Blog designing is something I’m totally impressed by. The simple fact that you can turn font into something stunning and engaging, coding a site to work seamlessly and creating a really great experience for the end user is beyond impressive. How I wish I took a few coding classes in college because this fashion blog forces me to rely on others to do things I don’t know how to do. But thankfully there are some amazing designers out there and I’m so glad I discovered Whit from Heart & Arrow Design. A little bit about how we got to turn My Style Vita into a whole new experience and some tips on figuring out what you like.
I of course was craving an update to the blog. I had my old layout for over a year and a half, and although I used to love it, I feel like I grew out of it. There were just more things I wanted from a more creative title, a cleaner layout, easier functions like the new SHOP page, navigation bars etc. Back when I first started blogging, sticky navigation bars weren’t a thing. And neither was a SHOP page since rewardStyle didn’t exist then. It’s amazing how the blog design industry changes so quickly. And thankfully my gal Whit was up for the challenge.
A few things I knew I wanted with this new site, a great logo and a supplement logo inside a shape. I was stuck on it, I have no idea why. But I wanted a damn shape and not just font. I also (thought) I wanted my logo to have the shape as well. An interactive shop page that was organized was also top priority. I didn’t like how every blog has a general shop page with all their favorites just crammed in. It’s messy, unorganized, and not how anyone shops online. I also wanted the site to feel different. How, I don’t know, that was up for Whit to figure out. And thankfully she did.
After several emails back and forth and a few inspiration photos like this blue and mint Paris picture, Whit sent me back this brand board (okay there were a few more emails with back and forth, but she pretty much nailed it). It was perfection. How would she use the logo, no clue, that geometric print, wished her luck. I couldn’t figure out how it would come together. After a few days of tweaking, she came up with the most incredible design layout. I loved it. I was beyond excited for my sticky nav bar, the chic logo, and the bits of hexagon in places across the site that wasn’t too overdone. I also loved the geometric print. Something about it just made the whole site look different and new. It was something no one else is doing and gave it such a modern twist.
Tips To Working With A Web Designer For Your Creative Business
Do your research
First and foremost, you want to do your research. You’re investing a lot of time and money into a web design project and you don’t want to get screwed over. Ask friends for recommendations, see what sites you love and who they used and most importantly, have a conversation with the designer. I am always worried when someone doesn’t want to jump on the phone to discuss your goals. If I’m hiring someone for a project that is a representation of my brand and is responsbile for my business, I want to chat with them at least once!
Have a contract
Now that you’ve hired someone, you want to make sure you have a contract. Not only holding them accountable for delivering work, but a lot of the times they’ll want you to provide information and fill out questionnaires by a certain date. Contracts keeps everyone on the same page and things running more smoothly.
Find blogs and sites you love and figure out why you love them
Whether you love the logo, the function of a certain page, or a sidebar feature, be very specific about why you said you liked that site. Come up with a handful of these and try to cover all your bases. Colors, fonts, function, layout, etc. The easier it is for your web designer to visualize what you are visualizing, the more likely you’ll be satisfied with the result. Also adding a few things you don’t like is also helpful.
Come up with color combinations that interest you
I knew I wanted mint in my site in some shape or form. It was on my old site, there’s a touch of it on Southern Blog Society, and it just felt natural to include it going forward. This can also be as easy as pulling images you love from Pinterest or magazines. Just find things that feel like you!
Come up with other options as well, don’t just show your designer one color combination (unless you love it). I also was pondering the thought of neon yellow and Whit was easily able to swap out colors to show me what it would like it. It was a quick decision from there which helped validate I was going in the right direction with my colors.
Fall in love with fonts
You can search in Pinterest for fonts and see lots of great inspiration with them paired together. It helps to see what you like and
Figure out what’s most important
The whole point of me switching to WordPress were two things, sticky navigation bar with a great easy
These are all essential tips for working with web designers when creating your perfect fashion blog. Communication (and patience) is key!
The process of transferring from Blogger to WordPress was a bit overwhelming too. Sure, Whit dealt with all of it and my 200 plus emails, but for me as the blogger who’s focused on traffic and end user, it was definitely a lesson in patience. I just wanted all my links to work, all my photos to be perfect and everything to be seamless. It took some time, but we’re there (about 99% there, you may find a wrong link here or there, but promise, the post is still on the site). This brings me to my next topic, Blogger vs WordPress. Check back next week for my tips on which platform to use and which Plugins I’m obsessed with.
