The Things You Have to Do

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“Ability and necessity dwell in the same cabin.” – Dutch Proverb

I recently had some trouble in my kitchen. My refrigerator had leaked intermittently for a dozen years. The floorboard underneath it finally got soaked enough that the wheel on the front left side fell through it. I had to shimmy the refrigerator out, assess the damage, fix the floorboards, and order a new frig.

It was a pretty intense week trying to get all that done so that the floor was sturdy and level enough for a new refrigerator. But when it was all done, I had a good laugh. Because… I don’t like to clean my frig. And now I had a beautifully clean refrigerator.

It reminds me of another task people don’t often like to do — update their web site design. It’s what my co-host Vicki Atkinson and I talk about this week on the Sharing the Heart of the Matter podcast: Episode 90: Site Design and WordPress Themes.

I know, I can hear you groaning from here. In fact, I’m groaning right along with you even though this is a large part of what I’ve done professionally for 30 years. Even if you only publish a private blog for your family, making things findable is important!

So if you are thinking about changing up your site or even just wondering if you should, I think there are some good tactics to help make this manageable.

Vicki and I talk through some of the design considerations to be mindful of like navigation and search. And then we look at the sections to consider when picking a theme like the header, footer, and sidebar.

I talk through some of the problems I’ve heard people have encountered when switching themes in WordPress like content disappearing and inability to revert back. I offer some strategies for avoiding that flavor of disappointment and disaster.

There is a presentation that gives these elements and examples to download as a companion piece to this podcast. Here’s the thing – tackling site design isn’t always fun, but it’s better when we do it together with some good approaches and tactics.

I’m confident you’ll love the scenic and beautiful places we explore as we share the power of storytelling as told through well-designed sites.

We know you’ll love it!

Search (and subscribe!) for Sharing the Heart of the Matter on Apple, Amazon, Spotify or Pocket Casts OR Listen to it from your computer on Anchor: Episode 90: Site Design and WordPress Themes

HoTM Episode 90 transcript

AND subscribe to our YouTube channel to see a video clip of each story: @SharingtheHeartoftheMatter.

Links for this Episode:

The PDF presentation of the ideas and process presented in this podcast conversation.

Vicki’s book about resilience and love: Surviving Sue

My book about my beloved father: Finding My Father’s Faith

(featured photo from Pexels)

46 thoughts on “The Things You Have to Do”

  1. Thanks, Wynne. In the weeks ahead, I’m sharing a website design post for authors, so your message came at just the right time. I hope that between your pay-it-forward post and my future article, we’ll help those new to building sites that perform as intended.

    Liked by 1 person

      1. I disabled the RSS feed because it caused strange formatting issues. Instead, I offer subscribers a monthly newsletter and I bullet summaries of the weekly posts as links. As further background, writers subscribe for a variety of reasons, and using the email statistics, I can discern those who are sincerely interested in applying the Trellis Method. The monthly newsletter helps me identify the individuals who engage from those who merely feign interest. This allows me to focus on those who want to write a book readers will love.

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  2. Sounds like a must investigate! I currently use the WordPress theme from 2013 as my base for making the days count. It’s old but it works. I keep telling myself I want to update and refresh, but I never seem to find the time or nowhere to look. I’m gonna tune into the podcast and maybe spend a little time over the next month figuring it out. Thanks for the help.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. My website dates from the 18th century, so this can only help. Thanks to the two talented twins who always find a way to help!

    Liked by 2 people

  4. Oh I can relate. I should really look at my site. I haven’t done a whole lot of cleanup and it shows. Ugh. But I kind of like your refrigerator example. Ha ha, maybe I need to throw it all out and start again. Ha ha 😜😜😜😝🥳🥳🥳🥳

    Liked by 2 people

  5. I’ve changed templates a few times on WP and oddly enough it was a breeze. HOWEVER now with the lawsuit looming over all of WP I am reluctant to try it. Maybe next year! 😉

    Liked by 1 person

  6. Can’t say I’ve ever heard of a refrigerator falling through the floor before! But I’ve changed my site design probably a dozen times over the years. Keeping it fresh helps inspire my creativity.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. At first I read your comment as, “Keeping it fresh helps maintain my celebrity.” Which could also be true! But you have a good point about inspiring creativity. I see that Vicki has you on point to podcast about that! Yay!

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  10. what an amazing skill set you have, wynne! it is so far out of my wheelhouse and I’ve been afraid to ‘refresh’ my blog, but we all probably need to do so from time to time. p.s. love the refrigerator story, and yes, one way to clean it out ))

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I notice you didn’t say “Thank you for always giving us just what we want.” Because of course no one really wants to do it, in my opinion. Thanks for tuning in, my friend! ❤

      Liked by 1 person

  15. Getting a clean fridge is goals! Congrats. 😊

    I loved the banter between you and Vicki and I know your readers and listeners will find the presentation as helpful as I did. Admittedly, I’d rather clean my fridge than find a new theme. 😆 But it is so important to change things up from time to time. Keeps the site and the creative juices flowing. 💕

    Liked by 1 person

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  18. I am always amazed how one home project spirals into another. I am glad you were able to replace your floor and get a new refrigerator. I agree cleaning the fridge is not a fun task. I only (deep) clean mines when I am prompted to replace the water filter which works out once every three months. I don’t know about updating my website design. I feel like changing it will be like making a quick run into my local grocery store, and everything has been switched around. Which always leaves me a bit flustered and annoyed. 

    Liked by 1 person

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