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Go Dog Friendly San Diego
How to make a travel blog during COVID? By leaning on previous experiences and carefully crafted adventures with your family - and DOG! This was a fun pandemic challenge; I was able to recall places I had traveled with my dog, Ginger, before the pandemic, and was able to get out of the house in a safe way to see some sights!
The challenge was to make a travel blog using a free, pre-made Wordpress theme. I learned fast that all the design bells and whistles of a "shiny" Wordpress theme did not necessarily add up to a theme that allowed for easy navigation and seamless content presentation and categorization.
I went with a theme that was easy to read at all screen sizes, plus allowed for unobtrusive, yet universal sidebars for easy content traversing. The name of the theme is "Ashe", and I felt it showcased images nicely, and allowed for overlays without a lot of extra decoration. The result is a simple, yet welcoming Wordpress travel blog that allowed for the images to tell most of the story-telling. (Plus, a really cute little dog.)
My Process and Findings
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#1: Many Wordpress themes have all kinds of features, but honestly, most of them are noise. It was helpful to write out my goals of my project before venturing in Wordpress Theme Land to prevent from repetitive theme testing.
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#2: I also wanted to include educational tip content for added value. In addition to visiting dog-friendly establishments and outdoor spaces, I included two tip pages: best practices for bringing one's dog to a restaurant and what to pack and prepare for a day trip out with your dog.
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#3: I also added in some Search Engine Optimization (SEO) fun into my content for an extra traffic boost.
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#4: Prioritizing content around a user's wants and needs was a bit of a challenge. Coming from the nonprofit world, I am used to just slapping on that donate button everywhere it can fit! Allowing a visitor to ramble is harder for me - but it was a good exercise in content placement, categorization, and navigation.
Why This Project Matters to Me
I love hanging out with my dog, Ginger! Her presence during vacations and day trips is such an added joy in my life. I would hate for any dog parent to miss out on those experiences, so I created a little travel blog to show that dogs bring so much to our everyday experiences - including travel!