Pip-Life

:: Happy Housewarming! New Blog Digs!

August 15, 2014

life now

Aw hai! Can you imagine? I redesigned my whole blog today! OMG! I was here with Sue (she was helping me with a few good things) and I was exclaiming ‘I love blogging!’, ‘I love WordPress!’, ‘I love favicons!’ as I went. Poor Sue. She has to deal with a lot of crazy behaviour from me. I don’t know how she tolerates it!

I feel fortunate to have her working with me because she’s my accountability buddy. I’m pretty disciplined at the best of times, but her presence gives me an extra, extra push to get the stuff that needs doing done.

If you were playing at home, you might know that I posted a reader survey earlier this week, wondering who was reading and what I could do to make things better (as well as what I was doing right!)  The most mentioned problems were 100% true.

1. Tricky navigation due to the volume of content (did you know that there are 5142 posts on my blog?!)
2. A hatred of Facebook comments. I understand… they keep me safe from nasty people, but I am trialling a second commenting method to see how it goes (scroll to the bottom to use that!)
3. Slow page load time. So true. I moved to a new host and I THINK that problem has been fixed. Not only are they faster, they have local tech support (who helped me today when my blog went AWOL for a wee while!)

Thanks so much for taking the time to give me some feedback. It’s quite hard (and sometimes lonely) as a blogger, because your readership is often quietly reading. Doing the survey really helped me to understand a bit more about what it’s like to be a reader and what could make for a nicer user experience. Thanks for all the gems you imparted!

Thanks so much for helping me!!! I am so lucky to have you all!

x Pip

30 Comments

  • Reply Carla from My Yellow Heart September 8, 2014 at 8:12 PM

    Love the new look Pip! Lots easier to navigate around all your fabulous posts now x

  • Reply Kat - The Organised Housewife August 20, 2014 at 7:47 PM

    Love the fresh new look Pip!

    • Reply Meet Me At Mikes August 20, 2014 at 8:07 PM

      Aw thanks!!! It’s so nice to freshen up sometimes! 🙂

  • Reply Jane August 19, 2014 at 6:06 AM

    Love the new look Pip!

    • Reply Meet Me At Mikes August 22, 2014 at 5:47 AM

      Thanks so much Jane! I’m so fancy!

  • Reply Therese August 18, 2014 at 8:02 AM

    Hi Pip, this looks amazing! Don’t feel lonely – just know there is a bunch of smart, crafty foxes out there who love reading what you are up tp and feel challenged & inspired by what you do. Go you!

    • Reply Meet Me At Mikes August 22, 2014 at 5:47 AM

      It’s hard to know that sometimes!!! Thanks for the nice comment, Therese! xxx

  • Reply Little White Dove August 17, 2014 at 7:10 PM

    I just wanted to say that I LOVE your new home! It’s super cute and yes much faster! Trying out the new comments which is ace so far! So clever 🙂

    • Reply Meet Me At Mikes August 22, 2014 at 5:48 AM

      Oh fab! Phew! Thanks for the feedback and for taking the time to comment, Yvette! x

  • Reply Robyn August 17, 2014 at 2:37 PM

    Pip, the new blog design looks great!

    • Reply Meet Me At Mikes August 22, 2014 at 5:48 AM

      Thanks heaps Robyn! I am still getting used to it, but I think I love it!

  • Reply natalia h August 17, 2014 at 1:06 PM

    Oh, this looks so much better! Friendlier! So pristine. I likey. 🙂

    • Reply Meet Me At Mikes August 22, 2014 at 5:49 AM

      Aw great! I am so glad you like it!!! x

  • Reply Meredithe August 17, 2014 at 9:37 AM

    Yay Pip!! Welcome to WordPress (the best!). Your new site looks fab!!

    • Reply Meet Me At Mikes August 17, 2014 at 10:12 AM

      Haha! I have been on WordPress for 2 years, but I just LOVE it!!! I am still talking about how much I love it!

  • Reply caz August 16, 2014 at 5:04 PM

    I absolutely love it! Crisp, clear, fast loading, perfect. Thanks for getting rid of FB comments. There have been so many times I’ve wanted to comment, give you a high five or say here, here! and haven’t been able to. I think it’s great that you care enough to ask your readers what they think.

    • Reply Pip August 16, 2014 at 5:14 PM

      Oh thanks! I was wondering about how it was loading for other people. Thank you for letting me know that it’s speedy for you! Thanks for the feedback!!! x

  • Reply Liz August 16, 2014 at 8:26 AM

    It looks fantastic, I say “good job team”. And I am glad you have done away with Facebook comments because now I can comment too 🙂

    • Reply Pip August 16, 2014 at 5:13 PM

      We are gratefully accepting your approval by shaking pompoms in your direction! xx

  • Reply Librarygirl August 16, 2014 at 8:09 AM

    New layout looks great! Glad you’ve moved away from the FB commenting system.

  • Reply Jenny Jones August 16, 2014 at 7:39 AM

    You have been busy. I love it-so crisp and clean and easy to find your way around-yay you x

    • Reply Pip August 16, 2014 at 5:12 PM

      This blog is now officially 20 zillion times cleaner than my house! 🙂 Thank you for the vote of confidence, Jen! x

  • Reply The Life of Clare August 16, 2014 at 7:39 AM

    It looks bloody amazing!

    • Reply Pip August 16, 2014 at 5:12 PM

      Do you know what is amazing? BUFFET BREAKFASTS!!! 😉 Thank you for the ace feedback!!!

  • Reply jan August 16, 2014 at 7:13 AM

    Looks awesome Pip!

    • Reply Pip August 16, 2014 at 5:11 PM

      Thanks Jan! So lovely to be getting ‘old skool’ comments again! A bit daunting to have to moderate a bit more vigilantly, but worth it, I think! Hope you are well!!!

  • Reply Lilybett August 15, 2014 at 10:43 PM

    Love the new look but I’m glad you didn’t change your banner. I love the shadow-drop on the boxes making it all multi-dimensional.

    • Reply Pip August 16, 2014 at 5:10 PM

      Oh yes! I do love that banner. My friend Michelle Mackintosh made it for me! I will tell her you love it too! x

  • Reply Catherine August 15, 2014 at 10:08 PM

    Ooh how fancy! I do like this new layout, very snazzy. And I do like this comment
    Box so far. It’s nice and rectangular and I’m not worried my comments will end up on my Facebook wall some how… Love your work Pip!

    • Reply Pip August 16, 2014 at 5:09 PM

      I am still getting used to it, but I feel like it’s MUCH easier to read and find your way around. I was a bit locked in to the old school traditional blog layout, but I think it’s really the right time to move to something a bit fancier. Thanks for the feedback, Catherine! Thanks for reading! xx

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