If you’ve ever wanted to create a travel blog that folks are actually excited to read, then you’re in the right spot.

I’ve spent nearly a decade in the travel blogging space, and let me tell you – creating a website that was functional, as well as beautiful – it’s not as easy of a task as you might think. At least, it didn’t used to be.

Let me give you a little run-down.

In the nine years I’ve had a blog, I’ve used:

• 4 different web hosts
• 6 different themes
• 3 different editors

and it took using all of them to realize that it should be a lot easier than all the guesswork and fumbling.

So what changed? In case you didn’t know, my travel blog has undergone a MASSIVE rebranding underhaul in the last six months. In fact, it used to be called Monochrome Minimalist – and looked nothing like it does today.

And I’m going to share with you exactly how I did it.

 

 

What are the essential things for a successful travel blog?

The thing to remember with creating a travel blog is threefold. And just so you know, I’m not talking about the content creation process here – this is all about creating the right environment to host your content.

 

1. You need to make space for beautiful imagery.

This, my friend, is a non-negotiable. It goes without saying, and take Instagram as my witness, people like to see the places and the things you’re talking about. They like to picture themselves having the experience you’re sharing. And your readers CAN’T do that without imagery taking center stage.

 

2. Your website needs to be easy to navigate.

This one goes without saying: a website you can’t find your way around is one you’ll never go back to. Put yourself in your readers’ shoes. Can they find where all of your blog categories are? Can they find the archives? Quick links? “About you” page? Where to snag any pretty awesome discounts? Make it so, completely, whack-you-over-the-head obvious how to get around your website, and I promise, it’ll make a world of difference.

 

3. Website design matters

Just like an easy-to-navigate website matters, so does website design. Similarly to prioritizing photography on a travel blog, having a beautiful website design and layout can help your readers see themselves jumping into your next story to share. Plus, going back to my first point, it helps make your images stand out.

 

 

How I Rebranded My Blog

I rebranded my blog six months ago. Then I did it again one month later – and it’s finally the design that stuck. And honestly, is better than I ever could have imagined it would be.

But how’d I do it?

Long story short, I thought that I could build a beautiful site template by myself with coding experience level of my Computer Science 102 class eight years ago.

Spoiler alert: while everything can be learned, I was not having fun doing this.

And I’ll tell you this – I’m the type of person that REALLY doesn’t like templates. The crazy thing is, that’s exactly what my site is based on. Bet you didn’t see that one coming.

 

SHOWIT enters the chat

Remember when I said I’d used a ton of site editors, web hosts, and themes? Well, I can tell you one thing. Showit (a super cool – and super powerful – web host that integrates directly with WordPress) is the last and only one I will ever use going forward.

I once heard it called “the Canva of web design”, courtesy of Jen Olmstead from Tonic Site Shop. And she’s right. What I’m getting at here, is that Showit makes it super easy to drag and drop your way through building your website – without the tears, without the headache, and without needing an entire bottle of wine to get you through it.

It’s a lifesaver and a total game-changer.

 

A quick date with Tonic Site Shop

Showit was a great starting point for me – and I actually made a trial site for my blog before I ever thought about purchasing a template. I tried out a couple of the free options from the Showit library, but there was nothing that was making my jaw fall to the floor to the point where I needed help picking it up.

Now, this is where I started searching for a starting point. I didn’t want to recreate the exact same site that I’d had before. Even the version that I’d make when I was trying to code it. To be honest, it felt like I was trying to be someone other than who I was.

Enter Tonic Site Shop.

I’d seen their templates before. I’d balked at the price. But there was something there that just kept pulling me back in. For those of you wondering if they’re worth it, YUP.

For my blog, I wanted something editorial. Clean. Minimal. Something that let my photography do the talking, and let me add just the right amount of drama with my words.

You wouldn’t even believe the sigh of relief I had when I hit the “buy now” button. It took a day to migrate my site over from my old host, and five minutes to install my new template – within the week, I had an entirely new blog that FINALLY felt like me. No more pretending, no more “almost but not quite”.

For my blog, it was honestly the best decision I could have made.

 

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If you’re feeling a little stuck when it comes to your website, give Tonic Site Shop a try. You can get 15% off of their ENTIRE site (website templates, Canva social media templates – you name it) with the code ‘GRETCHENREESE‘ at checkout.

OR

Grab a free month of Showit on me – just use the code ‘GRETCHENREESE‘.

You’ll be glad you did!