CBL: Navigating the New Site

Monica Wang Photography-75cbl

So it’s been a few weeks and some of you may have noticed – CBL got a makeover! The majority of the site is still the same, but there are a few things I was able to integrate with the help of the talented Stephanie Gimlin that I hope will make reader experiences even easier.

My favorite element – each post on this site (and we’ve been here a few years guys, so there’s a lot) is categorized under the page “Category” at the top of the site.  I know there are some blogs I visit solely for food or travel, so I thought it was important to make this easily available rather than how the “Top Posts” was previously displayed. I got so bad about keeping it updated!

I’ve also changed how the posts are displayed.  The newest post will be displayed in full as it always has been, but each post afterward will be collapsable, allowing you to click in should you wish to continue reading.  I felt this would help you guys skip over some posts you may not connect with, find older posts easier and easily see where you left off if you haven’t visited in a while.

Like before, you can still search the site and subscribe to receive CBL posts in your inbox (on the right sidebar). Note: when we switched over from Blogger to WordPress some of you may have lost your subscription in the transfer.  SO, if you haven’t been receiving CBL in your inbox and you would like to see it again, please subscribe again.  Sorry for the inconvenience!

And that’s about it!  I wanted to keep the design of this site pretty simple and easy to navigate, and I hope y’all don’t feel like much has changed.  If you have any suggestions as to what you might like to see (in terms of design or posts), I’d love to hear!  My mom has already put in her two cents that the category pages need to display in a grid form rather than post by post so it’s easier to skim over the options (ex: for food & drink this would be ideal). This is ONE valid suggestion… unlike when she told me 87x that she didn’t like how the photos faded when the curser was resting over the image.  The first 80x I was like, “whatever.” The last 7x I was like, “FINE, I’M CHANGING IT so we don’t have to talk about this anymore.”  Mom always wins.

Thanks so much for reading and don’t forget to enter the Valentine’s Day giveaway! XO –

11 Comments|See Comments

11 thoughts on “CBL: Navigating the New Site”

  1. I’m loving the new site Kathleen! What was behind your decision to move from Blogger to WordPress, if you don’t mind me asking! I’m a Blogger girl myself so I’m just really interested 🙂 xo

    1. Great question! I loved how simple and black/white Blogger was, but ultimately there were some design elements I wanted to include that wouldn’t be possible with Blogger. I have compared it to going from a Toyota Camry to a Lexus. A Camry is a great and reliable car, but there are going to be more bells and whistles available with the Lexus. You can’t go wrong with either, I just think WordPress (the Lexus) is a little more advanced with some more capabilities! Does that make sense?

  3. The new site looks great! It’s obvious you have been putting extra time in on your blog. Love it! Also, I read your Every Girl home tour, which was great. I had been searching for lamps for nearly a year. When I would find one I loved, well, it would cost $$$. So when you said Kirkland’s is the place for lamps, I checked it out. I had never even thought to look there and I found 2 perfect lamps, just like I wanted. To top it all off, they were on sale! Thanks for that tip! It was a huge help.

    1. Thank you so much for noticing!! Ok that makes me SO HAPPY. People always look at me crazy when I tell them to shop Kirkland’s for lamps.. but they have the best lamps and they’re so AFFORDABLE. I’m so glad you were able to find what you were looking for!!

  5. Your mom sounds adorable! haha! My mom always wins too – but honestly, she is usually right! I always find it funny how she and I have such similar aesthetics but her perspective is different and helpful in its own right 😉

Comments are closed.