Blog
Rolling out a new website design – Come take a look
By Carol / November 1, 2017 /
Drum roll, please. Today I’m excited to unveil a fresh new, mobile-friendly look for my website – www.carolbodensteiner.com
Sparks of prairie color bring life to new design.
As I move closer to the launch of my next novel, it’s time to revisit all my marketing tools. My website topped the list. My previous design served me well, but it’s time. Those of you who access my blog through your mobile devices probably say it’s past time.
What’s new on the site?
- Increased emphasis on my books. Who knew I’d write and publish three books? At launch of the previous site, Growing Up Country was in print, but Go Away Home wouldn’t be for a few years. A second novel? Only a dream.
- My books enjoy heightened visibility across the website.
- My blog remains on the front page, but follows the books. If you access my site through the blog, you may not even notice this change.
- Expanded Resources. I’ve added a number of new resources, especially for writers.
- Mobile-friendly access. Launched in 2012, my previous design hadn’t kept pace with mobile technology. This is a biggie and all alone would be the reason for an update.
What do you think?
I’d like to get your reactions to the site. Is it easy for you to navigate? Does it tell you what you want to know? Is there anything you’d like me to consider adding? Or deleting?
Any web launch may encounter glitches. I hope you let me know if you see any problems as you cruise around the site. Anything that doesn’t space properly, load properly, look right in any way. Any links that don’t work. Don’t hesitate. If it causes you to stumble, let me know.
And the designer is …
Retaining a touch of prairie offered continuity from old to new design.
Major kudos to Clay Showalter who created my new design. Clay asked the right questions to help me focus on what I liked and didn’t like in designs. He took all my questions in stride, responding in a timely and professional manner. And most of all, he delivered a design that retained the feel I liked on my previous site while giving it a fresh, open, up-to-date look. If you’re looking for a website designer, I recommend Clay.
And thanks to friend and fellow author Shirley Showalter (yes, Shirley is Clay’s aunt) for recommending him to me. Clay also designed Shirley’s website if you’d like to see another example of his work.
So there you have it. A new website to help launch a new book. Please take a look around and let me know what you think.
Very lovely new web site, Carol. May many find it and bring you much success. Love, Paulette
Thanks, Paulette. I hope like what they see and are encouraged to come back. Best to you with your new book, “The Day I Saw The Hummingbird.”
Congratulations, Carol. It looks really good!
Thanks, Elfrieda. It was a long time coming. Really glad to be here now.
Ooh la la! Very nice. Very nice, indeed!
Thanks, Laurie. Love your enthusiasm.
Carol, the new look and navigation are great. Congratulations.
Thanks, Billie. Making things easy to find was a goal. Glad we achieved that.
I had fun visiting all the tabs. You have kept the feel of the old and made everything new again. Three books! What an incredible accomplishment!
Thanks for touring, Shirley. Keeping the feel of the old while making it new is one of the things I like about the site. It feels true to me.
It looks great, Carol. I usually read blog posts on my computer, so I can’t say how it is on a mobil device.
Good luck with the launch of your next book!
Thanks, Merril. I’m read most posts on my computer, too, though my smartphone has freed me from having to be in my office all the time. My goal was to have the design work for everyone. So far, so good.
Carol, together Clay and you have a created a beautiful mix of your current work and the history of your first books. I’m glad you kept a touch of the prairie in your site. I’ll look forward to your new book’s launch.
Keeping the prairie in my website felt so right to me. I’m glad you agree, Sherrey. As you may imagine, I’ll be trumpeting the new book everywhere when the time is right. 😉
I love the color scheme, Carol. My only concern is the order of books to blog. Your blog is dynamic; I think it should be paramount. Your books are all there. Each one already has its own page Maybe just a list, each tithe linked. It takes too long to get to the blog. Is there a way to compromise?
You’ve touched on one of the big questions for me in the website re-design, Janet. Emphasize blog or emphasize books? I chose to go with the books because at this moment, I’m more a write or books than a write of blog posts. Also, most who follow me, come to my website via the blog, so they don’t get the blogs first. Books a definite second. New visitors to my site will see the books first, which is what I want at the moment. Of course if that changes, the website can change, too. It’s definitely a balancing act.