Custom Genesis Theme for a Site Supporting Stepmoms

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Cathryn Bond Doyle has been supporting stepmoms for nearly 20 years, with advice and inspiration. She came to me for a total redesign of her website to help promote her new book, and due to a variety of other website issues.

Her previous site was old, was not mobile-friendly, had code errors showing on pages, and some of the content wouldn’t even display. The previous website developer had gone missing, and the website was on a hosting site that was using outdated software, and the website wasn’t secured with SSL (https).

I created a custom genesis theme for the project using the Genesis Framework, that is mobile-friendly and accessible, and makes it easy to find all the different types of support content that Cathryn provides for stepmoms.

The new custom home page provides a quick summary of the website, prominently featuring her new book—Stepmoms on a Mission, and also building trust with the section about Cathryn, and showing social proof with the testimonials. There are also sections describing all the ways the website can help, including self-help pages and the forum, and how to consult with Cathryn to benefit from her wisdom and for one-on-one help.

We choose colors and fonts to match the client’s previously designed logo and book cover. We imported all the content, reformatted all of it, and the client wrote new content for many pages.

I created a custom plugin with custom post types for each of the different types of content the client uses – her mailbox questions, her articles written over the years, and support recommendations from other stepmoms. I used custom templates for each with different navigation for each.

The stepmoms support forum was also using old, outdated software, and was not mobile friendly. So we updated the forum software, and I customized a responsive theme, so the stepmoms can easily view the forums on their phones. And I used fonts and colors to match the WordPress website, and customized the navigation, so the two are connected.

When the project was ready to launch, we moved it to new hosting that uses up-to-date hosting software, and added an SSL certificate, so the site is more secure.

The client also chose a Website Care Plan to keep her website and forum backed up and up-to-date.

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Thanks to you I have a beautiful, brand new, updated, technically compliant, efficient and user-friendly website that portrays me and my passion for helping Stepmoms and their partners.
Did I learn anything new? My goodness Yes! Almost everything I learned was new. You suggested, explained, taught and showed me things I didn’t know even existed that I am now so proud of on my site.

I would say this to others, ‘If you want to work with someone who does what she says, manages a zillion details so you can stay on track, is willing to look for solutions to solve challenges with a sense of shared commitment to your success–hire Marcy to help you with your site. If you are tired of worrying about your website and want to turn a chore into an enthusiastic tool to promote and run your business– hire Marcy. If you want a reliable, kind and creative person to work with who knows her stuff–hire Marcy.

–Cathryn Bond Doyle, Stepmoms on a Mission

This the home page.

custom genesis website for stepmoms support group

This is a secondary page.

custom genesis website design stepmoms support group secondary page