Maartje Hensen Interview: Trellis Case Study

Here at Mediavine, we’re so excited about everything that we have planned for 2022, including our ongoing mission to help publishers create top-notch websites that are fast, SEO-friendly and are loved by both readers and Google alike.

If you’re new to us (hi!), Trellis is our award-winning WordPress theme framework developed to help content creators solve the stubborn technical challenges that have burdened WordPress users for ages, including site speed and now Google’s Core Web Vitals.

Since Trellis was launched to the public last year, over a thousand WordPress users have installed it on their sites and are enjoying performance improvements that positively impact their businesses.

Over 80% of sites running Trellis are passing Core Web Vitals with many seeing dramatic increases in both sessions and revenue.

If you’re considering switching themes this year, you’ll appreciate hearing from some of your fellow publishers who have already made the move to Trellis.

To that end, we’re pleased to introduce Maartje Hensen of Once Upon a Journey as part of our ongoing series of Trellis Case Studies to share her thoughts and experiences.

How long have you been blogging? What made you want to start a blog?

Five years — I had a small blog when I did a study abroad in 2015, and when I went on a world trip with my girlfriend in 2017, I wanted to start a more “serious” travel blog.

Tell us about your blog and its niche

I run the blog with my girlfriend and onceuponajrny.com has grown to be one of the largest LGBTQ+ lifestyle and travel blogs in the world.

Where did you first hear about Trellis?

In the Mediavine Facebook group!

How long have you had Trellis on your site now?

Nearly a year.

Switching themes and frameworks can be a big decision. What convinced you to make the switch to Trellis?

Site speed and Core Web Vitals!

What WordPress theme (or CMS) did you use before Trellis?

It was something by developer “theme ruby” — I think it was called “Look.” I got it from Themeforest, as it looked nice.

What issues were you hoping to resolve with Trellis?

Site speed. Core Web Vitals.

How easy was it for you to set up Trellis on your website? Did the process go smoothly?

Very easy! Totally smooth. Got some great help with some customization questions too.

What improvements have you noticed with Trellis? (Site speed, CLS scores, traffic, earnings, etc.)

Everything. Site speed first and foremost, passing CWV. That made me excited to make the website better and better, and then my traffic and earnings went up.

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

Yeah. It’s great for speed. And although it’s not super customizable by itself, with Gutenberg blocks you can create custom pages and everything.

What advice would you have for someone preparing to move to Trellis?

Definitely make sure to convert pages with page builders or theme builders and stuff to normal WordPress pages. Try to think before moving about the customizations you will lose and how you’ll replace them in Trellis.

What is your favorite feature of Trellis?

Speed, looks clean.

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Thanks, Maartje, for chatting with us today. We’re so pleased that Trellis is helping your online business succeed!

We’re really proud of the results that Trellis has produced, and our team is committed to improving and enhancing this framework to continue to serve content creators and their business goals. Learn more about Trellis, and if you’d like to read more testimonials, check out our other Case Studies.