Jena Schwartz
This was such a fun project! Jena is an entrepreneur who:
writes books and poetry
leads online writing groups
facilitates in-person retreats
offers her editing services
serves as a coach, both virtually and in person
Needless to say, her website redesign was a huge project! I was excited to help her as I knew she had felt for a while that her website wasn’t up to snuff and she was drowning in the back end admin side of things…. but she wasn’t quite ready to make the jump. She had DIY’d her website and had only ever done everything herself, so trusting her work with an outside person was a big leap.
This is her old home page:
Her old home page was essentially just her blog — a long, scrolling page with full posts on it and a sidebar. If your blog is the main objective then that’s a perfectly fine setup. But if it’s not, then your home page should showcase your services and/or products and give people a clear path to your offerings.
Now her home page starts with a splashy header photo containing buttons linking to her groups and services, and it continues on as you scroll providing a visually engaging site that draws you into her world. The remainder of her site was designed with that same feeling in mind. Here is the new home page:
Jena’s website included:
Integrating email marketing, Acuity (automated scheduling), Moonclerk (automated payment forms), and Stripe (automated credit card processor)
46 photos sourced for the site, all containing individual image descriptions/alt tags for SEO optimization
All of her social media accounts are integrated
A detailed footer with a sub menu
9 extra large index pages (home page, bio page, coaching page, editing page, one for each of her 3 weekend retreats, another for her 3-month writer’s group, and finally one for her Community Writer’s Fund)
7 regular pages (a contact page, an education & credentials page, a publications page, and pages for each of her current online writing groups)
There are 5 contact forms in various spots throughout the site
There are two 2 application forms (one long form and one short form)
In total, there are 17 payment forms that are automatically linked with a payment processor and are integrated with individual email marketing lists
A blog set up with a subscription form that is integrated with her email marketing and set up with an automation sequence every time there is a new post
A newsletter form that is integrated and set up with an automation sequence that goes out to new subscribers
A feature to schedule a free introductory call with Jena that’s integrated with an automated online scheduler
A nine-session/3-month coaching package with three different tiers of pricing that is linked to a payment processor and an online scheduler with a 10-step email automation sequence for automated scheduling of the whole 3-month process
The site is 100% mobile friendly and fully SEO optimized
Jena has a custom domain, hosting & security
Google analytics and Google webmaster are setup
Now — as crazy as this project sounds — it was completed in one month because of Jena’s prompt communication. She answered emails quickly, she delivered materials to me quickly, she approved site questions and design elements quickly and she was 100% open to the process. She was ready for change, open to suggestion, and was an engaged and willing participant from start to finish.
After we were finished, Jena wrote a beautiful post about her experience and I’d highly encourage you to read it! While you’re there, go ahead and click around to see the ease of use for yourself.
And finally, here is a video taking you on a complete walk through of her old website and a full tour of her new website: