I wrote on my Instagram today that this new website design that we just launched was so much more than just an “update”! I needed this website re-design to help me get back into the swing of all things business while still navigating the new waters of motherhood! It’s hard! Before Evy, I had a one-track mind. That caused issues in our marriage, and so now we have a life coach that has transformed the way we relate and work together. But NOW… now I don’t have a choice! I can’t wake up every morning and just TRY to put Evy first… she HAS to be the most important priority in my life, and I have learned so much from being her momma the last three months!
So because I haven’t been able to live in the “Old Katelyn” mentality where the business was super high on the priority list… sometimes a little TOO high…. I’ve had a hard time balancing the mental side of being a mom and a business owner. I have help during the week and during work events. Both of our moms are always available and have helped us so much over the last three months. I’m so thankful for that because I know that not everyone has help like we do. However, the struggle for me has been MENTAL. It’s hard to find brain space to dream and plan and execute things for the business when you’re constantly wanting to enjoy your baby.
I had a lot of thoughts and overwhelming tasks swirling around in my head before I emailed Jen. I knew that our business had become 1/2 Wedding Photography and 1/2 Photography Education, but I hadn’t made any changes on my website to show that. If you went to my old website you would have NO clue that I enjoyed educating photographers and had spent the last two years building a store and two full sized courses for them! I was overwhelmed at the thought of re-doing my website… and then Google made me take action!
My last site was Showit4 and it had some flash elements to it. Google started phasing out flash based sites and I was already planning on changing mine but I didn’t know that I would be doing an overhaul 10 weeks after having a BABY!!! Jen is pregnant as well and so we were quite a site trying to get this thing designed! I was nursing and she was resting her laptop on her cute little bump! I honestly don’t know how to thank Jen for all of the hard work that she did for this site. She makes it sound easy but I know that she spent LONG, LATE hours working on this for me and I’m so grateful!! It’s literally EXACTLY what I had hoped for but was too overwhelmed to envision myself.
After Jen went to bed the night of our design session, I hugged Michael and cried and told him that this is what I needed. I just needed a fresh start after the crazy season of pregnancy, tumors and surgery! This new site represents that I can DO THIS. I can be a momma and a business owner at the same time. I’m still the teal loving, home decorating, KJ that existed before Evy…. I just have a new roll now… and I honestly LOVE that roll.
Some of you have asked about me blogging about being a momma and a business owner and the truth is, it’s too early to share about that. I need some more experience under my belt before I have anything worthwhile to share! Right now I’m just proud of myself for continuing to navigate through my feelings on motherhood and business while still getting things done!! This site makes me feel like I checked a MAJOR accomplishment off of the list, and I’m so thankful!!!
So, I don’t want to keep you waiting… here are some design concepts that we talked about behind the scenes! This may help others who are getting ready to redesign their site!! :
OUR GOAL: To create a “KJ 2.0” look that was more refined, more specific to what our business offers and had a cleaner feel to it! I think we did JUST that!!!
THE HOMEPAGE: The homepage needed to point people in 1 of 2 directions… either you’re a photographer or you’re a bride! I love that it prompts you to take action right below the fold of the page! I also love that we were able to use this new headshot from my new office!! Having my obsession with teal carried throughout my home is paying off!!! Something else that we were very deliberate about was having my FACE everywhere. It sounds so vain but this is an important business decision! I have images that would look way better than my face in the header but it’s important that I’m visible because I run a personal brand!
EASIER NAVIGATION: My old site has so many nooks and crannies that you could explore and I LOVED that! But what I love more is that we took all of those elements and sections, and made them easier to find on this site! This popular destination section is a pretty way of helping people get where they need to go!
USING OUR HOME: Instead of going to a park or standing out in the field for my headshots for the new site, we used our home! I love this because our house is such a huge part of our story! So I love seeing our shiplap, my office and the colors of our home tie into my site so perfectly!
SHARING OUR NEW FAMILY: The “About me” section looks a little different now!! I loved Jen’s idea for having individual family headshots! Evy definitely stole the show here!!
SHARING THE LITTLE STUFF: We teach in our workshops and educational resources that the LITTLE stuff about you and your life really matter! These are all “brand boosters” that people remember about me! You should see all of the CANDLES we get in the mail!! It’s so sweet! By sharing little parts of my life, I become more relatable and approachable to future clients even though they may have never met me in real life!
FUTURE GOALS: Ok, I love this section because not only does it show some of my favorite travel shots, but if you click through where we have shot, there is a section where I list my DREAM shooting locations! TRUE STORY….we already got an email about photographing in one of the locations! (See! It’s worth it to share your goals!!!!)
ADDING VIDEO: Thanks to Tyler Herrinton, I have some fun video headers on our EDUCATION and KJ BRIDES pages!!! So grateful for him and his hard work!
EDITORIAL STYLING: I love that Jen knows that I gravitate towards editorial styling! When you click “Featured Weddings” and view each wedding, it has such a fun editorial look! I also love this grid gallery!
DEFINING OUR IDEAL CLIENT: This is one of my favorite sections! Some of our sweet KJ Brides allowed us to share a little “profile” on them! We asked them a few questions about their experience so that other future KJ Brides can read through and decide if working with us may be the right fit!
PHOTOGRAPHER’S FREEBIES: We have so many free downloads for photographers and I love this section that Jen created to highlight those downloads!!
So if you haven’t seen the new WEBSITE, you can click HERE!!! Thanks again to JEN!!! She’s amazing! If you want a piece of Jen’s talent, you can check out her and her talented friend Jeff’s templates HERE!!
Thanks for reading!
— Katelyn
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