA friend forwarded me your blog, I am a social media consultant in Sydney! Check out sarahallenconsulting.com.au and also my Hour of Power might be a good match for where you're wanting to go in 2013 with your blog / business. http://sarahallenconsulting.com.au/hour-of-power
My site is Wordpress but I recently built www.intrepidallen.com using Squarespace and think they have a great solution that enables you to update without a lot of design / coding (read: expense). Good for those of us who are handy with a content management system, are 'doers' and like to take control, and who can deal with a little bit of coding ourselves without being an HTML freak (I use the term kindly).
All the best!
Sar