Many of you have asked me how the LOVE UNCLUTTERED site came to be. Here’s the story (the short version anyway)…
It began with a message. A message that I believe to my core: the most important thing we can do for humanity is treat children with compassion, respect and gentleness.
I needed a platform to share this message with the world. It needed to be far-reaching and accessible. I also wanted to be able to share this message through my own stories of parenthood, both the successes and the failures. A website was the obvious choice. But I had three big obstacles to overcome:
- I was not a writer.
- I didn’t have a website or a blog, and I didn’t have the first clue how to create either (or what the difference was).
- I didn’t have the money to hire someone to design the beautiful website that I dreamed of.
So, I began writing. I was always a fairly strong formal writer but I’ve never had the casual, conversational style that I so admire and am more than a little envious of. However, I kept writing and eventually found my own voice, which I continue to strengthen and refine with every article I write.
At the same time I began writing, I also reached out to people who had created professional websites to learn how they went about creating their sites. I discovered that many had used WordPress and most had paid someone to design their websites. Then I met with my friend Jillian who had done it all at one point or another - she had hired someone to design a website, she had designed her own using Weebly, then WordPress, and she was looking to create a new website with Squarespace.
I checked out Squarespace on her recommendation and was immediately captivated by the clean, modern aesthetic. A quick look through their website and at their templates, and I was sold - Squarespace was a perfect match for me! They also made it look super easy to build your own website, and there were lots of videos to support you in the process. So I wasted no time in getting started.
Well, there was lots of support (which I was constantly accessing), but for someone who had zero skill in this area it wasn’t as easy as I had hoped. It was slow going, like really S L O W. I was essentially teaching myself everything as I went along. At this rate, I was never going to launch my site.
So, I connected with my friend again. She told me about a course that she was considering taking – a course by website designer, Kerstin Martin, called Squarespace 101. I decided to take it. And you know what? Everything changed. What had taken me hours to figure out on my own, she explained in minutes. Some things that I couldn’t figure out at all, Kerstin made easy in a single lesson. The few times I needed clarification or had questions specific to my site, Kerstin was readily available through her private Facebook group.
Squarespace 101 was a game-changer for me! Kerstin is incredibly talented and made website design accessible to me, someone without any background in this area. My only regret is that I didn’t take her course at the start of this process. It would have saved me so much time!
I was beyond excited to see that Kerstin recently highlighted LOVE UNCLUTTERED in her Squarespace 101 portfolio! Can you believe it? Six months ago, I didn’t understand the difference between a website and a blog, and now I have the beautiful site that I dreamed of featured on a prominent web designer’s website! If that isn’t evidence of her magic (after all, she does refer to herself as a Squarespace Genie), than I don’t know what is!
So that’s the story of how I built my website. I launched my full website in late August. I’m becoming a stronger writer, building a loyal following and, most importantly, getting the message out: Children matter. The way we parent matters.
“There is no single effort more radical in its potential for saving the world than the transformation of the way we raise our children.” - Marianne Williamson
So if you’re looking for me, you can find me here at LOVE UNCLUTTERED…advocating for children through the parents who love them.
xx Amy
P.S. If you are thinking of building your own beautiful website on Squarespace, and you could use a little help, Kerstin has extended an unbelievable discount to my followers: From now until the end of 2017, if you purchase Squarespace 101, you will get 50% off the cost of the course! Just use the promo code AMY50 at the checkout.