When you are learning something new, there are bound to be growing pains. My blog is going through some of those at the moment, as I discover what this world is all about.
There’s a whole lot to learn about when starting a website and blog. Analytics, Content creation, and the all important SEO. Yep, that’s right, SE… Okay – I still have no idea what I’m talking about. Basically it has to do with how people find my little corner of the web. The more people who visit my blog, the more possible it will be to grow.
To be honest, I have been a bit discouraged that I consistently write what I think is great content, and yet do not get many page views each month.
Knowledge is power, and I made the decision to sign up for a course on some of the more technical aspects behind building a good website. It has been pretty eye opening already and has proved that over the last year I have done quite a bit right. On the other hand, I am also now more aware of the mistakes I have made and why people haven’t visited my blog.
The good news is that by reversing some of those mistakes, I can send things in a positive direction. The bad news is that the reversal won’t be easy.
WHAT NEEDS CHANGING
Without getting all technical, I will just say that the basic framework of the website itself needs some re-working. The layout isn’t as user friendly as it could be.
In addition to that, a good number of my past posts will need to be edited so that they are more easily found.
It goes without saying that these changes will take time. Unfortunately, time is something that I tend to not have much of these days. Because of this, I will be scaling back the amount of new posts I put out each week.
I have consistently been able to add two new posts each week for the past year. Typically, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Going forward until I get caught up, I will have a new goal of posting only once per week, on Thursdays.
CONTENT FOCUS
Our house build should begin in about 5-6 months. Though I have the basic floor plans finally nailed down, there are still a lot of details that need to be worked through. Interior finishes, furniture selections, kitchen cabinet layout, etc.
In order to be fully prepared for our build, I plan to develop mood boards for each space. My posts will be reflective of this part of the design process. While this will be super helpful for us to look back on as the house is being built, I am also hopeful it will be useful for others. When possible, I will try to list our material and product sources.
The posts will also document the house construction while that is happening. It should be good insight for those of my readers who are considering their own new home build.
GOING FORWARD
This blogging course has challenged me to take a closer look at my overall goals. Where it was initially started to share our design process, it has slowly been evolving into more of an overall design blog.
I’ve written about design trends, residential architecture home styles, and building tips. I have even shared some of the design work I have done for clients.
Writing a general home design blog has been fun! Once Arrow Hill Cottage is actually built though, a whole world of possibilities will open up. I will have an entire home to decorate and learn how to manage. There will be closets that need organizing and floors that need cleaning. I would love to learn to garden! And develop healthy recipes for my large family!
That being said, I foresee my blog focus turning more toward the subject of Simple Home + Simple Living.
I am super excited about this decision and, with this focus in mind, I will be making my website changes. The title bar will likely get a sprucing up, as might the logo and branding. Just be aware that my end goal is in mind!
There you go friends, that’s my update for today. Tune in next Thursday for the first of my newly focused posts to go live! Once again, thank you for your support and encouragement on this journey!
