Isn’t the site pretty? After 4+ years of blogging, I took the plunge and decided it was time to move to self-hosted. I wanted to feel like I had ownership of my content. Through the wonderful Gena, I found Cory of Zesty Blog Consulting Services, who also happens to be a fellow food blogger at Zesty Cook, which is a beautifully presented and written blog.
Cory is also a talented web-designer who redesigned this site, as well as many others (see glowing testimonials here). He is also very good at dealing with the detail-oriented side in me, and the fact I can sometimes have neurotic tendencies, as I did when it came to communicating what I wanted for the header and the design of the blog. He listened to my ramblings about green and grey and cities and came up with this gorgeous design, and figured a header that really captures what I want this site to be about – namely having a vibrant life despite the fact that life, and especially city living, can get a bit grey at times. He also really listened about things that were important to me with the site, like the recipe list, and the drop-down menus that were part static pages and part pulling from categories.
Bottom line, Cory is a great web-designer, but he is also a very good listener and is solutions-oriented, which, along with his patience, make him fantastic to work with. If you, like me, have been mulling going self-hosted, but are afraid of your content disappearing in the transfer and/or want your site to be made-over, I would recommend you contact him.
General Disclosures & Disclaimers
{ 30 comments… read them below or add one }
So glad you are happy with the final product! It was a pleasure working with you!
Likewise
I’m so happy you love it. It was a pleasure working with you. Thanks for the kind words.
Hi Valerie!
Love the new look!! Isn’t it so much fun to get a make-over?? I love the pic of you, too – you look incredible.
Hugs,
Amy
Thanks Amy! It really was so much fun to see the process evolve
Looks great! I especially like the new header. And the picture of you is nice too. Congrats!
Thanks so much Kalinda
looks AMAZING Valerie!! your web designer did a truly awesome job! I noticed it yesterday! And I LOVE finally seeing your picture!!
Thanks so much Carrie
LOVE the new site!!!
Thank you
Looks fab!! Makes me think I should re-do mine! And I love the pic of you!! 😀
Thanks so much
Love it Valerie! It’s perfect for you and your blog. I love how simple and bright it is. Congrats. Always nice to see your face too
It looks amazing Valerie, Iove it!
Thanks Alisa Also, I owe you an email – I promise to get on that soon
I love love love your new website. It is so easy to navigate and I love browsing through all your lovely sections.
Thank you so much. I know you have been a long-time reader, so I really appreciate your letting me know I love how some of my older content is not so much easier to find through the sections and drop-downs
It is much easier and I have read a lot more of your content this weekend as a result. I feel like I got to see your journey from start to now through the very easy categories. Thank you so much for this blog
So happy to hear that. Thank you for letting me know
beautiful. just like you!
Thank you, you are too kind
Congrats, Valerie! It’s perfect. Love seeing you there on the sidebar as you shared recipes, dispense advice, etc. 😉
Hugs,
Shirley
Thanks so much Shirley
Looking great! Both you and the new design!
Thank you Renee
LOVE the newly updated site, Valerie. It’s beautiful!
Thank you Karley
Love it!
the site looks great! I finally clicked off my reader to see it.
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