Read Change Is Good
Change is always good right? At least that is what I was telling myself after seeing everything I loved crumble right before me. On the outside my blog still looked the same, still attracted views and ranked highly on Google. But to me it didn’t look good enough, I was becoming increasingly frustrated with Wix’s limited coding which prevented me from running ads, giveaways or even making the site semi-accessible. It was a hot mess and while it looked visually appealing I knew that I would have to make a huge sacrifice to set my blog apart from the rest. But would I really want to start again when my previous blog had a DA of 36, was making me earn money and had brands clamoring to be featured on my blog? Not to mention I had won two awards for the blog so would starting again be the right move? The answer was yes, some might question my decision to start again when I had already built up so much on my previous site but I needed to start again to make this a proper business.
After receiving my first cheque as a self-employed woman I knew that the next step was to migrate my content over to WordPress and begin investing in a site that I hoped would be the benchmark of my future career. I poured all my time and little money that I had and spent well over £300 at least. I lost all my comments from previous posts, lost a Google Ranking and my DA/ PA score ceased to exist. From an outsiders point of view I had lost everything but truth was I knew I needed to sacrifice my project in order to make way for Faded Spring 2.0. The new Faded Spring would still be just as fabulous but now it would be accessible, marketable and have a better plugin system that ceased to exist beforehand. Migration is no easy feat and I spent weeks migrating content and watching everything I had worked on for the past year turn into nothing. But instead of feeling downcast about it I looked ahead to the future visualizing where this investment would take me in a years time and I am confident that it will be a success.
This year I was nominated by readers for the UK Blog Awards but instead of accepting my nomination I declined because I didn’t feel that my site looked good enough. I shouldn’t have been embarrassed but I am a perfectionist and I knew that though my content and photography was good the blog was not good enough for appraisal. Maybe I am being too hard on myself but when your own blog does not even have drop down bars at the top of your page it doesn’t read as a well constructed site. That being said just looking at my old site is making me feel a tinge of regret. It looks visually appealing, has beautiful font and all of it was designed by myself without the help of a pre-made template. I made this blog and it is going to be hard to give it up but I have to if I want to succeed. Its not the biggest sacrifice I have ever made but professionally it is and I can either sink or swim. Question is which one will it be?
What Is The Biggest Sacrifice That You Have Made For Your Blog?
Please note since writing this post I have successfully completed migration, managed to retain my DA and decided to accept my nomination after being nominated several hundred times. I realized that it was destiny to start again and in doing so feel so much happier accepting the nomination for my site.
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Congratulations on the nomination it is well deserved. Sometimes it’s important to bit the bullet and go for it migration wise and I think it was for the best xxxxx
Nice to hear of how people develop their blogs. I’m still learning a lot!
You are so gorgeous and I love the photography and style, an absolute inspiration!
Well done Ana, you are so right that change can be for the better. The site looks fab.
You site looks amazing Ana, well done on the change. I am just turning my blog into a job after 6 years as an hobby. It makes sense to try as it is what I love. I don’t want to work in a job I don’t have a passion for. I am so ready to run with a change and get my teeth stuck into my new adventure 🙂
I’m glad that you finally accepted the nomination, it’s so well deserved!
Congratulations on the nomination. I was going to say you wouldn’t lose your DA under your domain name changed, and you can easily make the same custom layout and font that you had on your old site so don’t feel regret. I love the look of this site 🙂 x
NEED NEED NEED that jacket!
Not suprised the Nordstrom version has sold out!
You look amazing by the way
Charlotte x
Well done for taking the leap, you were very brave. The site looks amazing.
I think you deserve the nomination. Your blog and photos have always looked great!
I use WIX for my makeup portfolio but I know what you mean about it being limited for blogging I could see that from using the platform. I’ve been on blogger and WordPress but came back to blogger but that was really before scores mattered. I think in no time you’ll get you score back and also you’re happy with the change which is the main thing x
I think you have to accept that success doesn’t come over night and it is a work in progress kind of hobby.
This is wonderful:
“I had lost everything but truth was I knew I needed to sacrifice my project in order to make way for Faded Spring 2.0….” – each change is goood!
I will say it again: congratulations on the nomination my dear!!! <3 <3
Change is usually for the better! Congrats on the nomination! I love your photos and that outfit is amazing!
Congrats on accepting the nomination and I have to say your site is looking fab! x
Change can be so hard and when we look back it most of the time turned out for the better!
The hardest thing I ever did for my blog was give up a high paying company that gave me high MV because I didn’t agree with some of its policies. I haven’t really came back from that, but I feel morally right.
Congratulations on your nomination and on your successful migration. Your blog looks great and now that you have migrated you can do all of the things that you wanted to do but couldn’t whilst you were on Wix. It’s always hard to make those sacrifices, but they usually pay off in the end!
Your site is so beautiful, I love the set up! I haven’t made a huge sacrifice yet however like you I might change platform! Still not 100% decided yet!
I started of my blog with blogger before moving to wordpress. It was a lot of work moving over but well worth it in the end. I love the new look of your blog and I also nominated your blog, you deserve the award xx
I love this outfit! The colors go together perfectly and you look beautiful!
First of all – you should have accepted the award and looked at is a validation for all the work you had done. But the move to WordPress is always stressful and you made the right choice.
Migrating my blog was the best thing I ever did, I just love my new blog so much and feel as though it finally looks just like I wanted it to. Congratulations again on the nomination!
Personally I really like your blog, but being a perfectionist myself, I know that saying it won’t make you change your mind!
Mika
Congrats on these awards. When you love what you do, you are able to do great things
Congratulations on your nomination, your blog looks fantastic – I made the move a couple of years ago and it was the best thing I ever did
Congrats on the nomination! I’m glad you decided to accept, I mean you deserve it, so yeah go for it!! I wish I could say I had companies clamoring to work with me. Maybe one day I’ll get there.
Wishing you all the best.
xo
I have wondered the same things honestly. I am using Blogger and not Word Press. Are you paying for your site and coding all on your own or do you use WP and just do the templates and pay for the site right?
~ http://viabella-thebeautifullife.blogspot.com/
It’s better you do it now then do it further down the line. Get your blog exactly as you want it!
I agree with you with the fact that change is good. Mostly, it is good and always happens for better but it just takes time for us to adjust.
Congratulations on having the courage to make changes. It is important for us in life to follow our heart and sometimes that involves starting over to be better.
Congratulations on your nomination- have more faith in yourself. I look at A LOT of blogs and I can honestly say yours looks fantastic. Great content, great photos. The works.
I’m glad you’ve been able to migrate your content over! I’ve been through a couple of website and name changes. Definitely archive or keep some screenshots of the old site for nostalgia’s sake though!
Congrats on the nomination well deserved.
Change is better if it is for the good. Just start being honest with yourself about everything, valuing the lessons your mistakes teach you, and for you Ana, start believing that you’re ready for the next step and everything will turn out right.
I decided to start doing beauty on my blog but that was big mistake because I was hardly getting any views so beginning of last month I went back to doing my planner related post and well I’ve never seen my view count so high
Firstly congratulations on the nominations. You’ve obviously been working really hard.
I went over to self hosted this year on my original blog and I have seen a difference in my numbers and my content seems clearer.
Loving the way this blog looks so you have really done really well.
Congrats on your nomination! Well deserved! Sorry migrating was painful, glad that’s over. I am loving the look of your new site. Things can only get better from here!
congrats on the nomination and glad to hear you accepted it. it is all well deserved as it is clear how hard you have worked for your score / growth
That is wonderful about the nomination, be proud of your blog – you do a great job!
Congrats on the success! What is my biggest sacrifice for my blog? I beginning to dare the idea in my mind that this is my new career. It’s like kind of like sacrificing my idea of who I was to accept what I’m possibly becoming. Change is like a double edge sword for me. I always want it but in the end fear it most. Even going there in my mind is a really big deal for me! 🙂
Congratulations on the nomination, that is amazing! My blog is my passion project at the moment, but I would love for it to become my full-time in the future. Still working towards that goal! xx Adaleta Avdic
Perfectionism is the key to many things, it makes us grow and evolve as individuals. Change is good indeed! I’ve always liked the minimalist feel of this blog as well
Congratulations! The process isn’t easy but I can see that it will be well worth it. Good luck and I’ll keep following along.
Oh looking cute and your eyes are so charming. Congratulations on your nomination.
You are such a good inspiration with us and I learn a lot from you
Congratulations on your nominations! And yes Change is Good sometimes! I remember migrating 2 other blogs back in the day from Blogger to WordPress. It was so stressful but I have some great professionals who did a fabulous job! I hope your new site does everything you want it to and more.
Congrats on being nominated for the awards. I really want to change my blog name and rebrand but I’m too scared. This has made me realise it will be ok x
Amazing that you managed to move and maintain your DA! I think your site looks fab and is worthy of an award! Next year!
I often want to migrate my site but I worry too. Your new site looks fab and your award nomination is very much deserved xx
I love the look of your new site and think you have been very brave to make that leap.
It’s great to read about your blogging story Ana. I am just beginning my own and learning the ropes so thank you for sharing.
Rob
I blogged for a year and then like you wasn’t happy at all in that year I learned seo etc and knew my blog wasn’t as good as it should be and it would have taken forever to correct everything and so I started over and it was the best thing I ever did.
Wow! Congrats girl! I think making that decision must have taken you an extreme amount of courage and I praise you for that! I don’t think I’ve made any big sacrifices for the blog yet, I’m only starting but I don’t know how far I’d be able to go.
Congrats again on that nomination!
Carlota | TheWandereuse.com
Well done! Your hard work as definatly paid of. It’s always hard to start again with anything and even more so blogging. I’m glad your accepting your nomination, you deserve it!
Congrats on the award!! I love your bag, the color is beautiful!
It can be a hard decision to make that change especially since you put in so much work already. But, you made a great decision for your blog and it will be worth it in the long run.
I usually shy away from change but when it comes to blogging i think it’s important to evolve. Congratulations on the nomination, your site is totally worthy! xo
Congratulations on your nomination! Your new site looks fantastic! Good luck with everything that follows 🙂
Congrats on the nomination. I think your blog looks great. I am still working on mine and trying to take things slow! I do understand why you declined as well. I see it as something bigger is in store!
I remember when I migrated my blog over to wordpress (by myself) and lost everything not knowing there was a proper way of doing it. I literally started from zero again but now I am happy with where I am.
congrats on the nomination
Honestly, sleep came to my mind first. I could stay up for hours upon hours. Yet I always find myself wanting to get a good balance and so I sleep.
As far as WordPress goes, I’m happy that I started with wordpress and found a theme I love.
Nina
aworldofdresses.com
That is the crux of Wix I know. I have a couple of clients who use Wix – not blogs, but website and it works great for these types of sites. But not so great for blogs. I happen to really like Wix a lot for other sites though!!
You are doing so well! And you look fabulous. I love this green coat.
Congrats on your nomination Ana. You deserve to be nominated. I love reading your post. Thank you for always sharing to us.
I think it’s great that you finally accepted the award. We’re all striving to be better and better, but it’s important to recognize the good in where we are now. I think taking on help for the blog was the biggest sacrifice I’ve made because it meant I had to cut my income in order to pay them.
That’s great that you were nominated. You must be excited about that. I also love your outfit here as always!
I’ve had to move a couple of times and it’s been tough. I think it’s awesome that you took the risk. WordPress can bring so much to the table when it comes to blogging.
Well done for making the move. WP offers so much more versatility with your own blog. I did the switch too years ago, lost everything, and then built it all back up again pretty quickly. Good luck!
Well done on a successful migration and retaining your rankings. Sometimes we have to make sacrifices to further ourselves, and there’s no shame in that. I’m glad you accepted your nomination and wish you the best of luck in the finals
Tamsin x
That was a lot of money to spend on a redesign but your blog does look lovely now so I guess money well spent! I’m sorry to hear you declined the award – you definitely deserved it!
I think you did the right thing when investing in the new site, I know it’s tough to lose all of that. Site looks so great now!
Ughhhh I hated when I changed my site and lost my rank etc… I wasn’t told that was going to happen so it definitely took me by surprise when it did.
Congratulations on the nominations and the successful migration. We blog for a hobby and really need to go self hosted next year in order to get better plugins for our theme. X scary step though…
So, I know what you’re going through. My hosting company outsourced, and what wound up happening in the end, was me losing my blog, my previous posts, all comments, my previous website, traffic, links, everything. I transferred my domain and have been trying to rebuild…it’s not easy, but I think I will be much happier.
I appreciate what you did in order to improve your blog. I think wordpress will cater to all your needs as a blogger. But don’t forget about your first blog because that’s where it all started! I wish you the best of luck, you’re going to establish good stats in no time, that’s for sure!
Change can be so difficult but sometimes it’s just what we need! Bravo to you for following your heart and congrats on your nomination! Well deserved!!
Girl I am due for a brand revamp as well so 2017 I will be able to do that. I need to for growth, I’ve had the same template I did 4 years ago its time.
Congratulations on the nomination I voted for you and I hope you win
Awesome that you bit the bullet and started over! Its your blog, do what makes you happy, you can always work back up to a good DA!
You’ve done a lot in the past year considering you’re relatively new to the blogging industry! We’ve all seen you progress and rock each post! I think it’s a good move!
Congratulations on the nomination, I changed over to wordpress about 2 years ago and it was the best decision I ever made x
Change is always good no matter what. I love your new site it looks much more polish. Congrats on your nominations bud xxxxx
Congrats and well done on taking so much pride in your blog. You should. It’s very polished. What’s the biggest sacrifice I’ve made for my blog? Time. A little money. But definitely time. It’s the most precious commodity so it’s quite an investment.
I admire you and the fact that you have set high standards for your blog. I am sure with time it will grow even bigger and better and all the hard work will pay off.
Oh wow Ana, what a gorgeous outfit this is <3 I'd love to own those gloves!
Louise x
I remember when I decided to migrate my blog from wp.com to wp.org It was a nightmare! But totally worth it.
I am glad you accepted your nomination. You are a phenomenal fashion blogger
1. Congratulations on your award nomination. That’s awesome and you should be proud!
2. Your blog does look fantastic but I completely understand never thinking it looks good enough. I always want to go through and change mine. But I’ve heard that constantly changing it is a turn off. Not sure how true that is.
I’m really happy you found the best solution for your blog backend. It’s very important to be running smoothly and reliable.
And I love your autumn outfit here! ;))
congrats on the change which to me is very good and a welcome development.
I can’t say I have actually made any big sacrifices for my blog. While I’ve been blogging for more than a decade, I never really meant to monetise it. It just sort of happened. But well done for making everything possible and good luck!
change can be so good even if it is scary. I’m so glad you managed to migrate everything over though. It’s horrible when you think you’re losing all of your hard work. x
Hope I could develop.my blog too like you did.
P.s love your coat!
Glad that you moved your site to WordPress. Now you’ll have more command on all the features and plugins!
I think it’s important to make changes so that you are completely happy with your blog. You’ve worked so hard on it, it’s important that it looks exactly how you want it to.
Oh my gosh .. I’m so glad you accepted the nomination. My heart sank when I read you’d turned it down. From one perfectionist to another .. I so understand and could see myself in your words. Bravo to you for your bravery .. for following your gut .. and for creating a space and a life that you love
Love this outfit!