Karen Appelman, retired educator, counselor, and lifelong follower of Christ, had a quiet dream: to share Scripture-filled encouragement, her nature photography, and original paintings in one peaceful online home as she prepares to publish her first of many books. Pursuing God’s Love is the beautiful realization of that calling.

Appelman Designs proudly designed and developed this custom WordPress devotional website from the ground up—a soft, inviting digital sanctuary where women can pause, breathe, and grow in their faith every single day.

Tailwind CSS with a gentle, feminine palette

Full-screen parallax hero images featuring Karen’s breathtaking photography

Elegant typography with handcrafted script drop-caps and perfectly spaced Scripture and quotes

Custom Gutenberg blocks for unique, reusable layouts that Karen can update herself—no code required

Full WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility and 90–100% Core Web Vitals scores for fast, inclusive reading on any device

Built-in comments, Mailchimp newsletter signup, and social sharing to grow her community organically

Devotional: “Pursuing God’s Love”: daily Scripture-based meditations

Photography: “God’s Creation in Photos”: weekly galleries of landscapes, wildlife, and wonder

Art: “What’s on My Easel?”: Karen’s paintings, complete with the faith story behind each brushstroke

Creating this site for my step-mother, Karen, was pure joy. Watching her devotionals, photos, and paintings come alive online—and seeing complete strangers encouraged, touched, and comforted—reminds me why I do this work.