Vintage Zest's Mini Facelift! (a.k.a. My Blog Layout Redesign) ~ Diane's Vintage Zest!

Vintage Zest's Mini Facelift! (a.k.a. My Blog Layout Redesign)

You might be wondering why I have been semi-radio silent for the last week.  Well, it was a bit of a side-effect of something I have been testing out for a bit... my new "facelift!"  Nothing major because I still like my color scheme, fonts, etc., BUT I definitely was in need of a new home page and side bar.  Whether you are reading this as a feed or via the website (and can see what I'm talking about already), let me take you on a little tour!


Vintage Zest's Mini Facelift! (a.k.a. My Blog Layout Redesign) on Diane's Vintage Zest!


Here is a reminder of my old home page from my last blog redesign in June of last year.  Not a particularly interesting and not much of a statement because it just dove right into the most recent posts.  Also, the sidebar started off good with a welcome, but just ended up as a long string of widgets without much organization.  Lastly, the top menu was just okay, but I like lots of pages and eight wasn't cutting it.  All of that has changed now!

P.S. - If you notice that anything is amiss, please let me know so I can fix it right up!  Coincidentally, there are 10 major changes, so this isn't a Top 10 list on purpose, just a nice little coincidence!


Vintage Zest's Mini Facelift! (a.k.a. My Blog Layout Redesign) on Diane's Vintage Zest!


Welcome to the new design!

1.  New Pages



2.  Lots of Menus!

  • Since I have more new pages, I need many more menus of course.  :)  Also, they look like widgets so they stand out from the background a bit more.
  • The important, reference type info is at the top.
  • Projects and more are on the bottom two menus, but with even more goodies.



Vintage Zest's Mini Facelift! (a.k.a. My Blog Layout Redesign) on Diane's Vintage Zest!


3.  New Slider Widget

  • Possibly my favorite addition to the homepage.  I love it!  I get to pick five rotating posts at the top, so it will be fun to see how often I update it.  ;)

4.  10 Posts on Home Page
  • You can't actually tell, but instead of having 5 super-long post recaps on the front page, I have 10 quick peeks with the top picture and a few lines for much easier browsing

5.  Subscribe Options on Top


  • Lately, I have had about one person a week ask to subscribe to my mailing list, so I realized that my subscription options were a bit hidden in the sidebar.  Now, they're front and center!  Or rather front and to the aligned to the right.  :)



Now, let's check out more of the sidebar!

6. Tabbed widget #1

  • I love this tabbed widget because it hides a few options that some people want to see occasionally but might otherwise be clutter.
  • In this one, I put Popular Posts, archives, and Post Tags.  See how they're different lengths?  Well, it doesn't matter because it's a smart widget that automatically moves everything below it.  :)




Vintage Zest's Mini Facelift! (a.k.a. My Blog Layout Redesign) on Diane's Vintage Zest!


7 & 8.  Tabbed Widgets #2 & 3

  • Widget #2 has to do with Stitch Once, Rip Twice.  Oops!  Looks like I have to update the Simple Top Challenge to our past challenges.  :)
  • Widget #3 is for sponsors, affiliates, and my blog roll.



Vintage Zest's Mini Facelift! (a.k.a. My Blog Layout Redesign) on Diane's Vintage Zest!


9.  Widgets with posts grouped by Category!

  • I think this is a fun feature to have my posts grouped by category.  I can easily change it around too, but for now I think these are the categories that I will leave up.  :)



Vintage Zest's Mini Facelift! (a.k.a. My Blog Layout Redesign) on Diane's Vintage Zest!


10.  Social Media Widgets

  • At the footer, I a few interactive social media widgets so people can follow me at the touch of a button!  It includes Pinterest, Twitter, and Google Plus, plus Instagram is on the sidebar near the bottom.



Vintage Zest's Mini Facelift! (a.k.a. My Blog Layout Redesign) on Diane's Vintage Zest!


And that's it!  I like that it is more organized, and hopefully newbies will think that Vintage Zest was this awesome the whole time I was blogging.  :)


What do you think?  Any changes that you like or dislike?  Any other suggestions for me?




3 comments:

  1. I like it! I was up all night redesigning my blog.

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  2. Very user friendly, love the nip/tuck you have done with it. We all need a refresher as we welcome spring and await summer.

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  3. Thanks so much! Looks like great minds think alike. ;)

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