Monday was the launch of H*T’s new design and I was hoping that my post on the evolution of H*T would help you better understand why I chose to change H*T’s look. To me, it was the natural next step and something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time. The first time I tweaked H*T, I wrote a post about my thoughts on blog changes:
“I know when other blogs I read do some sprucing up, at first I’m apprehensive just because I’ve gotten used to seeing the same home page day after day. You know, that whole ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ saying. I’m always leery that somehow changing the appearance of the blog may change the content. In most cases though, after a few posts my inclinations are proven wrong and I happily discover that the changes really are positive. So, I know change is hard but I hope you’ll stick with me and see what comes next. It’s still the same old me…a suburban mom and wife with 2 rowdy boys, a Handy Hubby, a creative side, and a passion for home decor, design and DIY. Oh, and I like chocolate no bake cookies…fresh and gooey straight from the pot…eaten with a spoon so I can’t gauge how many actual cookies I’ve consumed.”
My thoughts then are my thoughts now. {Except we’ve added a baby girl to those two rowdy boys.} I know it’s probably felt a little strange coming here this week and not finding the same header and background. It’s been strange for me too. It’s like getting a new haircut. At first, the change is striking but after a week it feels like it’s always been that way. Soon, it will feel familiar. I hope you’ll hang around until then.
You all probably know your way around a blog but I thought I’d point out a few of the changes and talk about them in more detail. Care to take the tour?
One big change is the header and it was probably the most difficult part of the redesign for me. I knew I wanted something simple and fresh with no frills. I played around with the idea of using a sketched house icon somewhere in the header but it felt too literal. I came up with an idea to switch out the asterisk in House*Tweaking for a sunburst and it felt more ‘me.’
Another thing I’d been thinking of changing for some time was House*Tweaking’s tagline. If you’ll remember, it was ‘…a blog designated to tweaking all things house and home.‘ There were a few problems with it. First, it wasn’t grammatically correct. You wouldn’t believe the number of emails I’ve received over the years from readers – some obviously quite upset – about my unproper improper tagline. A correct version would have been ‘…a blog dedicated to…’ or ‘...a blog designated for…’ The other issue with the old tagline was that it was redundant. Of course a blog called ‘house tweaking’ would be about tweaking your house – duh! It was the tagline I had quickly typed into Blogger a few years ago that fateful night I brought H*T to life and somehow it stuck.
The new tagline ‘…because home doesn’t happen overnight‘ better sums up my take on making a house a home. {And, from what I can tell, it’s okay grammatically. If not, I’m sure I’ll hear about it!} Whether you’re renovating a fixer-upper or making simple upgrades to builder finishes, making your house reflect your style takes time. It doesn’t happen overnight nor should it. It’s a process and an ever-changing journey because real life gets thrown into the mix. And that’s what this blog is all about.
I really needed to update H*T’s social media buttons. I think before I just had Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and RSS buttons. Now you can easily follow me on Pinterest and Instagram too. The mail button is a link to my contact page where you’ll find my email address…an email address that HH is pushing me to change. Hotmail is so 1998. I know, I know. But I have tons of different accounts set up with my email address that it would take me a full month just to switch everything over. I know some bloggers use one email account for bloggy purposes and another account for personal emails but I prefer to group it all together. Ah, maybe one day I’ll get around to switching things over to gmail or something but, for now, you can find me via hotmail.
Beneath the social media buttons are all the pages that used to be in the navigation bar. I updated each page, so if you get a chance to check them out you should. It’s not all the same old, same old. I plan on adding an Underdog house tour to the ‘see my house’ page once the house is tour-worthy.
You can now subscribe to H*T via email if you like. Just type in your email address in the ‘subscribe’ box and you’re good to go. This feature was added due to popular demand.
I also have links to credible mentions and my work elsewhere: Apartment Therapy house tour, Bob Vila Nation, and Houzz. I hope this section continues to grow.
Share buttons are located at the end of each post if you ever find a post to be particularly inspiring and want to tell the world about it.
None of these features are anything ground-breaking in the blog world. I just thought that pointing them out and talking a little more about them would help you to get acquainted with the new look. I encourage you to click around and see what has changed.
Speaking of the new look, it would have never been possible without the help of a graphic/web designer. I’ve taught myself some HTML coding over the past few years – enough to get by. But I’m by no means capable of overhauling an entire site. I worked with Breanna ‘Bre’ of Breanna Rose Design to bring a fresh, modern look to H*T and I can’t say enough about her. She was a gem to work with and worth every penny.
If you ever find yourself in need of a site {re}design, I’d highly recommend her. The girl knows her stuff and has a keen eye. She’s opened my eyes to a few aesthetic issues concerning H*T that I need to improve upon. For example, keeping all my images the same size for cohesion. {That’s why if you look through some of the archives you’ll find small and/or off-centered pictures. Sure, I could go back and edit all those posts but then I wouldn’t have time to sleep, feed my kids, shower, or write posts.} From here on out, it’s something I’m going to be aware of. Probably not perfect at {as I just realized I cropped all those screen shots above to the margins instead of to actual text/images…oops!…I’m learning!}, but aware of nonetheless. Hopefully, it will enhance your reading experience. Thanks, Bre!
One other major blog change that isn’t visible is H*T’s new host. Previously, H*T was hosted on BlueHost. H*T’s traffic has increased so much over the past year that the site was bogged down. I was having problems just writing up posts because my server was down frequently. I’d heard good things about Liquid Web from other bloggers and decided to switch hosts. So far, it’s been a good fit and I can always upgrade within Liquid Web if necessary.
That’s it, I think. Was that enough change for you in one post? Too much? Not enough? Oh well, I can’t please everyone. Welcome to the-new-and-improved-but-kinda-the-same-old House*Tweaking!
images: 1-7) Dana Miller for House*Tweaking 8) Breanna Rose
inspiration, organization