In this case study, we explore the journey of designing and implementing a luxury real estate blog design for Northhillcrest.com, an LA-based lifestyle blog that showcases the homes and properties of the rich and famous. The client, a seasoned industry veteran, sought a clean, elegant layout that would highlight stunning photography while integrating essential features like Patreon support, Instagram connectivity, and newsletter subscriptions.

Client Background

The client behind Northhillcrest.com has a long-standing presence in the luxury real estate media space, having worked both with agencies and independently before launching their own platform. Over time, they cultivated a loyal subscriber base and retained valuable assets from previous ventures, which helped establish a strong foundation for their new blog.

Project Goals

The primary objective was to implement a luxury real estate blog design that emphasized visual storytelling. The client had already selected a WordPress environment hosted on WP Engine and chosen a theme compatible with Elementor Pro. The design needed to be simple yet impactful, featuring:

• Two prominent feature articles at the top
• A custom Patreon call-to-action (CTA)
• A grid of previous articles
• Instagram integration
• A sidebar with newsletter subscription and popular article rankings

Technical Implementation

Using Elementor Pro, we configured the layout with standard widgets and custom CSS. The top section featured two highlighted articles, followed by a dynamic grid of past posts. A custom Patreon CTA was developed to the client’s specifications. Popular articles were ranked using dynamic fields based on view counts, with CSS overlays displaying positions 1 through 5.

Category cards were animated and linked dynamically using custom category list boxes and images. The sidebar included a newsletter subscription form and a search box with category-specific search results. A custom post template was created to match the client’s vision, complete with a dedicated sidebar and comment section.

To ensure reliable newsletter delivery—a key revenue stream—we configured DNS records including DKIM, DMARC, and SPF, sanitized the subscriber list, and verified the use of a compliant email sending service.

Results

The final product delivered a seamless luxury real estate blog design that met all client expectations. The site now features a visually rich, user-friendly interface that supports content discovery and audience engagement. With proper DNS configuration and a clean subscriber list, newsletter campaigns are now reliably delivered, contributing to the blog’s revenue stream.

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