Very nervous, yet excited was how I was feeling last Wednesday. Why did I have butterflies in my stomach? Well, last Wednesday morning we switched over to the new version of the Lindy’s Cakes Website, our new branding and web design was being revealed to the world. A massive step forward for us, which feels to me like a complete metamorphosis. This slight apprehension was very similar to the feeling I get on book publication days and yet this was different. I guess because publishing a website is more all-encompassing of who I am and what I do.
Lindy’s Cakes Website – our evolution
In website terms, it has taken 17 years to reach where we are today, so time I think to be a little reflective. To see where we started and review how much has changed over time.
Leading the Way – First website launched in 2000
Incredibly, I built one of the very first cake decorating websites in the world! It was written in HTML which today looks extremely basic. I created it all myself, with a little help from a mum at the school gate who’d been on an HTML course. I remember being incredibly proud of the textured background I’d created and the buttons I made from scratch…they look a little naff by today’s standards! Back then as you can see below, I had a links pages where I connected with everyone else who had a cake decorating site at the time, that would be impossible today.
We added our shop to the website in 2005 and became fully automated in 2007. Yes, there was a time when you placed an order online and then paid for it separately, hard to believe now!
The First Upgrade – A professional site launched 2011
By 2011 technology had advanced hugely so I needed all sorts of help this time around. I remember loving working with a graphic designer to make the site look up to date and web developer who knew what was possible and could make things happen.
This upgrade included a professional eCommerce shop, which was quite a revelation at the time. But, as always, technology and trends move ever more swiftly forward and a mobile site became a must.
Our New Mobile Friendly Website – Launched August 2017
This has been a truly massive task, hence the title – more than a mountain to climb!
For me, one of the biggest challenges has been to produce all the landscape photographs needed for the new site. Cakes tend to be tall and thin these days and photographed as portrait shots. Current website design, however, calls for wide landscape shots and I had none! Anyone who has ever tried to photograph cakes will know they are not the easiest of subjects and even trickier if they are required to be landscape. I had to get creative…
Technology marches forward so as with our previous builds, I’ve been on a very steep learning curve. I love to learn and understand as much as I can, but I couldn’t have done all this alone. Bringing in professionals makes such a difference.
To find out more about the chances and our new website, take a look at my Facebook live video below
It’s still early days for the new Lindy’s Cakes website and we are still tweaking but I’d love to hear what you think. Do please leave your comments below.
Happy browsing
Sweet wishes
Lindy