We’re proud to announce the top three winners of our Yola Web Stars contest. Congratulations to all! Make sure to visit these wonderful sites. And stay tuned, because there are more winner profiles coming up.
First Place Winner: Hey! Sweet Thing
Hey! Sweet Thing’s Yola site is chock-full of goodness, from the clean, simple design and gorgeous photography to the easy navigation. Heather Jenkinson and Danielle Hornung, the founders of this Toronto-based business, did a great job of establishing themselves as experts with baking tips and a clever, informative blog that’s a treat to read. These Yola Silver members also have a custom domain name that sets them apart.
They tell us that their success had a very sweet spike once their Yola site was up and running. “In 2011 we’ve seen a 30% increase in business which I would attribute to our online presence,” explains Danielle.
“Once we expanded our business in 2010, we knew that word of mouth alone wouldn’t be enough to grow our client base,” says Danielle. “Now we have clients contacting us for orders. Having a great website instills confidence in our company and having visuals to support our work is great!”
She says that there are three things about Yola’s site builder that are absolutely vital to Hey! Sweet Thing’s success:
- Ability to display and add photos
- The Forms widget for a contact form
- Able to share lots of information
Great job, Heather and Danielle!
Second Place Winner: Aussie Cushion
With her beautifully designed site, Aussie Cushion owner Denise Carrasco shows how effective it can be to customize a Yola template. From the witty logo and banner design to her use of clean white backgrounds, Denise created the perfect online showcase for her collection of exclusive cushion cover prints.
Denise founded her business in 2008. “I wanted to share my designs with everyone, and thought “What better way than through the internet?” explains Denise. Denise bought a custom domain name with Yola. “I was born in Australia and love my country, so wanted to support it – my business name says it all,” notes Denise.
“Yola gave me the opportunity to reflect exactly what Aussie Cushions is all about, because I could give my site the right style and design,” Denise tells us. “I think all small businesses should be online – your Yola site is an advertisement for your business that’s accessible to anyone around the world, at any time of the day or night.” She’s happy to say that she’s received new customer inquiries out of the blue through her site, too.
Denise loves the new Photo Gallery widget, and when you look at her site, you’ll see why. She gives big props to the Yola Customer Support team, too. “They always offer up great opinions and solutions.”
Props right back at you, Denise!
Third Place Winner: Stories Out of Words
Stories Out of Words blends stunning design with strong copy for a beautiful site that’s a great experience on every page.
Site owner, writer, editor, and designer Kellie tells us she started Stories Out of Words at the end of 2010. Kellie had just helped a friend finish building a Yola site, and she decided to create her own to try to regain her confidence as a writer after a recent rough patch in her life. She made this gorgeous site by customizing a free Yola Style. “I revamped the free template by swapping widgets around, changing banners and links, and experimented with all sorts of things.”
“What I love about Yola is that I can access my site and work on it any time, any place,” says Kellie. “It’s always a work in progress, and will change all the time. I also use a lot of the fantastic Yola features, like the contact form that feeds to my email.”
Kellie credits the work she’s been doing through her Yola site as helping her recover from a debilitating bout with mental illness. “Being online has let me still achieve and work and do what I love. My site has been a major factor in helping me rebuild who I am as a person, to realize that life is too short to not pursue happiness.”
Thanks for those inspiring words, Kellie, and thanks for choosing Yola.
Congratulations to all the winners and all the entrants – you guys have done an amazing job!
Wow the Hey! Sweet thing site is amazing, I wish mine was so good, back to the sitebuilder for me haha!
Well done you deserved to win it’s excellent!
Wow. I never imagined how well a website can go by making it with Yola. I’m giving all of you guys a big thumbs up! I could never make anything that good!
Some very creative websites!!! Very inspiring to see what others can do with their Yola website builder. I think ‘Making stories out of words’ has a very nice homepage!!! Just one quick tip so that potential clients will place their trust in this site, specially with the proof-reading, resumes, & other services relating to writing being offered; organization is misspelled (organisation).