The makeover I’m sharing today doesn’t have anything to do with our little farmhouse or furniture or decorating… well, not directly anyway. This makeover is about bettering the way I share my thoughts and projects and ideas with you in the most beautiful, inspiring, and easy way possible. It’s about the feeling I want you to have when you visit Love Grows Wild. It’s about better this blog, our homes, and our lives. In other words… LOVE GROWS WILD GOT A MAKEOVER!
This is a project that I’ve dreamed about for years and planned and worked on for months, and today I’m finally able to share all my hard work with you in the form of a beautiful new website with new branding, new features, and new ways to enjoy everything Love Grows Wild. I’ve always wanted to make LGW a place where you come to be inspired and for us to connect on the things we love, and a lot of time and effort went into carefully researching and planning the best way for you to navigate the website. I hope you love the new look as much as I do and that you find the website to be much more functional and easier to access what you’re looking for. I wanted the design to reflect what you see in our home… simple, clean, and neutral with just a hint of the colors of nature. I’m so excited to walk you through all the changes, so without further ado, let’s dive in!
When you go to lovegrowswild.com, you’ll now start on our main home page where you can…
- find my most recent blog posts
- read MY STORY
- find the best way to CONTACT or WORK with me
- head over to the BLOG
- find links to follow me on INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, and TWITTER
I worked really hard to restructure this website so you are able to find my content quickly and easily. In the navigation menu beneath the Love Grows Wild logo, you will now find categories such as Our Home, Project Gallery, Seasonal, and Recipes. If you click Our Home, you will see a list of all the posts I’ve written about our home. Or if you use the drop down menu under Our Home and click on Dining Room, you will find all the posts written specifically about our dining room. Under Project Gallery you will find a menu to view different tutorials such as Furniture Makeovers, DIY Decor, Decorating Inspiration + Advice, etc. You can use the menu under Seasonal to find posts written with a Spring or Summer theme. And when you’re hungry, you can use the menu under Recipes to look up Meal Ideas, Desserts, Side Dishes, and more. I really hope this helps you discover and rediscover the many posts I’ve been writing and sharing over the last 6 years!
Under the Shop menu, you’ll also have easy access to finding information about MY BOOK, information about my retail store, LOVE GROWS WILD MARKET, and an exciting new addition to my site, SHOP LGW STYLE.
One of the most common questions I get asked both on the blog and social media is where I find the items I decorate with. This has been such a hard thing for me to keep up with because the decor in our home changes almost on a daily basis, and many times the things I’ve purchased eventually get discontinued or are out of stock. I’ve made it my goal to provide you with as accurate and current product sources as I can and to also share items that I find and love and think you will too. You can now get the “Love Grows Wild” look all in one place by heading to the SHOP LGW STYLE page. Here you’ll find items for home decor, furniture, kitchen, fashion, cleaning & organizing, beauty, and holiday & seasonal, all hand picked weekly by yours truly. I hope this feature makes it easy for you to find the items or similar items that you see here on the blog, as well as outfits from my closet, tools I use to keep the house clean and tidy, and anything I think will make your life a little more beautiful and simple. I’m still working on adding items and will continue adding items weekly, so check back often to see what is new!
Be sure to add your name to our email list too so you never miss a post!
When you click on the BLOG page, you’ll notice that you can now share posts quickly and easily from the social icons below each post. Pin them, share on Facebook, tweet, or email your favorite posts! You can also search for a specific post in the sidebar on the right or at the very top of the page by the social icons.
I hope you’ve enjoyed a little tour of the new site, and I can’t wait to hear your feedback! Please feel free to share what you love, what you’d like to see, or if you notice anything a little off or not working. We’re still making adjustments and working out any kinks and want this to be the best it can be for you!
Before you go, I’d like to share something from my heart that feels a little awkward to talk about, but I feel like it needs to be shared. 6 years ago I started this blog not knowing if it would ever go anywhere or be read by anyone else besides my sweet mom. I slowly learned and got better and taught myself how to use a camera and took courses on running a creative business, and little by little I grew this little blog and my business to what it is today. I started it from scratch, without making a penny for a long time. I watched other bloggers who have become good friends of mine grow their blogs to millions of followers and get huge sponsorships from brands and make more money than I could ever dream of by placing high-earning ads on their blogs.
I would never want to put down anyone else’s business or their idea of success, but I’ve always known that sacrificing the intention and authenticity of my blog in order to make the most money wasn’t something I wanted to do. I started this blog to share my creativity and ideas and to connect with women, and I always want to maintain that goal. Naturally as the time and money I put into my growing little business increased, so did the need to make this work financially for my family. I would be lying if I said that I didn’t want to make as much money as I can… I would assume that’s at least one of the goals of all businesses. But if I started writing blog posts sponsored by brands that have no connection to my life or plastered ads all over the beautiful images I take so much time and care to create for my blog, I would feel like I’m losing sight of why I hope you’ll follow Love Grows Wild in the first place. In the past, I’ve been pushed by ad companies to put highly profitable video ads and “sticky” ads on my site that basically block your ability to view my content. I’ve tested them on my site to see what I thought, and yes, I made a lot of money. But I didn’t like what I saw when I opened up my site, and I’m reasonably certain you probably didn’t either.
All that said, last year when I decided to spend a fairly large chunk of money redesigning my website, I also made the decision to cut back… WAY back on the ads on my site, which lowered my income 20-25%. I’m being completely honest and transparent with you so that you know my heart and my desire to do my absolute best for you. I carefully choose the brands I work with so that you know I actually love their products and use them in real life. I’m trying to only place ads on my site that do not interrupt your experience, and I hope you understand that while I truly wish I could do away with them completely, they are a large portion of how I’m able to pay our bills and feed my babies and keep Love Grows Wild going and growing.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart from supporting this little blog of mine, and I’m forever grateful for the connection I’ve been able to make with women from all over the world. Whenever you read my blog posts and share them or use my affiliate links to purchase the products I recommend, I make a very small commission that helps balance the money I’ve lost by decluttering the ads on my site. It doesn’t cost you a penny to do those things, but they make a very big difference in what I’m able to do on my blog and for my family.
All of this feels very vulnerable and strange to say, but I wanted to share that with you so you know where my heart is. Thank you for being part of this wonderful, incredible Love Grows Wild community. I can’t wait to see what the next 6 years bring!
And speaking of creative souls who I am so blessed to have in my life… a big thank you to my dear friend, Mackenzie Lee Photography, for making me look and feel beautiful in these new head shots for my brand new site!
The site is beautiful and so are you! Thank you for sharing your thoughts on why you do what you do!
Your website is gorgeous, as are the pictures you look flawless. Interested in what make up you use as you look beautiful and so natural. Love your inspiration.
Love the new site and have admired how you handled your family situation a while back. You should be so proud of yourself!
I’m so happy with your redesign and can I just say YAY! for removing annoying ads?? I cut back, way back on subscribing to blogs with lots of ads. I understand their right to make money but I also have a right to read without becoming so irritated with ad content that I just give up and hit delete. I don’t allow ads on my site. I’m not doing it for the money. Could I use more money? Yes! But that’s not my goal. So congratulations on bucking the trend. I salute you. Your new photos are so beautiful! Thank you for keeping it real.
Keep fighting the good fight and being true to yourself. That’s why I read your blog – it’s real. 🙂
That WAS from your heart and I know your readers will sense that truthfulness. Your site is a beautiful reflection of you.
Liz,
I think everything you have done is awesome, I can’t find a single thing to complain about. I always enjoy your post, but now it will be even more enjoyable! Your pictures are beautiful, you are such a pretty woman and should be very proud of yourself! Keep up the good work!
It’s lovely, but I have vision problems like many do. Could you please put the type size back up to what it was before?
Sincerely Cath
thank you for sharing. it’s all so beautiful.
kim
I’ve been following you for almost from the beginning. I met you at Starbucks and have been a fan ever since.
I’m so happy you are keeping the ads to a minimum. I avoid some blogs because of the annoying amount of inturuptions.
I wish you the best in the future. Love the pictures of you.
You and your new blog look ABSOLUTELY STUNNING!! Your hard work and dedication did not go unnoticed! CONGRATS AND Thank you for sharing!
Love and beauty shine throughout your new site. You can quickly tell this makeover was well thought out!
Looks great! I have cut back on reading a lot of blogs because of all the advertising, because yes , it’s very irritating. I realize that it is a necessity to make money to even pay for your website. I think it all boils down to everything in moderation. I love everything you do, and thanks for sharing .
And that my dear is why I love to follow your blog!!! You put your passion before all the $$$. I couldn’t understand how some bloggers could afford sooo much of a companies product and fill there home with sooo much that it is overkill and looks like a shop. Now I get it. I love the simplicity of your style and decor. Most people can’t afford dropping thousands of dollars to buy small decor piece for 1 room. In the end it’s instant gratification and trying to fill a bigger void. You don’t do that. You make it possible to decorate on a bugdget like most people with families can only do. It’s makes a big difference and it shows. Follow your heart and everything will fall into place. Be true to who you are. Thank you for all the inspiration!
A beautiful post as always. The new website is gorgeous. Thank you for all your hard work. I love and appreciate the information you shared at the end of this post. It was very well written. I so so so appreciate your decisions about advertising. I know when you recommend something it is because you really like it, not because of the income potential it offers. I enjoy the experience of reading your posts because I am not interpret by advertisements. Thank you! You are wonderful. Congratulations LGW!
Kim said it perfectly.
Love it!!! So very welcoming and warm!!
Love the new site and really appreciate the heart felt response about your blogs. It’s nice to read a blog without having to constantly reload due to having too many pop up ads. Will definitely be shopping more on this blog and will also share to others about the stuff I purchase.
Liz! You always inspire me! I love love love your blog and stop by often! I can’t tell you how happy I am with your new website design!! I had been having issues visiting your site for several months and today was the first time I visited without it crashing or telling me I “won a new iPhone” ?. I’ll be back more often now! Thank you!!!