As a web designer and developer for small businesses, I’m always excited to take on new projects that challenge my creativity and technical skills. When I was approached by Melody, the owner of the popular food blog “Chow With Melody,” I was thrilled to work on her website redesign. Melody wanted to upgrade her existing site design and also migrate it to a more flexible and cost-effective platform. In this article, I’ll take you through the journey of creating the new Chow With Melody website and some the challenges we faced along the way.
Meeting Melody
When I first met Melody, it was clear that she had a vision for her website. She knew what she wanted, but she also valued my expertise and advice. We discussed her goals, target audience, and the overall aesthetic she desired for the blog. I appreciated her open-mindedness and the opportunity to provide my insights and suggestions. This collaborative approach laid a strong foundation for our partnership.
Some Needed Upgrades
To transform Chow With Melody into a more user-friendly and visually appealing food blog, we identified several key upgrades:
1. Fresh New Design: The existing design felt outdated, so we aimed to give the website a fresh and modern look. We focused on clean typography, vibrant colors, and intuitive navigation to enhance the overall user experience.
2. New Recipe System: The previous recipe system was tightly integrated with the theme, making it inflexible and difficult to manage. We decided to implement an independent recipe system using “recipe cards.” This approach allowed for better organization, searchability, and easier updates.
3. Cost Calculator: Melody wanted to provide her readers with a cost calculator feature to estimate the expenses of each recipe. However, no existing system supported this feature by default. To overcome this, I developed a custom solution that seamlessly integrated the cost calculator into the recipe system.
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