SURPRISE!!

Did you figure it out!?!

YOO HOOO!!! My website got a make over. I know what you are thinking... you are saying to yourself "She just made over her site in January". And you're right, I did. But it just never really sat well with me. I thought it looked fine, but wasn't really "me".

Way back in March, I sent an inquiry to www.lightningbugdesigns.com about having a new site developed. I was turned on to them by Cindy at Sweet Bead Studio. I loved so many of the sites in their portfolio. But at the time I thought, I just got a new site, I better stick it out for a while, and didn't follow up. Then one day I got an email from Leila at LBD letting me know what they were increasing their rates, but since my inquiry came in before the increase, they would honor the old prices if I signed on. It didn't take any convincing!! I signed right up!!

I have loved working with Leila and Lauren, the designers at LBD. If you are considering a new website... these gals know ecommerce sites. They are worth every penny!! Plus, the hosting service they recommend is half the cost of Pappa Shop and the shopping cart service they use is FREE!! In the long run, it'll be a great savings!

Okay, I know, I know... yeah yeah... you are saying "Kerry, it looks great but...."

But... what happened to your "Galleries"? We loved looking at all the pics of your old beads and jewelry!! Well, I started a Flickr Gallery to share all my images with you!! And there are already almost 100 photos loaded to get you started drooling again. Go check it out!

But... what is with this "log in" thing? One of the cool new features about the site is that it builds you an account. You can log in to view orders you have placed, track shipments, sign up for newsletters, it saves your shopping cart items so they are there until you delete them. Plus it has an address book so you can send gifts to alternate places!! How cool is that?!?

But... how come I don't see "Necklaces", "Bracelets" and "Earrings" in the "Jewelry Shop" anymore?!? Well, I thought it would be fun to try a new way of shopping... by color!! I have sorted my designs into three basic color groups... "Classics" which are black & white designs... "Brights" self explanatory there... and "Earthy" for all those rustic color combos I do. We are gonna try this for a while and see how it works. If you all complain, I'll change it back!!

Other new cool things... I can create "coupons" for things like "A 10% off day!" or "Free Shipping Month" or anything else I can come up with. I can also "see" when people are online. That is really cool!! I can log on it Zen Cart and see when people are online, where they are located and what they have in their carts. I like that one. There are just so many cool features, I can't keep up!! It'll be fun exploring all the new tools.

So let me know what you think!! On the new website click the "contact" link in the lower right corner!!