Brittany Goldwyn Merth Interview: Trellis Case Study

One of the things you’ve probably heard us mention a lot is that extra exciting, shiny product — Trellis! For those that don’t know, Trellis is the highly anticipated WordPress framework Mediavine has been designing and developing, in pursuit of speed and revenue optimization for our publishers.

Back in March we first launched the core Trellis theme on an external site, and since then the Trellis Beta Program has been going strong. Over 1,600 sites, in pretty much every niche, now run the Trellis framework. (Update: the Trellis theme is now available to all WordPress users!)

We love celebrating our publishers for their hard work, and constant pursuit of ways they can implement new things to help increase their site’s traffic and revenue — all while sharing their expertise and knowledge to help others learn and grow.

Similar to our Publisher Interview series, Content During Covid series and our Traffic Case Study, our Trellis Case Studies will also share success stories of how our MVPs started their blogs, plus how Mediavine has helped shape their businesses and lives for the better.

The difference with this series is that it focuses on the transition to Trellis, site improvements, traffic increases, favorite feature and their recommendation to other bloggers about whether or not they should make the switch.

Join us for our interview with Brittany of by Brittany Goldwyn, a site all about modern DIY and crafting, with a side of gardening. Brittany strives to inspire her audience with ways to infuse creativity into everyday life.

We’re excited to have Brittany on the blog, so let’s get started and learn how Trellis has helped her site look better, run faster and ultimately increased her income.

Tell us a little bit about yourself, your family and your everyday life.

I live in Frederick, Maryland with my husband Mike, our daughter Ramona and our two perfect kitties Henry and Blanche. I have a day job and blog part-time, so when I’m not working or spending time with my family, you can usually find me blogging.

I love blogging because it has been a way for me to grow creatively and connect with others (the extra money is nice too!).

Ad revenue is also important for me because my day job and family take priority, so the passive nature of Mediavine revenue means that I can bring in money via the blog without being totally hands on all the time.

How long have you been blogging and how did you get started?

I’ve been blogging for about 5 years now. I started blogging a few years after finishing grad school. I got back into photography as a hobby, then decided to start a blog as a creative outlet and a way to distract myself from my day job, which I was very unhappy in at the time.

That blog morphed slowly into what it is now, about a year ago or so and it looks largely the same, except my photography and writing have definitely improved!

How long have you had Trellis? What theme/website setup did you have before Trellis?

I got Trellis on my site around March/April of this year.

Before that I had the Genesis Foodie Pro theme.

Was it difficult to switch to Trellis?

No, not at all. There were some changes I had to make to the site, but I appreciated Mediavine advising me about why they were recommended, compared to what I had before.

What would you tell anyone who is moving to Trellis to help them have a smooth transition?

Be open to doing things a bit differently, while knowing that if it doesn’t work out you can always go back.

For example, before I had less of a pure “blog-like” setup and I had a homepage with different categories and what not. Under Trellis, I now have my latest post at the top and then a list of my most recent posts with a blurb and an image.

At first I was a bit resistant to this idea because I liked the idea of a project gallery as my main page. I decided to try this out though and it’s been great. I like the more streamlined look and approach.

What improvement have you seen in your pagespeed with Trellis?

Before switching over to Trellis my pagespeed was in the high 60’s.

Now my site’s pagespeed is comfortably in the low to mid 90’s. I can definitely tell that my site is a lot faster, thanks to this average increase of 26 points.

How has your revenue grown since moving to Trellis?

I can tell you that my viewability, impressions per session and sessions have all gone up, as compared to the period before having Trellis on my site.

What excited you most about being part of the Trellis beta?

I have a lot of trust in the products Mediavine creates, so I knew that it would be great.

I was also excited about shedding some of the dead weight from my blog, like plugins and other things that were slowing the site down because Trellis had it covered.

Would you recommend Trellis to other bloggers? Why or why not?

Yes, I have been extremely happy with Trellis. My site looks better, is faster and is making more money.

But most of all, I like knowing that Mediavine is behind the product.

What is your favorite feature of Trellis?

My favorite feature of Trellis is how minimalist the theme looks. It fits perfectly with my brand. Even though I have seen some of the child themes and they are lovely too, I prefer the super simple and streamlined look.

I also like that if I have any issues I can contact Mediavine, and know that someone will get back to me quickly and with a helpful response!