I started blogging in 2012 when I opened my online teacher store called Comprehension Connection. At first, I knew nothing about platforms, blogging best practices, and even what to write about. I just knew that things were super busy, and I knew I could use my blog as a way to share what worked well for me in the classroom and with my students. I hadn’t made any money on Teachers Pay Teachers yet, so investing a lot of money into a website just didn’t seem to be a wise business decision. Boy, did I have that wrong! I have since learned the value of a great website. It’s always the number one traffic source to my Teachers Pay Teachers store, and it is one of the few things I can control in my business unlike social media.
Since 2012, I have been through quite a few website designs on Blogger and on Word Press. I have managed 5-6 websites including some I’ve designed (Virginia is for Teachers, VSLA-Piedmont (reading council site), Comprehension Connection, and this site). Additionally, I’ve helped numerous friends with their website needs including redesigns, widget additions, customizations, store additions, and graphic design. I just really love it. I love the creation process, and I especially love making customers happy with the final result. For me, everything related to the website is a learning process. I’m constantly learning and try to help clients in that process too.
I take any job I work on seriously, and my clients typically become new friends. Therefore, I take pride in helping my clients’ businesses grow as they develop their brands. I work to ensure that the final website result matches my clients’ business goals.
I'm not done with your site until you are completely satisfied. Please check out client testimonials.
The best way to achieve the final design that YOU want is through communication. I will have you outline things you like and dislike about other sites to get YOUR vision.
Many clients aren't sure of what they want. If that is you, then I am happy to share suggestions. We can discuss colors, layouts, fonts, and images.
Once your site is complete, you will receive support with Word Press through video tutorials as well as through my Facebook group. I believe we learn best from each other.
The first thing most potential customers see is your website. You should treat it like you would an interview. Professionals try to put their “best foot forward” when they interview by arriving on time, being prepared, dressing appropriately, and by generally making a good first impression. If your brand stands out, your potential customer will stick around on your site to learn more. Therefore, your website needs to have a these important elements.
Your site needs to be easy to navigate. Important pages should be in your menu and text should be concise, broken up into readable chunks, and accented with purposeful photos and icons.
Choosing a color scheme that appeals to readers is more important than you think. You want your color palette to give your customer a sense of calm if you are a yoga instructor, excitement if you're a musician, or happiness if you're a therapist.
Some people can be very choosy when it comes to fonts, but the most important thing about fonts is that they work FOR THE CUSTOMER. Clean bold fonts work well for titles and captions. For the text though, you must choose a font that is easy on the eyes.
Finally, we all know time is money. If a site is slow to load and hard to navigate, what will happen? Will the content matter to the reader? Hate to tell you this, but the answer is, "No!" The reader will click out and move on. There are lots of things that impact site speed, and I will help you avoid some of the mistakes I made with my early blogging experience.
Client satisfaction means the world to me, and I truly love hearing what they have to say. When the site is complete, I try very hard to support my clients in maintaining their sites and branding. We walk through the site together. I work to help my clients understand how to use Word Press or Blogger in order to keep the site working well. Oversized images can be a big problem, so I certainly emphasize this in our “walk through”. You can check out their feedback below.
Collaborating with Carla on our website was a pleasure! She was thorough, easy to work with, and the result (our site) is beautiful! I’ve dealt with many web designers through the years, and working with Carla has been the best experience by far. In the past, when working with other web designers, deadlines were seldom met. On this project, Carla estimated the time and exceeded expectations. The site was started and completed several days early, even though it was a bit more challenging than most. She put in extra effort, met the challenges, and produced a lovely site within a few days. I give Carla and Blog Designs for You my highest recommendation!
Julie Nybakken | Special Sources Nevada and Julie Nybakken Virtual Services
Carla was wonderful to work with! She was responsive and thorough with every aspect from set up to creation. She is a wonderful communicator and always responds in a timely manner. Carla took my vision and created a better site than I could have even imagined! She took the time to talk over decisions and explain the various aspects. I highly recommend Carla to anyone looking for a website design – beginner or veteran!
Maggie Rose | Simply B Teaching
I am so glad that I chose Carla as my website designer. It was a plus that Carla is a teacher author on Teachers Pay Teachers, has her own website and blog, is fluent with social media optimization, and has an eye for designing. She knew exactly what I needed. Carla went above and beyond what’s listed in the invoice and worked tirelessly to get the job done to my satisfaction. Carla built my brand from the ground up. It’s everything I needed and more! Carla started out as my website designer, and now she is my friend!
Penny | Line Up Learning
Carla designed my Blogger blog, and I am amazed at the efficiency in which she works! She quickly understood my vision and set to work! Her communication throughout the process was impeccable. I love everything about my site from the font choices to the overall design. Although my favorite parts are my buttons which Carla designed!! She is not only efficient but she knows her stuff, I was amazed at how quickly she put everything together! I highly recommend Carla at Blog Designs For You to make or redo your blog or website!!
My experience working with Carla was nothing short of amazing. Her knowledge about site design and how fast she was able to complete my website was incredible. My questions were always answered quickly and thoroughly and any concerns or changes I wanted were fixed to my exact liking. I highly recommend Carla to anyone looking for blog design, especially those who have very little to no experience in blogging as she will walk you right through everything.
As President of the Piedmont Area Reading Council, it was time to get a new and refreshed look to keep up with the trends. Carla rose to the challenge and created a unique and streamlined experience for our community of literacy leaders. The clean look helps everyone who visits our blog find the information they need in a way that is engaging and helpful. Without a doubt, her blog design has brought us into a new era and helps us continue to reach literacy leaders in our community and beyond.
Andrea C | VSLA Piedmont
I could not be more pleased with the updates Carla did on my blog! She not only added a product menu and scrolling sidebar pictures, she refreshed my font, header, and featured post display. Every month she happily makes any changes I request for a fair fee, and also created and installed a new animated TpT store banner. She responds promptly to my questions and solves problems quickly.
Jennifer | Stories and Songs in Second
I can’t recommend Carla enough. She has helped me update my blog and add functions to help make it better. She is my “go-to” person for questions and she’s always available to help. If you are considering creating a website or updating your existing website, she’s there for you.
Cathy | The WISE Owl
Working with Carla has been an absolute pleasure! I am clueless when it comes to anything website related. Carla took the time to walk/talk me thru all my options and figure out the best choice for me. She explained everything she was doing and stayed in contact throughout the entire process and even after that! She’s extremely responsive and I never went more then a minute with an unanswered question. I was fully expecting to not have my website completed for weeks. Carla had it up and running in a matter of two days!!! I would definitely recommend her services and I will continue to use her going forward!
Julie | Vanity Ink by Jewels
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