After months of trying to learn the ins and outs of WordPress and some very basic coding (if you can even call it that), I finally did it: I redesigned Kelly in the City… on my own! (Also, it’s 5 a.m. as I’m writing this post, and I’ve been working on launching the site since midnight. Took a wee bit longer than I thought it would. And I just broke my mobile theme, haha.)
Granted, there are a few things missing that I’d hoped to include. But I’d been working on the design for so long that I couldn’t bear the thought of waiting any longer. (I really can’t count the number of times I nearly gave up. WordPress, why are you so difficult?!)
So be sure to stay tuned! There’s an exciting little project that’s set to launch in mid-July, and there’s another one set to launch in August. I’m pumped. :)
Anyway, a few changes:
New logo: Drawn by yours truly. It took forever, haha.
Dynamic menu: Isn’t it so cool?! Again, took me an ungodly amount of time to figure out. But it’s organized much better than my old menu was!
Categories: It seems as though I was the only blogger not categorizing her posts. Take it from me: Categorize. Otherwise, you’ll have to spend a few days going back through every single post!
Shopping Options: Through the main menu, you can now shop my favorite products: Classics, Under $100, Lust, Summer Essentials, Party Attire and Sales.
Secondary Menu: It’s all the way at the top! It serves absolutely no function. But I learned how to do it, so… you know. ;)
“Explore” Button: It’s located on the main menu, and every time you click on it, it provides you with a random post. There’s some pretty embarrassing old content in there. YIKES.
Slider: Distracting or fun? Only time (and perhaps you) will tell…
Popular Posts: I don’t think this has fully populated yet, but it’s located on the sidebar at the very bottom, and is supposed to provide you with trending posts.
FAQs: Did I miss anything?
Full-Page Instagram Widget in the Footer: Guys. This took me, quite literally, a solid MONTH. So worth it, right? Haha!
Thank You
A huge thank you goes out to Shawn, Mitch’s best friend, who’s always been my go-to person for coding help. He’s basically done everything for me over my 2.5 years of blogging, and Kelly in the City definitely wouldn’t exist without him. Recently, he started teaching me how to do some customization on my own, and I’m beyond grateful. I feel so empowered! (#dork) Thank you so much, Shawn.
I’ve also learned SO MUCH from my good friend Blair of The Fox and She (pictured above). Blair runs Blog Better by Leap, which is a phenomenal website dedicated to helping bloggers become the best that they can be. I signed up for the newsletter so I never miss new content, and I always try to implement at least one tip per post. It’s made a huge difference for me! Through Blog Better, I learned how to create my menu, “explore” button, and “popular posts” widget. Thank you, Blair! I owe you a whole lot of wine. ;)
Blair also owns her own blog design company, which offers gorgeous pre-fab themes as well as completely custom site designs. (She’s basically my idol.) If you’re looking to upgrade the look of your blog, please consider one of her pre-fab themes! They’re super easy to install (her directions are very straightforward), and they’re priced at only $75. If you’re nervous about tackling the project on your own, you can also go with a design package. (The Essentials or The Works.)
…
Okay.
I really need to go to bed. ;)
Kelly, this looks AWESOME! So so impressed that you did this on your own. The site seriously looks amazing. Congrats!
Your new design looks great!! I wish I had your talent to do my own. Unfortunately I can only handle basic editing.
Yay! Congrats, Kelly! Making all these changes on your own is so commendable. I’m also very impressed with your logo…I wrote out just my blog title and agonized over it forever, so I can’t imagine what kind of effort a skyline took :) Can’t wait to see what’s next in store for Kelly in the City! xox
This came out great, so cool that you did it yourself. I’ve really wanted a blog redesign for awhile but kept putting it off because it can be so time consuming. But, looks like all your hard work paid off!
-Alex
http://www.monstermisa.blogspot.com
This is awesome! You have given me motivation to start being more creative with wordpress! Congratulations!
Congratulations – it looks amazing! Kudos for knowing what you wanted & doing it yourself!
http://www.pennypincherfashion.com
it looks AMAZING kelly! so so proud of you & i can’t wait to see you tonight :)
Everything looks so great! Congrats, Kelly!
xo, Laura
brightandbeautifulblog.com/
It looks fantastic! Great job!
Love the new website! Congrats!
-Meg
http://www.smalltownsisters.blogspot.com
Woo, yay for new designs! I can’t believe you drew the logo, it looks so awesome! You have far more patience than I do, my friend ;)
26 and Not Counting
Oh my gosh Kelly. This looks great and I can’t believe that you did it on your own. I’ve really been hoping to learn more about coding and this gave me a great boost of confidence. LOVE IT.
Alyssa | Glitter and Grey
Wow Kelly, looks amazing! SO jealous. Ugh I need to add a freakin badge and I’ve been trying for an hour and still have no idea how lol. Nice job!
http://asequinloveaffair.com
This looks so great Kelly!! I wish I was better at coding too!
Hunter
Prep on a Budget
Kelly it looks great!!! I do my own coding too… I watch countless YouTube videos (haha)
Congrats on the new design! I definitely need a tutorial :)
Kelly! It looks amazing!! I’m so proud of yo!!!! Seriously, gorgeous! Glad I could help out along the way, but it looks like you’ve got it covered :) thanks for the shout out too!
Looks amazing, Kelly! Congrats and a job well done!
Heather
Partial to Pink
This looks amazing, great job!
The site looks great :)! Good job Kelly
xx. The Coastal Confidence
http://the-coastalconfidence.com/
Great job Kelly!! Love the new look! I just met Blair this past weekend and she is a whiz and so brilliant at all this stuff. My goal is to one day be able to learn some of the ins and outs!
Adoredbyalex.com
So impressed Kelly! The new design looks AMAZING!!
the redesign looks good, I especially like the explore option
Ahh, Kelly! It looks too good. Love it!
Ahh, Kelly!! This looks so great. I especially love the “Warm and Cold Weather” options, the NY and Chicago option, and The “Classics under $100”! Don’t judge if I sit here for a good hour and look at all of it… ;) Love it!
The new site looks gorgeous, Kelly! Great job!!! :-D
I am BEYOND impressed! This is no small feat. I’d love to pick your brain sometime. I need to convert to wordpress and I’d love to just learn a little bit more about the background stuff (super technical term, right?:))
Wishes & Reality
Kelly: it’s SO gorgeous and the most amazing part is that you taught yourself! Seriously, GIRLBOSS all over it. I LOVE everything from your hand drawn logo to your insta footer to even the second nav bar. :) Congrats. Really amazing!
alyson
http://www.theaveragegirlsguide.com