Oh, la vache am I excited today! Welcome to a new and improved Oui In France! If you’re reading this on your phone or tablet, I invite you to pick this post back up when you’re on a computer so you can see what’s new!
AHhhhh!!!!!!!! Oui In France has a new look and I’m so happy to unveil it to you today. I’m ECSTATIC to show you my new site. Like jumping up and down ecstatic. Like 2005 Tom Cruise on Oprah HAPPY IN ALL CAPS.
So first things first: My site has not undergone a complete redesign, but it’s what I’ll call a mini facelift — and it was exactly what I needed.
I know this new look is for the best, but it feels so strange changing the look of my blog. For 5+ years, my site has had the same look and feel, and while I’m SO happy, I feel weird making such a change. I guess it’s like cutting all your hair off after having it long your entire life…
First, why the update?
Well, it was time. From a technical standpoint, my old design was limiting me on the backend. I’d come up against frustrating road blocks time and time again and I’d had enough. Remember when I was hacked? My new site runs on the Genesis Framework (still WordPress) and has everything I need for blogging in 2017. I won’t get into technical details, but just know it’s a better fit for where I am now.
Another reason was aesthetics. I started blogging in 2012 and have had the same look and feel since then. As a blogger and person, I’ve grown and I wanted my site to reflect where and who I am now. Oui In France is a living abroad lifestyle blog that I’m so incredibly proud of and blue backgrounds and limited tech don’t jive with 2017’s vibe and the confidence I’ve built along the way.
It’s like getting a new haircut or updating your personal style. Blogs need to be updated as well. I was tired of the overall vibe and felt I’d outgrown the blog of 2012. When I started this site, I was just learning the ropes of life abroad, French, and blogging, so I figured the 5-year mark was a good point to reinvent my site’s look and make it more pro. I’m more surprised than anyone that I’ve stuck with this and posted every single week for over 5 years!
Finally, organization was one of my biggest reasons for the redesign. I hit publish on my 600th post (!!) last week and a lot of my content was getting buried in my archives. You’d have to make your way through 78 pages of the archives. The new look hopefully makes my site easier to navigate and find what you’re looking for.
Here’s a quick rundown of what’s new:
- Updated aesthetic to something more streamlined and clean
- White background on desktop and mobile
- Updated logo colors and tagline, more prominent social icons & newsletter opt-ins, and a favicon
- Easier to navigate menu bar with top post categories front and center
- Post organization more visual and easier to navigate with feature image grid
Can I ask you a favor?
Please let me know in a couple of days if anything isn’t working correctly or doesn’t look right. Most likely I have no idea there’s an issue, so please email me, FB message me, send a smoke signal, whatever. I’ll be tweaking things on my new site over the next few weeks, so please be patient as I work through anything that may look a little wonky.
Let’s pop a bottle of virtual Champagne together, shall well?
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As always, happy to have you here. Thank you for your continued support!
PIN ME:
I’m normally just an avid voyeur of your blog but I wanted to leave feedback on this one. This is a really great post. I love your wit. As someone who works with companies on website redesigns and all things IT, I’m really impressed with the thoughtfulness you took to ease the transition for us, the readers.
Love the upgrade!
PS. your site-title background, aka your logo, is missing when I look at the site. Probably because its still referencing your staging site instead of www.
background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) url(“http://staging.ouiinfrance.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/cropped-cropped-logo.png”) no-repeat scroll 0 0;
Thanks so much, Geoff!! Happy to have dragged you out of the woodwork. Really appreciate your kind words and help with the logo. Couldn’t figure out why it wasn’t showing up. Should be fixed now! Merci encore and let me know if you see anything else weird like that… trying to check things little by little.
Diane,
Just ventured on here and already loving the new look and the more visual grid, as you mentioned with a feature image. I haven’t gotten to navigate around yet but will let you know about any hiccups if I come across any. Great update. Virtual champagne cheers!
Jasmine, thank you!!!!!
Btw, is commentluv working? Did you try to put in your blog URL? Trying to work out all the issues little by little… not seeing the latest post line so just wondering…
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I love your blog. Your writing is so fresh and engaging with a humorous fish-out-of-water touch. I usually don’t leave comments but I wanted to give you feedback on the sites design. Since we are in the age of doing and reading everything on our tiny little devices, I find your font very light and often difficult to read. When you write something in bold, it pops out but the rest of the writing is just so faint. Your letters and logo should pop (though obviously not in some tacky way) . Who knows, maybe I am alone in this, but I wish it was just all easier to read – but I guarantee no matter what the font, I am not going to stop reading!
Hi Patricia, thank you for taking the time to comment. I appreciate the kind words!
Would you be able to email me a screenshot (ouiinfrance@gmail.com) of what you’re seeing on your device and let me know what device/operating system it is please? I just checked on my tablet and iPhone and the text I’m seeing is black on a white background and very easy to read — and normal size. It could be your mobile settings. One of my goals with the redesign was to make my site easier to read and navigate, so if you’re seeing very light font that’s faint (and a logo that’s faded or not popping on the white), I want to know about it because it’s a bug. Can anyone else confirm how my site is showing on mobile?? Should be easy-to-read black text on white….
Thank you again.
Looks good from here. Love the new site!
Thanks very much, Keith! Really appreciate the comment. I was so nervous about the whole process and the little tweaks and setting it live and the feedback, ahhh. I know to non-bloggers it must sound so stupid but my head has been spinning all day. Even little comments mean everything to me, so again, merci beaucoup!
Just beautiful, Diane ! Excellent choice ! As always, I love to read your posts ! They keep me informed and It’s always very relaxing for me ! Have a beautiful week !
Thanks so much, Cynthia!!!! Same to you!
What a bright and refreshing look! It must be very rejuvenating and inspiring for your work. I do agree with the comment about the style of the font. I am not familiar with the technical terms, but the typeface is narrow which results in a faint appearance. Just my personal impression. Congrats on the new appearance of Oui in France!
On mobile? Please let me know what device you’re using. On an iPhone, what I’m seeing is not faint or off putting in the least in my opinion. I made sure of that because the site was designed with the user experience in mind. If there is an issue though I’ll definitely get it fixed. Please email me and I’ll see if it is some kind of bug. For anyone on an iPhone you know you can choose the reader view and pick your font and text size, right? I just discovered that recently myself. Thank you for your feedback and taking the time to comment!
Oh I can’t believe it you changed your blog design a little, so exciting for you! I love the very discreet textile pattern on the background and the tweaked logo, for me on Firefox everything looks good except maybe when I’m typing this comment now the text I type looks really small so it’s hard to read myself.
But that’s just a detail, I feel you for being nervous and hope the bugs won’t be too difficult to solve 🙂 And congrats on reaching 600 posts, it makes my heart speed just to think of the amount of treasures your blog contains!
By the way your comment section autofills my info, that’s really user-friendly.
Thanks so much, Abigail. Really means a lot!
I’ll take a look at the comment font size thing. I think it’s the WordPress default!
Omg I love it! So easy on the eyes and very fresh! Nice work!
Thank you!!!!!
And it let me leave a comment without a website!!! Yay! Lol
Another plus. 😉 Quick q, did it have a space for a blog if you wanted to leave one? Trying to see if CommentLuv is still working for bloggers who want to leave a URL…. thx
Updating and changing our blogs makes us feel good and fresh
Yup and is sometimes very necessary!
Diane – Your new site looks really.nice. I love the colors and clean look. I am reading it on an iPad so not sure if I’m seeing everything as you intended. Nevertheless, it looks great. I’ll click around more in the next few days and let you know how it is working for me.
Hi Chrissy! Thanks for leaving a content. I think you’ll get the mail idea on an iPad (mobile version), but for the full effect, check it out later this week on a desktop. Thank you again!
Love the lighter version of the site! Everything from the color scheme to fonts looks fantastic!!!
Merci mille fois!
Hi Di,Love your new look!
Have been on a road trip with my husband left Sarasota & drove to Boston,NH.Ottawa,Canada & ended our trip in Charleston which is absolutely beautiful & fell in love with it.
After reading your latest Blog Di wherever I go in the States I’m a foreigner, guess I always will be to an American!! i know I don’t have the challenge of a foreign language Di but it sure feels like it sometimes when they just “don’t get me”.Guess we just have to accept it that we are different even after 16 years here in the States I’ll always be the English girl.
We have to bite the bullet Di & just accept that we’ll always be different.
You sound like such a lovely girl, just be yourself & don’t worry what the French think they are a good nation of good people sometimes a little opinionated maybe but that’s just them, ha!ha!.You live in a beautiful part of the world’s please enjoy every minute.Find some English girls too they will understand, we have been dealing with France for many years ha!ha!.Love & patience sweetie.
I really like the new look–very up-to-date and easy to read!
I’ve been following for a few months. Your blog has helped me adjust during my year in France!
Thank you! I’m so happy with it. 😉 Also happy that my blog has been helpful!
It looks amazing!!!! I love the colors and the new navigation and layout – so easy to find things! It’s still distinctly Oui in France, just a shiny new version. Love love love! I have been itching to give my own blog a major makeover for months, but I barely have time to write in the first place. (All part of my love/hate relationship with blogging, haha.) By the way, that aqua blue is one of my favorite colors!
Thanks so much! My biggest issue after a couple years of blogging was the organization. When you start, you have one idea of how things will be and then after you’ve been writing a few years, you realize you have stuff to say on this category or more to say in that category and your needs change. So hoping people can find things better (still not perfect but major improvement) with the new layout. Was time for a change after 5 years and so many posts!
So happy you like the aqua blue. Appreciate the comment, really. I was so nervous about the new look and all the work that went into it. Anyone who took a minute to comment specifically on this post gets a gold star in my book.
I’m also in that position of having outgrown my 5.5 year old blog and have been meaning to update all year but circumstances have conspired against me. Maybe seeing the success of your new look will give me the impetus to get on with my changes. Well done Diane! Everything seems completely fine to me but then I am reading this a while after the big change.
Thank you! So happy w/the new site.
And you’ll get there, Phoebe! Just hire someone you trust and take it one step at a time. And tackle the tech issues that will surely come up with wine in you hand. 😉
I love the new look, Diane – very clean, light, and easy on the eyes.
Thanks so much! Really means a lot. Appreciate your comment on this one especially 😉
I love the new look! It’s so fresh and bright!