New beginnings! (Welcome to JessKeys.com!)
It’s a really bittersweet day today, because it’s both the end of an era and the first day of a new chapter: The Golden Girl is now JessKeys.com! (Huge thanks to Blair for doing such an amazing job on my redesign! If you need a beautiful website, I cannot recommend her enough!)
This is a change that has been coming for a very long time.
I felt that I outgrew the name “The Golden Girl” YEARS ago, but I was just stuck on what to change it to and how my brand should evolve. I came up with this blog name when I truly didn’t think anyone would read it, when I was 25 years old, and I just “really loved gold sparkly things.” I would always avoid telling people what my blog was called if it came up in conversation and instead would say, “oh you can follow me on Instagram! ?” because I was embarrassed that it, indeed, sounded like a silly name that a 25-year-old came up with!
Over the past few years, I’ve felt really compelled to come up with a new site name (not just MY name, because that felt self-centered and all my content is centered on helping YOU, my readers!), but in the end–coming up with another new “random” name felt like it was lacking meaning–like I was trying to force something just for the sake of forcing it. And at the end of the day–going with my name just made the most sense from a practicality standpoint.
I also really wanted a new site design that was going to be really helpful for you all.
I’ve never had a custom website before. And this was another thing I had been wanting for years, but never got around to! Then, when Blair (one of my longtime blogging friends) announced she was re-opening her design business–I knew it was fate! I had been subtly saying things to her like, “If you ever want to come out of blog design retirement…” for the past couple of years. ? I’m so happy it worked out this way–it’s so much more special that she was the one to help me with this big brand transition!
I’m really excited not just about the new look and feel, but also the functionality of this new site. There is so much content that has been published on this blog over the past several years. And after a week or so, it seems like it never sees the light of day again! I would say 8 times out of 10 anytime I do a Q+A on Instagram stories, a blog post already exists that answers the question. (And often, provides a DEEP dive of that particular subject!) I knew that when the time came to re-design, I wanted a way for all the best content to get the spotlight it deserved, regardless of whether it was posted 5 years ago or yesterday!
How it all came together:
So, here are some highlights of the new design:
More recent posts on the homepage, in chronological order:
Just like before, you’ll be able to see my most recent posts on the top of the homepage. But now, you can keep scrolling to see MANY more of my posts in chronological order. Then, if you keep scrolling down on the homepage, you’ll be able to explore posts by category!
“Ask Jess” sections:
It’s my goal to rotate these out every so often, but this section is designed to point you toward my most helpful posts, FAQ’s, and more!
New About Page:
I’ve revamped the about page, and it includes a fun little FAQ to spice things up. ?
Explore tab:
This is an idea that Blair had, and I LOVED it immediately. This is where you can go to see a little hand-picked overview of my favorite blog posts from every category!
Shop tab:
I’ll be rotating my “shops” out frequently and linking my favorite items by category. Currently you can find “Currently loving” (what I’m currently loving/wearing/using!), “Date night” top ideas, “Vacation picks” for any warm weather destination you’re headed to, and “cute neck/hair scarves” as I have been constantly asked for scarf reccos lately!
Super searchable!
As always, I’ve tried to make the site as search friendly as possible, so if you don’t see what you’re looking for, you can always use the search bar in the top navigation to find what you’re looking for!
I hope you love the new site as much as I do! ♥️ If you have any specific feature requests or see something that needs to be updated, feel free to DM me on Instagram!
