Exciting news from Athena Magazine – our brand new website is finally up and running, and we couldn’t be more excited to share it with you all!  If you’ve been following us since our launch last year, you might remember that we initially put together a very quick holding page just to get something online. It did the job in the short term, but as time passed, we knew we needed something that truly reflected the heart and soul of Athena.

The Journey to a New Website

When we launched Athena Magazine last year, we were eager to dive in and start creating content. We had big dreams for the magazine, but we also knew the importance of having a strong online presence. So, we threw together a simple holding page – something quick and easy just to get us started. Our plan was always to update it after the first issue launched. But, as it often happens when you’re juggling a million things, time got away from us. The website we’d intended to update after a month ended up staying live for an entire year!

Both Fran and Stacey have experience building websites for their own businesses, so our original plan was to build one ourselves. However, with everything else on our plates (running the magazine, managing our other businesses, and trying to keep up with the demands of day-to-day life) the website kept getting pushed further and further down the to-do list. Which we know is a familiar story for so many women in our community.

Enter Kayleigh M Studio

Back in the spring, we had a moment of clarity. We realised we really needed to get this website sorted if we were going to grow Athena and show it off to the world properly. So, we turned to someone we both admire and who’s been a big supporter of the magazine since day one: Kayleigh from Kayleigh M Studio.

Kayleigh is a fantastic local business owner who has worked with us on various projects before. We knew she had the skills to bring our ideas to life, and after a chat about what we wanted from the site (including launching an online version of our business directory), we were both excited to get started. Fran took the lead on the project, working closely with Kayleigh to make sure everything we envisioned came together perfectly.

And wow, did Kayleigh deliver! From the get-go, she was an absolute dream to work with. Her expertise, attention to detail, and dedication to the project made the whole process so much smoother. What was once a huge weight on our shoulders (one of those big “I’ll do it later” tasks that was always hanging over us) was now a reality, and we couldn’t be more pleased.

A Weight Lifted and a New Confidence

One of the biggest challenges we faced in that first year was not having a website we could confidently share with others. We were holding ourselves back. Whether it was reaching out to new businesses, contacting potential partners, or promoting the magazine more aggressively, we always thought, “We’ll do that once we have a proper website.” It was like we were waiting for the “perfect” moment, but by not having a site we were proud of, we were unintentionally tying our own hands behind our backs.

Having Kayleigh design a website that we’re finally proud to share has completely changed that. It’s given us the confidence to reach out to new contacts, approach businesses, and really start shouting about what we do without any hesitation. Now, when people visit our site, they’re seeing Athena Magazine at its best, and we feel so much more confident knowing we’re putting our best foot forward.

Plus a New Online Version of our Brilliant Business Directory

On top of the excitement of having a brand new website up and running, we’ve also been able to launch an online version of our brilliant business directory. Up until now, it’s been limited to being printed in the magazine only (which was always that plan of course) but now we can get it online too. So our advertisers have double the exposure. It’s great for SEO too, with all of our listings clickable straight through to the featured business website, so we’re able to give our advertisers even more value for their money AND supply an easy to find and navigate list of awesome women led devon businesses for our rwaders to use when they need a product of service.

Thank You, Kayleigh!

A huge, heartfelt thank you to Kayleigh for all her hard work, dedication, and creativity. You’ve made such a difference to Athena Magazine (and to us personally!). We’re so grateful for everything you’ve done and can’t recommend you enough to any local business owner who needs help with their website.

We hope you love it as much as we do, and we can’t wait to keep building and growing Athena Magazine with this exciting new chapter.