Welcome to the New Empty Nest Blessed Website!

New Year, New You, New Me, New ENB! Happy New Year, my friends! I’m starting the new year with a bang — unveiling the new Empty Nest Blessed website and the two new Empty Nest Blessed logos! I’ve been working on this project for months and months, and I’m so excited to share it with you and give you all the lowdown on why I designed the new site the way I did, how you can easily navigate it to find all that you need, and more!

Why a New Empty Nest Blessed Website?

In a nutshell, I was feeling somewhat stuck! Empty Nest Blessed is a little over five years old, and just like all of us ???? midlifers, she was ready for a little update! Change is never easy, and I loved my old site, but it looked a little outdated.

How Did You Design the New Empty Nest Blessed Website?

The first step was to find a good web designer! I’m a big believer in getting help when you need it. It’s similar to interior design! (After all, emptynestblessed.com is essentially my home on the interwebs!) Just like my interior designer has helped me translate my vision for our home into paint, tile, wallpaper, fabric, and furniture, I needed an expert who could put my heart, words, and essence into a digital platform. I wanted a site that would be easy to use, pretty to look at, and most importantly, helpful to you!

There are a lot of things I’m not good at, and I knew I needed someone with experience who would be able to help me translate my heart for Empty Nest Blessed into a digital design that I loved. Here’s the thing, y’all: There is no way to do what I do without authenticity, so everything you see, from my Instastories to the Empty Nest Blessed website, is basically a reflection of me. (There’s just no way to sustain it without doing that!) Real always rules, and real is what you get with me.

Enter Megan of Lush Design Shop. She started by getting to know me, my current site, and listening to my hopes and dreams for a new site. Then she added her personal expertise as an influencer, her experience as a website designer, and we got down to branding specifics.

• Overall feel – If you’ve been hanging around here for a while now, you know that I am unapologetically feminine in my outfit choices, interior design choices, and beauty choices. But I’m also joyful, playful, and whimsical, so I wanted my site to reflect that as well.
• Logos – It was time for some new logos! Y’all know I love a good monogram, so incorporating a monogram into one of my logos was an absolute must for me! I wanted a logo that stated my mission in no uncertain terms. I also wanted a beautiful and feminine script monogram that I could use as a header on the website and my social media sites. Megan and I worked and worked on these, and I love the finished designs so much!
• Color preferences – I provided Megan with three coordinating shades of pink! (But, of course!) The darkest pink is the one I’ve been using since the beginning, and the other two are lighter pinks that blend well with the darker shade.
• Design elements – Since I write for empty nesters — essentially women over 50 — I wanted fonts that were large and easy-to-read! (You’re welcome! ????) But I also wanted white space in the margins, to give our (aging!) eyes a visual break.

How Did You Decide on Content for the New Empty Nest Blessed Website?

Some influencers are Instagram-based, some are YouTube-based, etc. Although I use various social media sites as well, I will always be primarily a blog-based influencer. That means this website is my home base! As I’ve said many times (and now stated on my actual logo!), my purpose is to create content that will encourage, inspire, and bless you in your empty nest. I use social media to promote the content that is on my website. Although I love style and beauty, I will never be an Instagram Influencer who is only about selling clothes or a YouTuber who does makeup tutorials for a living. Those ladies already exist, and they are ah-mazing! It’s just not me.

I want the content on Empty Nest Blessed to reflect who we are as women — curious and with broad interests in everything from healthy eating and parenting adult children to style and beauty — with lots in between! When it comes to Empty Nest Blessed, there are three main types of content that I write.

1. Evergreen Content – Every new school year means a whole new crop of empty nesters, and they need to be able to easily access my content. This is content that, like an evergreen tree, is relevant for a very long time. Examples are posts like A Step-by-Step Plan for Finding Your Purpose in the Empty Nest and even beauty posts like Tips for Aging Lips | What You Can Do About Thinning, Lines, and Dryness.
2. Seasonal Content – This includes content that is, well, seasonal! It would include posts like Three Classic Holiday Fashion Must-Haves for Women Over Fifty and Suzy’s Southwestern Shrimp Recipe | Spice Up Your Summer.
3. Quick Content – This includes content like my What’s Up, Weekend and So in the Know posts. These are the posts that lose relevancy within a short period of time.

I wanted to make it easy for you to find all of those types of content! There are several ways to do that on my new site! First of all, at the very top right, you’ll see the spyglass search icon. This top part of the site (called the header) will follow you on every page of my website, so this search feature will always be accessible! You can put in any keyword(s) you can think of, and it will pull up relevant posts. (There’s also a search bar at the bottom of the “I’m So Happy You’re Here” section on the homepage.)

The other two ways to get your hands on older content are from the topical navigation bar (located at the bottom of the header right under the script Empty Nest Blessed) and at the very bottom of the homepage in the Reader Favorites section.

What Other Special Content is on the New Empty Nest Blessed Website?

• I’m so happy you’re here! – Just below the first post, there is a box that’s titled “I’m so happy you’re here!” That’s something I feel every time each of you gets on the site, and I wanted to especially let new visitors know that I’m glad to have them! This doesn’t appear on the mobile version of the site, as I aimed to keep the mobile version very simple and clean. My website designer, Megan, made the cutest floating hearts that flow through it as you scroll!
• Reader Favorites – I already told you a little bit about this section located down near the bottom of the homepage. It contains my most popular posts. Many of them have gone viral on Pinterest!
• Let’s Connect – One thing I told Megan was that I wanted a better way to open a dialogue with you. So there’s a Follow Me section with handy dandy links to all of my social channels. If you’re not following me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and YouTube, you’re missing out! They’re great ways to keep up with my daily life, outfits, and other fun stuff. Since I get lots of questions about where I shop, I’ve also got a Shop With Me section where I directly link to my Amazon shop and the other spots where I’m currently shopping. Finally, you’ll see an ENB Coffee Talk form where you can ask me questions, share suggestions, or otherwise let me know what’s on your mind. Your comments will not appear publicly anywhere. They’ll go straight to my email inbox!

What’s the Best Way to Navigate the New Empty Nest Blessed Website?

The most important thing to know is that you can always click the script Empty Nest Blessed logo at the top of each page of the site OR the monogram ENB logo to get back to the homepage. Also, at the bottom right of each page, you’ll see a little pink circle with an up arrow in it (it looks like an upside-down “v”). If you click that, you’ll go back to the top of the page.

How is the Mobile Version of the New Empty Nest Blessed Website Different from the Web-Based Site?

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As you well know, all websites look better on a computer or tablet than they do on a mobile phone! That said, I know that the majority of you view my site on your mobile devices. So, since I didn’t want to assault your eyes with too much, the mobile version is stripped down and clean. To access the search engine, social media share buttons, and menu, tap the 3-line menu (aka the “hamburger menu”) at the top right side of the site.

I hope you like the new Empty Nest Blessed website! I put so much thought and heart into everything you see on it. I did it all so that I could do a better job delivering content that encourages you, inspires you, and most of all, is a blessing to you. I cherish the community we’ve built here, and I consider you all my precious friends. Thank you for your support, encouragement, and love.