This post may contain affiliate links which may give us a commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Are you considering a new blog design? That’s great news! It means you are taking your blog seriously and you want it to reflect who you are.
It’s good to have a general idea of what you want to create before you sit down to tackle a new design or get in touch with a blog designer. The more you know about the direction you’d like to take your blog, the easier you make your blog designer’s job, and the less time {and money} they will need to spend on perfecting your site.
Getting Started on Designing Your Blog
The problem with having a direction on where you’d like to take your blog design is that many of us have NO IDEA what we’re looking for. Even if you do not have an eye for design, it is important to keep in mind that you’ll know when your blog is “right”. At that point, it will transform into a natural fit with who you are and what you write about.
Start the design process by asking yourself these four important questions:
1. What inspires you?
Take a look around your world. Inspiration for color choices, prints, and design can come from anywhere from fabric and wallpaper to giftwrap to paint to jewelry.
2. What blogs are you drawn to?
Find five blogs that you could stare at for hours {figuratively speaking, of course!} Determine what it is about these blogs that you enjoy. Write down what it is you love about these sites and what aspects you’d like to see on your own blog.
Or better yet, take this idea one step further and create an inspiration board on Pinterest. Bring together all the elements that inspire you in one place.
3. What makes you different?
Our blogs are reflections of who we are. And we are all different in a billion different ways.
How will your blog reflect the unique aspects of who you are and what your site is about? Step outside of the box and capitalize on whatever it is that makes you special.
3. What are your colors?
There are two important things to consider when choosing a color scheme for your blog:
Number one: Which colors make you happy?
And number two: Which colors make the rest of the world happy?
Typically we don’t care what other people think about our choices, but in this case, if you’re hoping to keep readers around, then it’s important to choose from a color palette that a majority of people will like. Believe it or not, there is actually some serious research behind colors that encourage return visits and colors that actually deter people from visiting a site again. Professionals spend a lot of time thinking about color combinations and appeal during the branding process.
Did you know that…
- Pink signifies romance, love, and friendship. It denotes feminine qualities and passiveness.
- Brown suggests stability and denotes masculine qualities.
- Reddish-brown is associated with harvest and fall.
- Light yellow is associated with intellect, freshness, and joy.
- Aqua is associated with emotional healing and protection.
The list goes on and on! Read more about color meaning and learn about what message your site could be sending.
Discuss!
Let’s get the conversation started today. What inspired your blog design? If you were to consider a new blog design, where might you get inspired?
More inspired posts on blog design
- How NOT to design your blog
- How to be successful with your blog designer
- What makes a great header
- Why your footer matters
- Twitter Party Alert! California Psychics - Nov 17, 2020
- Aprilaire Twitter Party Happening! #HealthyAir - Nov 20, 2019
- Twitter Party Alert! Fighting PPD With Mom Genes - Nov 19, 2019
- Why Top Ten Lists Work For Bloggers - Jan 23, 2017
- Content is King: How to Determine What To Blog About - Dec 28, 2016
- 4 Ways to Find {And Keep} Your Motivation - Oct 31, 2016
- How To Be Happy: 5 Things All Happy Women Do - May 2, 2016
- Can an iPhone 6S Survive Inside a Paint Shaker? - Oct 25, 2015
- How Many Ads Are Too Many Ads? - Oct 15, 2015
- How To Get Healthy Sleep Webinar - Sep 14, 2015
- How To Have A Safe Summer - Jul 30, 2015
- How to Sleep Better: Top 7 Sleep Hacks For The Best Rest - Feb 5, 2015
- Neglecting this CAUSES Anxiety, Weight Gain, Numbness, Back Pain and Depression - Jan 29, 2015
- Making a Homemade Box From Christmas Cards {Upcycle} - Dec 11, 2014
- Get Your Kids Involved In Healthy Living: Fuel Up To Play 60 - Oct 10, 2014
Having worked as a color designer, I know that my preferences and popular colors hardly ever mesh.
In footwear, when there are elements of color (photos of crafts in this case) we tend to go grey to keep things harmonious with anything.
Is that a bad idea in this context?
9ice 1
I am so lost on what I should do for my blog design. Right now I have images of family in a “hanging the laudatory” style because growing up my family did without alot but I am wanting some how change it while sticking to the same “them”. Any tips?
To design a blog it is very easy but blog design which is good it is not easy. Bacuse of many people it has different taste. I think your tutorial can give inspiration to manage and design my blog. Thanks sister for your attention. I hope we can be best friend 🙂
Attractive part of content. I just stumbled upon your website and in accession capital to say that I get in fact enjoyed account your weblog posts. Any way I will be subscribing in your feeds or even I achievement you get right of entry to consistently rapidly.
im new user plsz tell me how to edit blog design
I’ve narrowed down the color to my business website. This site is in need of A LOT of help!!!
Blessings~
Alethea
What a great article! I had never thought about most of these points. Thank you for making me think.
These make really good timely points! I love the interface of WordPress but I am very dedicated to Blogger and its functionality! So, I am trying to make it look as clean as possible! Thanks for these great ideas!
Hi everyone! I’m new to SITS so I’m still trying to figure out how things work here. My blog has a myriad of colors starting from bright pink to green and pink, all based on a background of black. I would love for you guys to check it out and let me know what you think of it.
I like my (simple!) design, but I am planning to rework my header, when I have a little more time…
I wanted to let visitors know what they could expect from my blog, just by looking at the header. And I hope I succeeded.
Great article, great comments! Would anyone be willing to recommend a blog designer who is good with customizing wordpress? I could probably use a revamp…
Even though it’s a Blogger template, I love my colors. They are bright, fresh, and energetic. They are also feminine which fits since I tend to review mostly beauty products. Oranges, pinks, yellow, etc. Bright & sunshiney!
I actually love my design but want to move to WP, like my other 3 blogs. I’m just scared of losing the design. Thanks for the tips!
I think its time I look into changing my design. Thank you for the info.
As someone who designs and develops blogs these are great suggestions, especially looking at your top 5 blogs. This helps us blog designers really understand our what appeals to our clients and make it unique.
I agree also. It helps us designers plan out your design and it also helps that our clients know the lingo too .
This is great information, my favorite color is green therefore the color I choose for the background of my blog. My daugther likes purple so I make sure to incorparate that color as well. And of course some blue for my son.
Thank you for the info! I knew that colors were important when choosing a blog design but this was definitely informative in more ways than one. I like to change up my layout a bit, so it’s good to know what exactly each color means. 🙂
The feelingI was going for is cozy and welcoming. According to the link above, “Green has strong emotional correspondence with safety,” so I think I made a good decision in choosing green as my main color. I’ve had people tell me that that’s the feeling they get from my blog, so I’d say it’s been successful.
I just revamped my design from black/white damask to simple and pink. This is the second time I’ve used a pink/coral so it may be a keeper. I really research what I like about my fave blogs and incorporate some of the ‘cool’ factors my way. I hope I can stick with this theme longer than a few months, lol. It really is a lot of work switching icons, etc.
I designed my own blog, but I have a theme that is pretty easy to customize. I like it, but I’ve had it up for many months now. Might be time to change things around a bit….
I can’t wait till I can have a real blog design. I am going to wait till my blog is more established before I do that though since redesigning a blog can be expensive.
Thank you for all the great ideas! So much to think about…I am such a newbie & appreciate the guidance!
I want my blog to be more girly.. but I don’t want to inhibit men from reading, because I have something for everyone. Simply because I’m a female means that less men will read anyway!! I go back and forth – I’d love to explore my more feminine side but just don’t want to lose a segment of my market.
I just had my blog redesigned and I really wanted it to focus on my niche (DISNEY). There are many things to consider when having your blog designed, but to me the most important is that it is pleasing to the eye. An ugly blog or annoying font can really make a reader bolt. For me, two big turn offs in design is white font on black background and music playing in the background. Both will make me leave immediately. I’d love for you to stop by and let me know what you think of my new design: http://www.disneyinsidertips.com
My blog design usually stays centered around my favorite color, pink. Not always completely pink, but you’ll always find some element of it there. That’s not to say I never venture completely away from pink, but when I do, it never really feels like ME, and those designs don’t usually stay up too long. I do my own blog designs because one, I don’t think anyone else can really convey what I’m after, and because I like to change designs on the fly, which can become expensive if you’re paying someone else. I’m usually inspired by the seasons, which allows me to (try) to stick with a new design for a few months at a time.
Happiness & joy. It’s important to me that when someone visits my blog that, before even reading any words, they feel good, happy. That their spirits are lifted visually. I had some assistance with a designer. Most everything was already in place, so she got to add the pretty and a few important items. I love her…I just didn’t have the tools to do it. And she captured my heart perfectly. My child theme had 4 colors to choose from. At first I went with the dusky blue because I found a pretty background. But it was too restrictive and so I decided to go with the pink….which actually looks almost red to me. Pink/Red just gave life to everything….and was a wonderful place to springboard from. My blog still needs a little tweaking…it will come. But, just being a few weeks old…I got off to a great start, I think. It’s pretty exciting.
For my reg blog i had a custom illustration done foe me so i got my colors from that bur i’m in the process.of redoing my design blog and the theme and colors i found all over and fell in love with
My colors are black and blue. I’m glad to see what the color wheel pro thinks of those colors. lol – Great tip.
Great advice! I’m no designer so when I decided to change things up a while back I went simple with black and white and a photo header. I like how it turned out! Hope everyone has a great day today – I’m busy, but considering what is going on in my life, being too busy to think is a blessing!
I want my blog to represent me and my colors. I usually like Earth tones, and pale pink!
Amanda Rose
http://sewmuchtosay.blogspot.com
Great ideas!
I paid someone to do my design because I have no clue how to. I love my new look.
I love my design!
Let’s face it – there are a million blogs out there! I wanted something that was unique, young and me. Of course I think its perfect but it may be too cartoony if I ever wanted to branch out. Luckily I’m happy with my “niche.”
Great tips. Blog design is so important especially for creating a lasting impact. Things that I have learned is that people do not like white text on black background and music playing when they open your blog. It is just too distracting.
Choose your design carefully and if you have the money to do it from the start, then do it right the first time.
I just had my blog redesigned this week and would love for hear what you think: http://www.disneyinsidertips.com
I would really love to have someone re-do my design, but have no idea where to start in finding the right person. Any advice on this? I’d want someone who is reasonably priced, but also is reputable enough!!
I like simple and clean. I based my current design off a background that I fell in love with and the colors are a tone-downed version of my favorite colors. It just worked for me. Love this post, so full of info! 🙂
Hi Brittany!
I’m visiting your blog now and I am really loving your design, but the best part is that your heart is right there as well. I’m enjoying reading your posts. 🙂
I love the meaning of those colors. Great advice!
I just did a blog redesign. I like colors but wanted to be careful not to have things be too overpowering and conflicting. I looked at the things that make me smile and thought of colors I enjoy then picked just one or two tones. I love playing around with fonts … so I had a MAKE myself not use too many. I wanted a simple background, which does not really match me (I am not normally a person who goes for white). to allow the things I choose to put on my blog and the images with my posts to shine. I spent time trying things out. I would fix it one way and leave it for a little while (even a day at times) to see what worked and what did not.
Since my blog is about raising girls there is pink involved. And the name, Pruning Princesses, lends itself to trees. There is a bird and lady bug (both wearing crowns) in in the header too….because I call my girls bird and bug (as in snuggle bug). I like the design and the colors though in my head it still isn’t write. I have this idea for a graphic of a little girl wearing a dress of flowers and leaves with clippers on the ground scraps of flowers and leaves. But I don’t have the artist or graphic ability to create such a thing. Maybe some day it will come through a blog redesign…as I need to help fixing the pages on the top and reducing the number of fonts (but the original designer literally disappeared off the internet before she finished !)
My blog design was inspired by the name of the blog – rodeo. So I wanted it to look a little rustic but also very clean. I designed a website for a company and they were all about keeping the look very simple and clean (no clutter). I really like that look and it is easy to keep up. Anyway, mine is new and still something of a work in process, but I like how simple it is. Now that I’m blogging though I see things on other’s pages that I like and take note.
I wanted my blog to look tranquil and welcoming (which I think I achieved with the colors) with a whimsical feel (achieved, hopefully, through the social media icons and header image).
I haven’t really thought about the meaning behind my blog colors. I really love them, but now I am thinking about them.