[THIS POST IS FROM 2019. If you’d like to see the updated 2024 project overview, click here.]

Please note that this post contains affiliate links and any sales made through such links will reward me a small commission – at no extra cost for you :)

Taylor of Namaste Photography is a wedding, couples and family photographer based in New England.

Before working together, she felt lost about her website. She had a vision for what she wanted, but after years of trying to do it herself, she was drifting further away from it.

She felt like her DIY website was lacking emotion and cohesiveness, specifically a disconnect between the words and the images on the pages. She didn't know where to start, what to add, or even really what to do make it all come to life.

“Honestly, I felt like if I didn't do something about it NOW I wasn't going to and I would be missing out on even more amazing clients.”

That’s where I came in to work my magic 😉

Through the process of working together, I gave Taylor’s online presence a complete facelift with a visual brand and website she had been longing for.

Step 1: Logo Design

Taylor’s mission is to document life's fleeting moments and turn them into forever memories for each one of her clients. Her promise is to capture every moment with honesty, authenticity, and love.

So it was no surprise that she wanted her brand/website to exude feelings of nostalgia, elegance, and love. She wanted muted, earthy tones like different tones of greens and sands.

So first, we started with the mood board before expanding into the color palette. These were the original options.

Then we narrowed it down to the final choice.

Next was the logo design. My clients get 9 logo options - 3 main concepts with a couple variations each. These are first shown in black and white so the focus is on the actual design, not the colors. In the middle example below, I wanted to showcase how a color would be applied since the “np” was faded in the background for a couple options.

Here are the initial ideas I put together for her.

We narrowed it down to the bottom left examples, and then she went with 1.2.

Next was the alternative logo, presented on the right. These are round so that they fit in a square format, and are great for business cards and social media graphics.

Step 2: Branding Style Board

Next comes the rest of the rest of the visual brand elements:

• Favicon

• Finalized font choices

• Graphic elements

• Textures

Here was the final brand style board.

I added Old Standard TT as paragraph font, and we found some fun graphic elements from Creative Market that were used on the site. Taylor also loved the “ripped” texture effect.

Step 3: Website Design

Taylor’s biggest struggle was creating a vision for her website, then sticking to one vision/branding style and implementing it all the way through. She also struggled with keeping the site up to date and organizing the media so it flowed cohesively and maintained her envisioned aesthetic.

Her goals for the website were for someone to scroll through her galleries with ease, read more about her and her story, and fill out a contact form. At its core, she wanted to make sure the website was very easy to navigate. It was also important that the aesthetic of her website felt authentic to her and her brand.

As with any website design project, I started with the homepage before moving on to the rest of the pages.

Taylor loved a minimal look and feel, and that’s exactly what was delivered.

Time for some before and after photos!

Below are before and after screenshots of these pages: homepage, about and wedding investment.

Homepage: Before

Homepage: After

About: Before

About: After

Weddings: Before

Weddings: After

Some of the pages above were shortened for this post, so you can click below to see the full pages.

All my website projects allow for 4 revisions, but we mainly used them for minor tweaks here and there. All the images were optimized and all the SEO settings were in place.

Step 4: Website launch

At the end of the project, we hopped on a Zoom call, where we moved the domain from the old website to the new one, transferred site ownership, and set up Google Analytics/Google Search Console so she could start tracking that data!

Since Taylor had built her DIY website with Squarespace, the guided walkthrough was a breeze. But it’s always important that my clients understand the backend and know how to make changes on their own.

I handed over all of the design files, Canva links, and gave her access to my client library of video tutorials.

She was really excited about the launch and I’m so grateful to have worked with her on this project.

Here's what Taylor had to say about working with me...

“The thing I loved most about working with Lauren is the organization and efficiency she brings to the project. Both of these things I value so much especially when it comes to my business.

Since one of my fears was getting off track from my vision and the timeline, that was quickly put at ease when I was sent our timeline, my assigned tasks, and the process of culling pieces to form my vision in a tangible form.

Another thing I loved about working together, was how much she cared about what the end product is going to be for ME. I didn't feel like just another client in the books, I felt like I was her one and only focus and so was my website. And for that, I am truly grateful.

The new website has brought my business to LIFE. I feel like everything else was aligned except for my website. I had the work, the testimonials, the social media presence, but when it came to my site it fell short.

With my new website, I feel my brand, message, and personality is clear and shines through more than ever!! Now I feel confident to send out my website link and feel proud to share it. The knowledge and ease Lauren brings to this are so invaluable.

If you’re considering working with Lauren, DO IT NOW. Stop reading the emails and silently agreeing with everything Lauren is saying. Take the time, put in the work, and know it's worth it. Invest in YOU. Invest in your WEBSITE. You are not going to regret it - Lauren will bring your vision to life.”

View the live website!

Are you looking for a website redesign like Taylor?

I’d love to connect! Click the link below to view my packages and set up your free 15 minute consultation!