8/25

A fresh new design for ABM!

Uncategorized
By Elsie Larson

Finally- a new site design!You guys! We're so excited to launch a fresh new blog design today. It's been way too long. Our new design was created by Promise Tangeman (she co-wrote our Blog Design Love 2.0 e-course!) and coded by our staff developer, Philip Bowles. 

Here's a quick list of the new features, upgrades, and stuff we're excited about! 

• Updated archives

This is huge!! Before this update we were manually coding our archives, and they were horribly out of date! We were months and months behind. Our new archives update automatically, so they will always be updated from here on out! They are also much more organized, with sub-categories, so now you can search for recipe ideas by category and decor ideas by room! 

Try them out by clicking "FOOD, HOME, TIPS" etc. at the top of the page, right under the banner. 

• Easier to navigate through new posts  

Many of you had told us in the past that it was just too hard to keep up with our content, especially if you missed a few days or a week. We've added a "continue reading" to all posts after the very first one. This means you can click through pages of content to quickly see all the new posts without loading every single photo on every post. It's faster! 

• Bigger content photos 

This is just a small update, but we care deeply about our blog photography, and we're excited to have the main content photos be just a little bit larger! Drag your browser to be a little wider to see the size difference if you aren't already seeing it.

• Browse by category 

At the bottom of the page you can view all the archives at once, or browse by category. We've never had such a fast and efficient way to view such a large amount of content. We're super excited about this! It has "lazy load," which means you can keep loading more posts forever until they run out. 

• Mobile friendly 

Our blog is now easier to read, search, and navigate on mobile devices! It looks clean and simplified. 

We're so excited!!!!

As always, we know the update is not perfect yet, so we anticipate at least a week of bug testing to get everything running like we need it to. If you notice any bugs, feel free to email us at support AT redvelvetart DOT com. Please include your browser and operating system with a detailed description (screen shots are very helpful) of the bug you are experiencing. We're tackling some Safari-specific issues as we speak.

Thank you so much for your support! We are super excited to start the new season with this new site and share many new adventures with you. Love, Elsie, Emma, and the ABM team 

P.S. Also, we have to pass a huge thank you to Typepad for working directly with us to get some of the trickier parts of the code nailed down and making new features within this update possible.  

221 Comments

  • Congratulations! Your site looks great 😀 And I’m so glad your archives are up to date now, it’s been a bit difficult finding back to recipes lately 😉 Hurray for categories and sub-categories!

    xo
    Camilla

    Reply

  • Hi!
    I have to ask, is there any plan to lounge the ABM-app as a program for Windows? It would basically be a dream come true!

    Heaps of love, and thanks for a great site!

    Jukia

    Reply

  • I love the new top bar that drops into categories. I usually don’t read the recipes blog post when I’m just reading your blog but sometimes when I was ready to go grocery shopping I wanted to pull up a recipe I had seen and I could never find it. But now with that bar I can go to the grocery store with the blog open and choose a recipe I want to try. THANK YOU!

    Reply

  • I ADORE the new navigation for the achieves!!! I just moved last month and have been redecorating–and digging through your archives for specific posts I remembered from months (or years) ago for inspiration. This makes it some much easier!! Love LoVE LOVE!!! You guys are fab!

    Reply

  • To me, this just feel better! I love the homey yet sweet atmosphere it creates. Beautiful design and I love that you decided to change it up completely. I’m a big fan of doing my own websites and I’m in the middle of designing a new one right now. Yours is just charming and befitting of the both of you!

    Sincerely,

    Laurali Star

    Reply

  • I’m not sure if this would even be possible, but if it is, I have a recommendation/request for a future update. You have so many different kinds of posts (all wonderful), but I particularly love the food & drink posts and don’t have the time or the need for the ones surrounding home décor or DIY – would it be possible to somehow let your readers choose the categories they wished to follow? Or maybe you can’t by nature of how Bloglovin’ works? Anyway, I’d love to know. 🙂

    Reply

  • It is so amazing!! After navigating through your site every day for almost a year now, I was blown away! ABM…you don’t stop amazing me. Keep up the good work!

    Reply

  • I love the clean look and the layout of the posts. Much easier to scroll through. Thank you for all your lifestyle inspirations!!

    Reply

  • I love love love the new website!! It’s so crisp and clean and organized!!!!!! So excited! Also, can’t wait for your book to arrive on my doorstep!! Yay!!!!

    Reply

  • I LOVE the new archives!!!Way easier now. Me personally, I dont like clicking on the “read more” button. I like to scroll down the page and see the content all out.But hey I guess that’s just me right, Ill have to get used to it now:( An up button would be nice:) I dont like scrolling back up to the top.

    Reply

  • It looks beautiful! I’m on mobile (iphone) and everything is working great! I even tried to scroll to the bottom and it kept loading more beautiful content for me to check out. It looks wonderful ladies!

    Reply

  • YAY! It looks SO GOOD you guys! I opened it this morning and actually hopped in my chair! It’s so fresh and clean and CUTE!
    Way better than expected. You should be super proud and pleased.

    Reply

  • What a beautiful new design! I especially love the new Header you’ve choosen. It is rather minimalistic but the two of you in the corner make it look special. It just fits your blog perfectly. 🙂
    xo hope

    Reply

  • The mobile version is so good! It’s way easier to navigate now. Love, love, love it <3<3<3

    Reply

  • this is gonna be pretty sappy – but i’ve just gotta say it 😀 I’ve been a devoted reader since wayyyyyy back when you STARTED this blog, elsie. for someone who doesn’t know you in real life, i sure have seen you go through a lot of phases in your life and career, and yesterday when i clicked on my ABM icon – i was teary eyed looking through your gorgeous new website. i’m so proud of and happy for you and emma and your families and work teams…. like i said on instagram – this new site is a beautiful representation of where your business has been, and all that lies in the future for you. you are a constant source of beauty and inspiration, and in this tough life- that is DESPERATELY needed. i’m proud to be a longtime reader, fan, and supporter 😀 <3 love to you all and congratulations on EVERYTHING <3

    Reply

  • Congrats! I looks beautiful. Very clean and easy to read. I love it. I’m working on a redesign as well.

    PS – Good luck on your Bloglovin Award nomination. I voted for you guys!

    x
    V
    Life+1

    Reply

  • It looks so good! And I seriously LOVE Elsies dress and now I’m taunted by it every time I read your blog (which is everyday)!
    Jordyn
    Pretty Lovely

    Reply

  • I love the new design! It’s very fresh and really easy to navigate through.

    Reply

  • are you discontinuing the “at home with…” section? i love the new site but wondering if those archives could be more easily accessible i love looking through them for cool house ideas. also very cool print dress on emma!

    Reply

  • Oh wow- I love it. I’m like seriously excited for these new subcategories… lol. I’m such a nerd.
    Congrats you guys!!

    Reply

  • I love everything except the “continue reading”. It makes total sense for those who have missed a few days (or more) of posts, but it kinda feels like it cuts off content, especially the pictures, and that is something that is important to me when I am browsing. I whizzed by so many posts because of this new feature, but I love ABM, so I’ll adjust I’m sure!! Cheers to the new space!

    Reply

  • I love the new layout and all the sub-catergories and how it’s way easier to see all of the content however I miss the colour from before! It always made me so happy to see the bright bold colours of the heading and tabs before and this minimal colour palette is just a major change from that that’s going to take some getting used to for me. Otherwise, I love it! Congratulations to the whole team 🙂

    Reply

  • i like the new space! i think it will definitely be easily to catch up on post with this layout. and the new archiving system? sweet! i wonder how long it takes to convert a webpage to something like this, and if it’s super expensive.
    also, seeing the “home” button at first though was confusing, bc i thought it was for the home page… it might be easier for most if that section was titled differently like “living” or “spaces.” love the new look! and also how you all converted your clickable links

    Reply

  • This is amazing. You two beautiful sisters have been an inspiration in my life since 2012 and honestly, it has been a pleasure watching you develop and nurture your talents and passions.

    Reply

  • I ADORE this new look! It’s so friendly for browsing your vaults of content… I can see myself getting lost for hours if I’m not careful 🙂 You guys are such an inspiration to me! Keep up the great work!

    -Charlotte
    boyerfamilysingers.blogspot.com

    Reply

  • I open this site everyday, when I sit infront of my laptop in the morning…
    Today, I thought I may have entered any other site, & then realised… Oh WOAH!!!! It looks beautiful & refreshing.. I’ll go through my phone too! 😀
    Wish you more progress! <3

    Reply

  • Yay!! I mostly use my phone when checking in on ABM. This will make it much easier. Plus just love the whole aesthetic. Have to say not a crafter, nor do I do DIY, and my style is a lot more boring and conservative, but I just love the happy vibe and enthusiasm of this site.

    Reply

  • I really like the new design. I love the “continue reading” style. You do such a wide variety of posts, which is great, but it was tedious to scroll through the posts I wasn’t interested in.

    Reply

  • I’m reading this on my mobile phone and love that it is so clean, simple and easy to use! Congrats on the new layout guys!

    Reply

  • Hey Elsie and your beautiful team,
    I really love this update!
    Mint is a refreshing yet comforting colour and i love it!

    just a little thing to mention.
    i’m on google chrome on windows,
    some part of my blog text body is cut of at the back when i’m on 100% view.
    i guess it something gotta do with the width alignment.
    i tried viewing in other percentage and it’s the same so i think some minor adjustment needs to be done so that I will be able to to view the full text without words cut off.

    otherwise, all’s great!

    Cheers,
    Caroline

    Reply

  • Awesome. I didn’t mind your other blog face, but this one is most definitely impressive!!

    Reply

  • Not sure if anyone’s mentioned this, but I’m having trouble pinning now — when I hit the “pin it” button, it goes to the Pinterest screen but no photos come up. I’m using Firefox on a PC. Could have nothing to do with the new design, but I just noticed now and normally it works fine!

    Reply

  • Wow i love the new blog design! It fits your style! I’m so happy to seeing this guys 🙂

    Reply

  • Great job guys! Love that there are dropdowns in the nav with more specifics for categories!
    You guys are a huge inspiration — currently taking your ecourse “Blog Life” and LOVING it!

    Reply

  • Hi! Since the design update, I am no longer receiving your posts on my reader. I used Feedly. Did the RSS or something change? The last post I received was the one just before the new design launched. Thanks!

    Reply

  • I find that the way the FAQ questions and answers are written can be a little hard to read. Nevertheless, I love the new design!

    Reply

  • Wow, this looks AWESOME! I will say, that part of me misses the rainbow colors(?) you used before, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE how clean and refreshed your space (not to mention all of the easy ways to navigate your blog and your archives!). Congrats on the new look! I love it. 🙂

    Reply

  • congratulations to ABM ,first i thought i was in a wrong page but no ,but i must say this site looks very fresh and modern and i absolutely love this look <3

    Reply

  • I’ve been a reader since before I even started blogging, and hey! I loved the old look…but I must admit this one was like a breath of fresh air!

    Reply

  • I have to say, I really miss all the color, but I understand that the more neutral colors will help the photography in the individual posts stand out. The design is lovely though, it will just take a bit to get used to it!

    Reply

  • Congrats, guys! The site looks awesome! I’m especially thrilled about the mobile version aspect, since I love checking out your posts while I’m in line, at the doctor’s, etc.

    Cat
    http://oddlylovely.com

    Reply

  • Love the fresh new look! Wish we could keep scrolling through to the next blog post when hitting “continue reading” though, rather than going back and forth or opening a new tab! Free People’s blog allows for this, just a suggestion! 🙂

    Reply

  • Would you be willing to give a tutorial on how you automatically update your archives? I’ve been wanting to do this forever but haven’t found the time to figure it out.

    Reply

  • There’s something in the top banner that I don’t like, but overall the new layout is a huge improvement; it’s quite clean and easy to navigate.

    One little suggestion, please add some space after the image and before the text/paragraph, it’s very hard to read this way, it breaks the reading rhythm.

    Reply

  • I lovelove love the new design! It is so minty fresh. I have been a long time reader of ABM and find you ladies to be so inspiring. Thanks for doing what you do!

    XOXO

    Reply

  • Lovely! I noticed the bigger photos right away…very nice change to help show off your beautiful photography!!

    Reply

  • Hi Kerrie,
    We aren’t sure. We didn’t change our RSS. Maybe try adding us again? We use Bloglovin’ and it’s still working in there. Sorry I can’t be more helpful.
    Thanks for reading!
    Elsie

    Reply

  • I love that it’s now optimized for mobile, but previously I liked how I could just scroll through without having to click through to individual posts. Now, some posts are expanded but for some I have to click on “continue reading”. Is there a way I can read continuously without having to click through? Or make it so that when I click “continue reading”, it expands instead of moving to a different page?

    Reply

  • I think the new blog design is nice, but I do have one thing to point out. Since there’s no padding blank space around the blog, the content on the left side seems to run off the edge of my screen. That makes reading posts rather difficult since it seems like the writing is running off the screen so I’m missing words. If you guys could input just the tiniest bit of space between the left edge of the blog and the leftmost part of your posts, I think that would be easier to read and less likely to seem like parts are being cut off.

    Reply

  • Even thought I like the clean look, I miss the DIY-vibe your page had before. And the “continue reading”-button is a bit of a drag, to be honest. I love seeing you try new stuff, but this design doesn’t reflect what your blog stands for.
    xoxo
    Sophie

    Reply

  • Mostly love, but the photos are so big I can’t see them fully on my screen. 🙁 Maybe it just takes adjusting to. Looks great on my ipad though!

    Reply

  • As i do miss the old simple version…this is really user friendly, especially with the archives and all the categories..and i totally notice the huge pictures..

    xo

    agoldentulip.blogspot.com

    Reply

  • The new design is awesome!!! It’s super slick, yet still uber groovy. The big photos truly make the blog pop too! Thanks for updating the archives and all, I can loose track of time (in a good way) scrolling through your archives, and not there’s more to delve into. You guys are awesome 🙂

    Reply

  • This is amazing! I especially like the way you’ve organized your “home” archive. Well done!

    Reply

  • I read everyday on my ipad. With the new design I can’t “stretch” anything bigger!? Middle aged eyes make this a must feature for me.
    Any help with this problem?

    Reply

  • I check this blog almost everyday….wierdo, I know, but I was pleasantly shocked! Awesome design!

    Reply

  • Love it. Well done guys thats a huge change! Loving the pops of pink, moody blue green and chartreuse.

    Reply

  • I like the new look but im sorry guys I don’t like the new format.
    One of the main reasons I love your blog (other than content) is the format of the blog.
    It was simple. I could just scroll down thru the posts to the bottom of the page. All the photos were large and colorful.
    I hate all this fancy stuff, having to click into a post and then click back out to get back to where you were.
    I hate that.
    It is one HUGE reason I don’t like some other craft blogs, their content is good but the blog is too hard to navigate.
    Maybe its just me, maybe this is EASIER for most. Well not for me, it makes it all complicated and I don’t enjoy that.
    I miss your old blog…….It was simple and that felt more honest. This feels all commercial and mainstream-y… sorry….

    Reply

  • I really love the design, it feels more ABM!! The mobile site (I have an Android phone) seems like it takes awhile to load and the advertising keeps popping up while I’m reading and messes things up. Other than that… I LOVE IT!!!

    Reply

  • Exciting!!! Love, love, looooove the new photo banner!
    Congrats on another ABM success!

    Memoirs of a Pilgrim
    pilgrimmemoirs.com

    Reply

  • Why oh why did this ABM have to jump on the “Continue Reading” link bandwagon? I personally liked being able to just scroll through the pages and view all the content – especially when I used to peruse the archives for inspiration. And yes, sometimes I would start at the first post and read through. But, it was bound to happen eventually…analytics being the important things that they are these days. Sad, I loved this blog…but now, I doubt I will be checking out the site as much now or spending as much time on it either. Phooey.

    Reply

  • Refreshing indeed 🙂 I love it <3

    But I must admit that since I'm here EVERY DAY since Elsie started, it'll take me a 'lil while to get used to the change

    Reply

  • Just wonderful site and you know what? I got your book yesterday, yeah, freshly arrived in Switzerland :-)) It is so full packed of wonderful ideas, today, I plan to go to a huge hardware shop with a even bigger shopping list, and this because of YOU both!!!
    You are so creative, I love you girls 🙂
    Could I write a book review for our Swiss Quilters Guild revue and post it also on my blog?

    Reply

  • I kind of miss the old desing because I’m used to see it everyday!It was my happy place!
    But this new design is beautiful, very fresh and the top bar with all the archives is so helpfull!I can see all the work behind!
    Don’t get me wrong, I love the update but I’m one of those people who is always a little bit afraid of step forward and accept changes!even though once I do it I LOVE it!
    Anyways, I’m already loving your new site and i’m sure I’ll get used to it soon!

    Thank you for all the inspiration!You are the best!!

    Ester 🙂

    Reply

  • you look great.I love this page and ı asked that your shoes mark? always same style and this red one especially so sweet? 🙂

    Reply

  • Really like the brand new design!!! i got a question and gonna try to ask it with my not-so-good english! Do you think it will be possible one day to do on your site a bit like pinterest? like do some login with passwords for people who want that and so we could add our favorit posts of ABM to subcategories like DIY, home, ect… So when we are ready to try, it will be much easier to find for us! I am not sure i explained it very well, hope you get the idea!!! Can’t wait to have your second book in my hands!!

    Reply

  • Congrats! Looks great, and it’s a nice reminder that I should probably freshen up my own blog design…

    Reply

  • I have been reading your blog for a long time and I always loved the layout. This is beautiful though! Always inspiring me. Especially since I started up my own blog, its so great to see others who are true successes.

    Reply

  • Praise the Lord a “continue reading” button! Some of us still out in the boonies continue to have painfully slow Internet and not every post is one I really want to read anyway (im not a big fan of cooking). Horay!

    Reply

  • Love the improvements, except please enlarge the font of the Comments. They are almost impossible to read.

    Reply

  • Super happy to see you teaming up with someone as talented as Promise Tangeman! She’s been my hero for quite some time now. Love the new design!

    Reply

  • I’m in love!!! This is such a great improvement and I’m a big fan of well organized and clean designs! The only thing I’d like to add is that the reading experience could benefit of a bigger line-height in texts.

    Congratulations to all the people involved in this new design!

    Reply

  • I love the new design! The drop down bars are my favorite, it makes it so much easier to find specific posts! xo

    EsraSevgi.com

    Reply

  • The thing that I love the most in your blog it that the content is always open!
    And I can saw everything just scrolling the page, but now i need to open everything.
    the blog now is cleaner and still beautiful. But I really don’t get why hid the content in little blogs inside a big blog.

    Reply

  • I personally liked the older version, was a lot more cheerful…but hey ho. Still like the site, been following you guys for years.

    Reply

  • Ive followed your blog for years and love it but honestly I have to say it but i prefer the old format. I read it on my samsung tablet 10″ and not sure if you are aware but it cuts off some text on right hand side… you may want to look into this.

    Reply

  • Also strongly agree… your old blog layout was a massive attraction compared to other blogs were you have to click in and out of stories ptefer everything on one page

    Reply

  • Looks great! I think it suits you very well. I received my Happy Homemade book this morning and just finished reading it. Love it. Can’t wait to get started on some of those projects!

    Reply

  • I really don’t like the new design. The colour palette looks cold and unapproachable. I also don’t like how disjointed the front page looks with the newest post being huge and then older posts being so small below.
    Unfortunately I don’t feel comfortable visiting ABM anymore with the changes and find it difficult to read posts so I won’t be a continued reader which is a shame because I think ABM has been a pioneer in other areas of blogging.

    Reply

  • I agree as well. The older format was much more down to earth and “real.” The new design seems very contrived and blah with no joy. And the having to click through to read the content? Big thumbs down from me. Why do you have to make it so hard to read the content?

    Reply

  • Sorry ladies but I really don’t like the new design. I love all the stuff you do but unfortunately not this. I only look at blogs on my phone and the fact that I can’t look at the web version makes it cumbersome to navigate. I liked seeing the whole article at a glance and having to press continue and then go back if I want to continue reading other articles is frustrating.

    The colours are lovely and the re-categorisations are great.

    Reply

  • Wait. You figured out how to automatically archive your posts?! Dear lord that is earth shattering! I would pay a lot of money to learn how to do that! Archive coding does take soooooo much time and is so fickle with formatting! As a customer of bloglove courses I am so interested in how to do this! Any tips? ( probably just hire your graphic designer eh?)

    Reply

  • Trying to like it but sorry, I think it’s lost the personal touch. Looks like any other commercial blog now.

    Reply

  • I’m not really a fan of the new design, it doesn’t “FEEL” like I’m on ABM .
    It’s not as “warm” and inviting as it used to be. *shrug*

    Reply

  • This looks great!!! Good job gals…it’s so fresh and so clean, clean 😉 Love it, love it, love it…as usual =)

    Reply

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