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Home / Portfolio

Two Red Bowls

Written in: Oct 2019 🠆 Updated in: Nov 2019

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Two Red Bowls is a Food and Lifestyle blog by Cynthia McTernan

Cynthia and I had worked together over two years ago when she purchased a pre-made theme for her food blog and was looking for a developer to customize it.

We had a great time working together and kept in touch. Recently, Cynthia was looking to add more lifestyle posts to her blog and was looking for a new design to accommodate the slight shift in direction.

She sent over inspiration from a few blog designs she loved, and we got to work laying out a new design that would optimize not only her new categories, but also the years worth of great content she already has.

This time we built a theme from the ground up, just for her.

We also optimized the theme so she could start generating ad income from her blog, and that is off to a great start.

I ASKED CYNTHIA WHAT IMPROVED IN HER BLOGGING BUSINESS SINCE WORKING TOGETHER:

So much! Although blogging has changed dramatically over the years, I’m confident that my blog has kept pace with the changes because of your advice as to what people are now looking for in blogging vs. what they used to want. I needed the push from you to be reassured that ads were a good choice, and now I wish that I’d implemented them YEARS ago. And I feel a sense of security in knowing that my website is running more efficiently, loading images optimally, and is more SEO-optimized, and if anything happens, that you will be around to troubleshoot.

SHE FOUND THIS MOST HELPFUL:

I appreciated the ad advice and the SEO advice very much–not to mention your advice against using the out-of-date template I’d downloaded! I am gladder than ever that I found you.

SHE ADDED:

I trust your advice and your prices, I know you’ll always figure out a fix or explain why something isn’t possible, and give it your 200% to get to our goals. You are the most responsive, patient, engaged, and just simply lovely and positive person I’ve had the pleasure of working with–probably in any capacity, blogging or otherwise!

THIS IS WHAT CYNTHIA WANTED TO SHARE ABOUT WORKING TOGETHER:

I first found Christina years ago, when I had just spent so much money on terrible experiences with other developers that had not resulted in anywhere near a workable website. I was bummed and had even less in my budget for a website redesign than before, and yet Christina was able to turn it all around for me and in just a matter of weeks (after years of going nowhere with others!) for a stunning website that I used for years. Just recently, I decided on a website refresh, and didn’t think twice before reaching out to Christina again. This time, rather than work from a theme, we build the site from the ground up and the experience was every bit as wonderful as before. Christina is always responsive and unbelievably prompt in addressing questions and fixing issues. She is impeccably organized and detail-oriented, creative in troubleshooting, and offers thoughtful and innovative advice around keeping up with SEO and blogging trends, and she does it all at incredibly reasonable rates. Most importantly, she is just an all-around wonderful, positive, and lovely person to know and work with. I trust Christina with anything that web development-related and recommend her wherever I go.

READY FOR YOUR OWN BLOG MAKEOVER?
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In the categories: All work, Lifestyle Blog, Portfolio, Recipe Blog

Hey! I'm Christina

WordPress developer for bloggers since 2014, occasional blogger since 2011, code perfectionist. Passionate about helping you make your blog a successful business.

Let's Work Together

Pass Me Some Tasty Logo and Homepage
Foolproof Living Recipe Blog
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Hi! I’m Christina.

Web developer and former blogger. I’m here to help bloggers who have great style and vision, to build exactly the site they need to achieve their goals.

Want a successful blog?

Woo hoo! You should get a message from me soon (check the dirty spam folder if you don't see it. I look forward to getting to know you!

Want a successful blog?

Let me send you the checklist I go through for my clients so you can do a DIY blog audit, for free and make sure your blog is going to help you achieve your goals.

What's your hobby? (And first, please excuse my ba What's your hobby? (And first, please excuse my bad photography.🙈) Don't forget to share yourself with your readers. A personal connection with your readers can be so helpful for your long-term goals of helping more people with your blog. Share one of your hobbies with them once in a while. Also share one with me here, I'd love to read about it!

One of mine is 1/12 scale miniatures. Interior design + before-and-afters + TINY THINGS! Yes, I know it sounds lame, but it's worth being picked on for having
Do you write like you talk? When I started my own Do you write like you talk? 
When I started my own blog 9 years ago, as I sat down to write the first post, I decided to purposefully write like I talked instead of using more formal and proper writing. And I'm so glad I did. It's such an easy way to make your blog feel more personal and make your visitors feel like they're hearing from an actual person instead of a corporation.

If you're not sure, read your last post aloud. Is it something you would actually say, the way you would say it?

Yes...I KNOW...SEO... Just make sure to keep it balanced. And don't forget, Google itself wants you to write like a human being, for other human beings.
It's good to think about where you started once in It's good to think about where you started once in a while.

In Feb of 2016, I started Meyne, selling pre-made WordPress and Blogger themes for small businesses. But after having been a blogger myself since 2011, that was still where my heart was. So the focus shifted to blog designs, where I could help very cool people who have created their own careers and are earning a living doing a very fun (and deceptively hard) job. 
Meyne has come a long way and gone through so many changes/new ideas/bad ideas/fun ideas...you know, everything that comes with a business. But the best part is all the great people I've gotten to work with and be a part of THEIR businesses. 🥰
When your reader reaches the end of your post, tel When your reader reaches the end of your post, tell them what to do next. They will follow instructions more often than we usually realize. Need some ideas? ☑️ Save it on Pinterest
☑️ Sign up for your newsletter
☑️ Follow you on Instagram
☑️ Buy a product (yours or an affiliate)

Whatever your CTA is, just make sure you make it EASY for them to do it.

In WordPress, you can easily add some text to the bottom of your posts, with an image if helpful, and then give the box a colored background to make it stand out. 
P.S. Many food bloggers have the Instagram call-to-action at the end of a recipe (
We launched! I’m sure you all know Erika @thepan We launched! I’m sure you all know Erika @thepancakeprincess, she has such a cool and unique blog. She puts in SO MUCH work to bring bake-offs of all the popular recipes of the world together so that OUR job of picking the RIGHT recipe will be easy. I. love. her. blog. And was so excited to get to be part of re-designing it so we can all get the most out of her years of hard work and baking. Go straight to thepancakeprincess.com to check it out!
Still just showing your latest posts on your homep Still just showing your latest posts on your homepage? I’m talking TODAY about what you should show instead if you want more subscribers and a lower bounce rate in my talk for the Blogger Breakthrough Summit (over 700 bloggers signed up to watch! 😱). You can still watch for free if you sign up now. Link in bio! Or go to meyne.co/summit and see about a special bonus I'm offering if you buy a pass. 😃

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