I couldn't be happier to reveal to you my pride and joy, my baby, and the reason I have slept only five hours in the last 48 - my new layout! Honestly, I thought that buying a new layout off of an experienced designed would be that I didn't have to do much. Wrong! I spent over 12 hours of the better part of my weekend slaving away at this bad boy, and sadly, I know I have quite a bit more work left ahead of me.
But no matter. Despite whatever nagging little details still remain to iron out, I am extremely happy with the way the site now looks. It is cleaner, more polished, and more streamlined - and I swear it feels like it's loading faster than ever! Forgive me if I'm a little bit over-excited.
My favourite element in the new site is definitely the gorgeous new logo. Done by the extremely talented Sarah Carson, it is the result of extended consultations, several beautiful mock-ups, and ultimately, a very collaborative and pleasant process on my end. If you're looking for an innovative, responsive designer, she's your gal.
The layout is Foodie Pro by Shay Bocks, and it's absolutely lovely and, despite my ineptitude, fairly easy to install. The other things I love about the this layout are the front page, and of course, the recipes index. The graphic elements are fantastic, and I love how the photos really form the focus of the website now.
On the flipside, it means I better get my photography skills in better order... But for some reason, that doesn't seem like such bad news. I've really been enjoying playing around with the camera and challenging myself as a photographer and as a creative person, so excuse me if my that sort of homework actually gets me excited.
The new website reveal also means that I am able to move on to another stage in my blogging career, one that will hopefully see some money come out of this labour of love. From now on, you will see a few more ads and affiliated posts around these parts; I promise they will be thoughtful and intentional, and wholly and entirely my choice. I don't think I have to spend too much on explaining why everyone, bloggers or otherwise, deserve the right to earn a fair wage for their labour; to me, monetizing the project into which I pour so much love, work and attention is only a rational and natural outcome. I hope you will continue supporting me, and perhaps choose to look into some of the sponsors that will make it feasible for me to continue doing what I love.
So please, feel free to look around this place, and maybe sign up for a newsletter or two. I welcome your feedback, and would really love to hear what you think on some of the bigger things (layout, new functions, logo), as well as the little, nitty-gritty details that I seem to care about wholly too much (pagination, fonts, spacing). Shoot me an email, or leave a comment letting me know what you think. This place wouldn't be possible without all of you, and I really appreciate each and every word you send my way.
Thank you for your support, and I hope you like the new look. Do let me know what you think!
Dina says
Keshia, lovely recipe and it's making me hungry for veggies. I have been travelling for the past week and most restos don't focus on vegetables. Nicevto know that you are a fellow Israeli. I love the food over there. I subscribe to your blog through Bloglovin. Shalom.
kseniaprints says
Shalom, and toda raba 🙂
sophie says
Hey Ksenia, congrats to the new design, it looks very elegant, as does the logo! I did the same recently so I know how much work it is, especially those little details 🙂 Really like your site.
kseniaprints says
Thank you! Your site looks great as well, and it's now bookmarked for future visits 🙂 It's incredible how the work adds up... So glad to be (mostly) on the other side of it.
Kimberly/TheLittlePlantation says
I LOVE the new logo. It's simple but sweet.
The new layout is great too. Well done. Your hard work has paid off 🙂
kseniaprints says
Thank you so much, Kimberly!
ATasteOfMadness says
Even though I have never seen the old layout, I love the layout of your blog! I'm thinking of maybe buying a layout for mine too...some day when I'm not too busy..
kseniaprints says
Yes, you definitely want to make sure you've got some time set aside for dealing with layout changes. It all requires so much tweaking... Thanks for visiting!
Emma {Emma's Little Kitchen} says
Love the new layout lady! It is something I have been wanting to do myself but I know it will take so much work!! By the way, posting my Liebster post tomorrow... I haven't forgotten!!
kseniaprints says
Looking forward to reading it!
Valya @ Valya' s Taste of Home says
New layout looks great, so does the logo Ksenis! Good job! I'm on the free one right now, but I know I have to go through the same process some time, don't know what exactly needed to be done at this point. 🙂
kseniaprints says
The problem is that the cheaper the version, the more customization you have to do to make it work... Things weren't so bad with the one I just bought, but I can be a perfectionist when it comes to these things. Let me know if you decide to do it!
Valya @ Valya' s Taste of Home says
Do you make more money if you switch to paid theme? Or it's just easier to operate?
kseniaprints says
It's not making me money yet! But it looks more professional, which will help with monetization and advertiser attraction in the long run.
Darlene Tomes says
It's beautiful, very clean, elegant, and easy to read. With your great recipes, wonderful stories, and beautiful photographs, you have done an amazing job.
kseniaprints says
Darlene, I am seriously blushing. It's so nice to hear that people thing this is working! Thank you for the ongoing support.