Project Summary
Lindy Alexander, writer and owner of the Freelancer’s Year, approached me for a redesign of her current site. The issues she faced with the current set up were that it was old and slow, and a number of her course and resource landing pages were all created and hosted on external links.
When redesigning a website I always start from scratch, which allows me to ensure the site is properly set up and optimised, and make sure there’s no old themes, code or files which will continue to slow down the website and also pose security risks. Improving the site speed and performance was one of the main goals she noted and is important in all website design.
For the design, one of the challenges was to use her current brand palette, which had quite muted tones, to create a more modern and updated look. To achieve this I used the colours she had a lot throughout the site (rather than just as simple highlights) as well as adding in the use of bold lines and outlines to give a more impactful look. For the course and resource pages she previously had scattered on different landing pages we also added these onto the new website itself, meaning that they are not only easier to navigate to for users, but also all have the same cohesive brand look, will be better for SEO and also easier for Lindy to manage too.
Lindy opted to set up some of the course pages herself once the initial design was provided, but the one I set up, Write Earn Thrive, was also a challenge too due to the sheer amount of content and length of the page. Because there is so much content for the user to read, I broke up the content into an easy to read layout, and used the colours sparingly and just to highlight key points and information sections. A sticky header was also important for this site, to allow users to easily navigate while scrolling down the page, and for the course pages we changed the top CTA button to jump to the sign up section for the course (vs the newsletter sign up CTA on the other pages).
The final result is a fresh, modern, quicker website which is easier for users to navigate and also clearly displays all of the amazing courses, free resources and blog posts (over 200+!) that Lindy shares and has to offer.
Sophie came highly recommended from a business friend who had used Kitsune Creative for a new website. I was after a complete refresh and redesign of my existing website and Sophie managed this process beautifully. Sophie understood immediately what aesthetic I was after and made helpful, thoughtful suggestions around design, user experience and website navigation. I always appreciated how attentive, communicative and responsive Sophie was - no matter how big or small my queries, Sophie always responded to them quickly and thoroughly. I now have a website that I love and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Sophie's website design services to anyone looking for a website that wows.
