For quite some time now, my web designer, Amy Masson of Sumy Designs, LLC, has been after me to convert my site to WordPress.
And I have been holding back—mostly because with everything else going on in my life (including a major household construction process that has turned my temporary home office into a rabbit warren of boxes!), I just couldn’t face any more changes. Or decisions. Or anything.
But, with my new book coming out (TRAVELING LEFT OF CENTER, just in case you are interested!), the new office scheduled for completion in 30 days, and a new season approaching, I figured, “Why not add one more new thing to the mix!”
So I gave Amy the go-ahead and the result is a fabulously clean and modern and fresh take on the Nancy Christie web persona. (Click here and see what you think!)
She started with a new banner for the site, taking advantage of the fact that I was dragged kicking and screaming into a photographer’s studio for pictures for my book cover and related PR stuff. (Now I won’t get any more emails asking why I look so stern and serious in my site pictures!)
Then she moved on to a complete overhaul of the navigation system. As Amy explained, with the new system “everything is organized through drop down menus and sidebar menus, so that no matter where on the site you are, you can find your way to where you want to be. The side is wider, so it uses more screen space for the content. And it’s much easier to update”—which was why she wanted me to convert to WordPress in the first place.
While I do have two blogs on WordPress that I handle by myself—well, mostly by myself until I run into a problem and have to send an e-SOS to Amy!—I wasn’t sure I could actually do an entire site. But Amy reassured me that it was possible, and that I would be able to update my pages whenever I wanted and from any computer—a distinct benefit if I’m on the road and want to add something on-the-fly.
As for my tendency to add and subtract pages, Amy said “the page organization is easy to see, and easy to quickly organize and easy to remove when needed. No more forgetting about old pages that are still hanging out that you no longer need.”
As for those SEO/search engine aspects, Amy noted the new site will be easier for the search engines to index and just much more user friendly. “Add in the ability to add plugins to make the site do pretty much whatever you want, and it’s a no-brainer,” she said.
In the end, the site got a much needed upgrade, making it look and function more cleanly and more professionally. Amy, it wouldn’t have happened without you! Thanks a million!
So tell me what you think? Do you like the site? Is it easy to navigate? Any suggestions? I’d love your feedback!
Want to give your site a fresh look but don’t know where to start? Contact Amy at Sumy Designs, LLC: amy@sumydesigns.com or 765-444-9055. Follow her on Twitter (@sumydesigns), check out the company’s Facebook page, or connect on Google+ or LinkedIn. And don’t miss Sumy Designs’ syndicated content!