Hello and welcome to the new RealDelia.com! Notice the snazzy new logo? Matching social media icons on the sidebar? Testimonial and Connect pages? Tasteful yellow accents when you click on the Menu?
If you’ve been reading this blog for awhile, you’ll know that I’m not much of one for makeovers, at least when it comes to my own sorry-ass self.
With the blog, well, that’s different. I’d been thinking about giving the blog a makeover for some time now. But – heeding the advice of many veteran bloggers out there – I wanted to focus first on building good content and a strong readership before expending any energy on enhancing the blog’s look.
But after two years of blogging continually (the 2 year anniversary was January 29th!) I decided that it was time to dress for success. So I re-designed my website late last month. And today, February 14, 2011, I hereby present you with RealDelia 2.0.
I apologize if you’ve had a hard time getting onto the blog over the past week or so. Speed bumps are inevitably part of this process and we hit a few last week. I’m sure there will be a few more technical glitches before this whole thing is over. So I hope you’ll be patient.
Please have a look around the site and explore. Truth be told, it isn’t *all*that different content-wise from what I had before. But hopefully the look is a good deal more personalized and professional. Over time, my hope is that I can do a whole lot more with it.
I also wanted to say a few thank yous while I’m at it.
First, to my old friend Gretchen Rubin of Happiness Project fame, who shared her wisdom and insight about blogging with me when RealDelia was just a twinkle in my eye. It was Gretchen who encouraged me to think broadly about this blog’s subject matter and helped me to arrive at “adulthood” as my theme. Gretchen has had huge and much-deserved success with her own blog and I continue to learn from her every day.
I also wanted to thank the amazing team at Shatterboxx Media, Jamie and Nicole – who came to me via another fabulous blogger, Communicatrix. They were punctual, professional, personable and – most of all – incredibly open to my numerous suggestions and changes as we went about conceiving a new brand identity for RealDelia. I absolutely love my new logo.
While I’m at it, let me also give a HUGE thank you to my wingman in Chicago, Josh Andrews of Lackner/Andrews. Josh built the site and is responsible for its amazing functionality. He held my hand through the entire process – from the minute I first pondered a re-design all the way through to writing this very first post. He is knowledgeable, friendly, proficient, and above all, very patient. If you are in need of a social media consultant, you can do no better than Josh.
Finally, I wanted to thank all of you. It’s Valentine’s Day today, which is normally a time that we think about that special someone. But my oldest brother – who’s a reference librarian and knows a whole lot about a whole lot of things – informed me that in Finland, Valentine’s Day is called Ystävänpäivä (the Finnish word for friendship), and thus Friend’s Day. Unlike many other countries where Valentine’s Day is mainly a day of “Romance,” in Finland it is also the day when close friends send cards and gifts to each other to commemorate friendship.
So because I’m a sucker for all things Finnish, let me raise a virtual glass of bubbly to Jamie, Nicole, Josh and all of you – the readers of RealDelia – who make this whole blogging thing so special for me, day after day.
To friends!
Image: Photo by Tristan Gassert on Unsplash
February 14, 2011, 2:40 pm
And now we know you like purple. Which is lovely and revelatory. Congrats on the redesign and the 2-year anniversary.
February 14, 2011, 2:47 pm
Thanks Lisa-you were an inspiration to me on this one!
February 14, 2011, 2:50 pm
Very snazzy, as my mother would say. I just redesigned my blog with the help of the lovely and talented Corey Taratuta (http://www.onthewhiteline.com/) and while I’ve yet to discover all the things to do with it, I’m loving it.
Look forward to exploring the new you.
February 14, 2011, 4:11 pm
This is fabulous Delia!!! Congratulations on this major upgrade. I am inspired to take action!
February 14, 2011, 6:35 pm
Hi I preferred your old site layout because your posts were the most prominent feature. You could read the entire post without having to click on the read more.., and I enjoyed the photo you selected for each post. I think those aspects should be reincorporated into your new website layout. The twitter comments and photos take up too much space and subtract from the substance of your site.
February 14, 2011, 11:56 pm
thanks for your thoughts lisa. if you click on the individual posts all the photos will appear-they just dont appear on the home page.also note that on this new site you can read all the comments at once w/out clicking on “comments” which I think is better. i will be playing with the site features as we move forward and i’ll bear your comments in mind.
February 15, 2011, 7:52 pm
I agree with Lisa, fwiw. I MUCH prefer blogs where I don’t have to click “continue reading” for each post. I do enjoy your take on “adulthood” and wish you the best.
February 15, 2011, 7:21 am
Congratulations, Delia! Very polished and modern indeed :-) I like your title too.
February 15, 2011, 11:07 am
Looks great Delia! Contemporary without screaming it!
February 15, 2011, 1:31 pm
Looks wonderful, Delia. Congrats! And since you like all things Finnish, you just might like Varttina. In friendship:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QjzlKReXlg
February 15, 2011, 11:31 pm
OMG @donna I *LOVE* this..and no, had never seen. Thx so much for sending!
February 15, 2011, 5:22 pm
As bright, crisp, clear and welcoming as you are, my dear…
and, I predict, 2.0 will be just as fun-in-that-useful*-sorta-way moving forward.
Keep up the good works–
~GIrlPie
* = your gracious link love showed me that we had pals in common,
pointed me to a possible resource,
intro’d me to a site I didn’t know (your other one!),
and gave me enough to do to avoid my work without getting too lost down the rabbit hole.
Well done. Which is rare. In this medium. [sorry!]
February 15, 2011, 11:28 pm
Thanks so much @thegirlpie…what a lovely sentiment. Here’s to having fun in a useful sorta way…
February 16, 2011, 10:55 am
Love the new look! Easy to navigate, all the eye-friendly white space. (Ahh…. someday…)
February 16, 2011, 6:32 pm
I like the new look and especially the tabs for post and comments section, so there’s no scrolling down or fumbling around to see comments.
February 16, 2011, 8:45 pm
Congratulations, Delia, it looks terrific! (By the way I’m still chuckling over that Eddy Izzard Leggo video you linked to a while back.)
February 16, 2011, 11:42 pm
Thanks everybody! Your comments are much appreciated. And @cmmayo-yes, wasn’t that priceless? Sometimes I go back and look at it again just to cheer myself up!