Blogging Mommy: D is for Design

This is fourth in a series of blogging tips. A was for Audience, B was for Building your brand, and C was for Creativity.

When I think about blog design, one word comes to mind: Clean.

When I first began blogging, I picked whatever template I liked the best from Blogger. I didn’t do anything to hack the code and make it look exactly the way I wanted it. I just went with the design that was easiest to read and looked the cleanest.

What do I mean by clean? A lot of white space, crisp colors, and design elements that had a modern feel to them.

Then I began to explore free templates I could download. To me, most of them look cluttered. I am not a shabby chic kind of person, and I was discouraged by the amount of templates that didn’t match my own personality.

Where were the fabulous shoes, sunglasses and lip gloss? Because that is what I want to look like on line.

That’s when I began to explore hiring a real designer to get me some real looks I could call my own.

I don’t care if you make money with your blog, or if you just blog to tell family what’s going on in your life… your blog can be seen by everyone. Prospective employers, PR pros who want to use your talent to spread the message about their product.

In other words, it pays to look professional. And, since you are a writer – not a designer (though some of you are- bonus!) it is probably in your best interest to hire a designer to do the work for you.

How I did it….

First, I looked at the blogs I read. Why did I like their designs? What did I like about them? What did I not want to call my own?

Then, I looked to see who they were using to design their blogs. I checked out their portfolios and found someone who shared my style.

Finally, I asked around. Why did this blogger like working with this designer? What was she like to work with? What kind of revisions did she make? What she fast? Was she thorough? Was she creative?? Could she interpret your ideas and thoughts and refine them to make them better than you imagined?

Shauna designed Mommy’s Still Fabulous for me.  If you check out her portfolio, you’ll see she designs some of the blogs you might already be reading.

A good designer is worth the money. She does one thing for a living: Design. And chances are, she does it very well.

Sure, you could figure out the CSS and HTML code to hack into your blog’s template to make it your own, but I didn’t have time for all that. I wanted something that looked professional, done well, and done fast.

Even if you don’t want to hire a designer, I encourage you to take a look back at your own blog design and take stock of what you could be doing better.

• Is it easy to read?
• Is it cluttered?
• Is there a good balance between content and things on your sidebar?
• What is the latest study about usability on the web?
• What could you be doing better?

So tell me, what are your experiences with design? Did you design your own blog? Could your blog use a makeover? What designers have you used, or would you recommend?

Tagged as: blog tips