2020 in Review: Staying Connected

A global pandemic, hundreds of miles between me and my clients, family and friends… What could possibly go right in this scenario?

There were huge challenges that came with a year spent far removed from the world, but let’s celebrate some wins, shall we? Here are some highlights from the year at Lydia Roberts Design.

The Work

These websites were very welcome work in a time of such uncertainty. Click each one to read more about the process.

• In addition to new websites, I completed several Mailchimp packages, built new features and new landing pages into existing websites, and launched exciting online courses using WooCommerce and LearnDash.
• Two sites I built this year have custom directories that are fun to explore. See Just Economics’ Living Wage Certified Employer Directory and de Vos Devine Law’s Library.
• I continue to offer Maintenance Care Plans to new and existing clients as well as hosting on Flywheel and now also on Kinsta.
• I also updated several sites stuck on outdated WordPress versions that had become in peril of breaking or security risks. I call these “site rescues”!

My contractors, Laura and Megan, deserve a round of applause for their work with me this year which included everything from migrating websites and content, research, and keeping sites up to date through many WordPress changes.

Virtual Connecting & Belonging

As a small business (and someone who works from home) I rely on relationships with clients, colleagues and friends to keep me busy with work. And this year despite the extreme physical distance, I was in some ways more connected than ever. I was able to make new connections over Zoom and enjoy long phone conversations with many clients about life in their neck of their woods.

I took advantage of the influx of virtual learning to attend WordCamp Asheville online, my local Las Vegas WordPress meetup group, and a slew of webinars and even an online wellness seminar. In December, I gave my first meetup presentation in a very long time, about free tools anyone can use to help their brand’s web design (see the presentation here).

Unrelenting Change

This was a year of unrelenting change in so many ways. WordPress released several major updates to its block editor (aka Gutenberg) which kept me on my own toes and also forced to me to expand my knowledge of themes and plugins and re-dedicate myself to building future-friendly sites, or websites that will work well with the coming changes.

I also enjoyed watching the annual State of the Word Address and learning about the long-term roadmap of WordPress. Here’s an impressive statistic from the address:

WordPress is now used to build 39% of all websites.

Six Years in Business

I’m deeply grateful to my network of colleagues, clients, and friends for coming back year after year to work with me and sending me referrals.

To celebrate six years in business and re-dedicate myself, I updated my branding and created some swag like these stickers.

Thank you for making my year.

Here’s to a happy and healthy New Year. See you in 2021!