Discussions
Designing your own blog versus purchasing a design
Posted by ToughCookieMommy • 10/20/09 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: blog button, blog design, layout
I have been considering purchasing a unique layout for my blog with a button and all the trimmings. Although I think I have done a good job teaching myself how to change the layout, I like the coordinated look of some of the ones available for purchase. My current layout is nice but I just can't seem to figure out how to create a button for my blog. I have read many tutorials but I just can't seem to get it right. Just out of curiosity, how many of you have paid someone to design your blog? Has it made a difference in your readership? I would appreciate any recommendations or experiences you guys have had. Also, if anyone has an easy way to create a blog button, please share.
User Comments
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I gotta tell you that the most important things about a GOOD WordPress theme are things that you don't see or don't notice.
it's all the conditional stuff in the code that tweaks things out for performance, usability and robot friendliness. There are some beeeauteeeful blogs out there that no one reads, and Matt Drudge gets mad uniques every day.
So, sure get your blog as pretty as you need it, but make sure you have a developer making sure the underlying code is sound and working hard.-
Thanks for responding, Dane. I actually have a blog on blogger so I have been teaching myself how to tweak the html code. I definitely see your point, though, about the quality of the blog being more important. At the end of the day, I want my readers to come back because of the content of my blog and not the way that it looks. Tell me, how is Wordpress? I have read a lot of mixed reviews about Blogger and Wordpress.
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That's the ages old question, isn't it?
My stock answer these days is that I have not met anyone who switch to blogging on their own domain with WordPress who did not wish they had done so sooner.
That said, there ARE successful bloggers who use Blogger (On and Off their own domains) very successfully. I would argue that many of them would find new levels of success on WP, but that's just my opinion.
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I agree, it is difficult. Your blog looks nice. I think I have done a good job with my blog and layout it's just that I can't figure out how to create a button. I figured if I was going to purchase the button, I might as well have them coordinate the layout with the button. I just wanted to see what other bloggers are doing, designing their own or paying someone to design it for them?
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yeah, I've done some limited blogger coding, and I find WordPress actually easier. Though I must confess that I have some PHP and SQL knowledge and I've been doing since the dark ages of WP v1.1.6
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I designed my own blog. Design should be one top priority for a blogger.
A unique, eye-grabbing design is all it takes for people to notice your blog and give your content the attention it deserves. -
I am absolutely rubbish at coding, so luckily I got a Blog friend to design my template for me. It was a freebie first time round as she was just getting started, but I have commissioned a new design to coincide with three years of blogging.
She is very reasonable, super talented and works with blogger/blogspot templates.-
I am going to check out your blog to see the design. If he/she has reasonable prices, maybe you could refer me to him/her at some point.
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Let me know if you want the link, I think its reasonable and a lot less stressful, well for me anyways.
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Thanks, CR. I will definitely let you know...
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I am using a WordPress theme that is very customizable and that has very good coding. The options are practically limitless and it's near 100% customizable in all elements without requiring a degree in PHP or CSS or HTML, so I could actually say that I designed it myself. At least I managed to make it exactly the way I wanted it to be. Paying someone or buying an off-the-shelf premium theme was never an option for me. It woulnd't be my blog if I didn't design it myself. -
WordPress has a zillion great looking free themes to choose from if you want your own domain. Putting up your own photos and art will personalize it for you. But the more changes you make the more coding knowledge you will need. And that's 3 codes: html, css and php.
I used a wp theme as a base and changed the design completely, which turned out to be a heck of a lot more time consuming than I estimated. An experienced designer with almost zero code knowledge, I had a huge amount of new stuff to learn.
One big plus about using wp on your own domain is their support forum. Every time you hit a wall in wp, somebody on the forum has an answer for you.-
That's a great way to learn. It's how I learned.
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Wow, you guys are awesome and leaps and bounds ahead of me in this whole designing thing. Here I thought I was hot stuff because I have been teaching myself, through research, how to maneuver some html code. Lol I'm sure I will sound like an idiot, however, asking is the only way that I will learn...Could someone explain to me what it means to have your own domain and what the benefits of that are?
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You mentioned a "button" for your blog. What kind of a button are you trying to create?-
The kind that has a code under it that they can put on their blog to link back to your blog. I think they call it a badge too.
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You should check this out. Very simple to follow steps on creating a button for your blog cincinnatiwomenbloggers.com/2009/05/16/tutorial-creating-your-own-blog-butt...
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Thanks, Owl. I will definitely be checking it out...
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I designed my latest blog using a very basic theme I use for most of my Wordpress sites. However it took me 3 personal blogs to find what works best and what doesn't. As Dane mentioned above, functionality and user-ability are more important than a flashy design, but being able to combine a clean design with all the above is even better.
If you're not experienced with coding and serious about blogging, it may be worth it to invest a small amount into a well developed theme that can be customized for you.
However, if your ambitious enough I encourage you to play around with designing your own theme. It's a lot of work, but you learn as you go.
In the end, a successful blog can have a crappy design as long as the content is interesting. A good design will just help reinforce your material. But bad content on top of a good design is still just bad content. -
Mine is free wordpress and I can change it up as often as I like. It is interesting and it keeps it real for me. I would go nuts with the same old look day in and day out, but that is my changeable artistic nature.
Besides I think change keeps my readers on their toes. Even my husband never knows what I might say or do or make next. -
If that's the case, then I personally recommended get a Thesis Theme. It is the best themes ever you can get. -
My blogs use Blogger templates, which I am modifying a few bits at a time - generally a matter of changing colors and graphics. I'd never pay someone to do that - or design a blog or website. But then, graphic design was part of my job for a decade.
Depending on what you want the button to do, coding can be fairly simple - or complex enough to give a programmer fits. As far as creating a graphic for the button, I've heard good things about GIMP ( www.gimp.org/ ) - freeware, which is good for the budget.
About traffic: I haven't noticed any difference in traffic, after I've 'improved' my blogs. My opinion - unsupported by data - is that it's the quality of the content that drives people to your blog.
My experience - this time with data to back me up - is that the more often and regularly I update a blog with something (anything!) relevant to its general topic, traffic goes up. On average. My traffic pattern, month by month, has looked like a two-humped camel for the last few years: a peak in the spring, and again in the fall. You'll probably find seasonal patterns in your traffic, too: so it could take a year or two to get enough data to analyze what effects a change had.
Which is why I pay attention to the traffic statistics, and analyze them - but don't obsess over the things. There are so many variables - - -
Sorry, my fingers ran away a bit with the comment.
Bottom line
If you think there's a benefit to that button - or any other change or upgrade for your blog - and you'd enjoy working at it - and have the time - go for it!
Paying someone to do the job? You'd need a really solid reason for doing that, in my opinion. And my guess is that you can teach yourself what you need to know.
Best wishes with your blog.-
Thank you, Norski. Your input is greatly appreciated.
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Lots of free online button makers
create, save picture to your computer, insert picture in web page, link image to other page or bookmark.
cooltext.com/Buttons
simple square buttons - www.tomaweb.com/buttons.asp
wide selection www4.flamingtext.com/buttons/
very plain small square button tools.blogflux.com/buttonmaker/
www.coolarchive.com/buttonmaker.php
some sample code to get you started you will need to start the code with a < and end with />
img class="alignnone" title="rss button" src="http://www.we-relax.com/web-elements/RSS-pink-text.png" alt="" width="250" height="99" (insert />)
src="http://www.we-relax.com/web-elements/RSS-pink-text.png" alt=""
width="250" height="99" />
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I messed up the code insert above
src="http://www.we-relax.com/web-elements/RSS-pink-text.png" alt=""
width="250" height="99" />
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The button issue aside, spend a day googling free wordpress themes and template and you will find something you like and will work. just follow the instructions for installation. Then you can start learning to design by making small changes to the CSS file. Personal opinion is that buying themes is generally a waste of money. and unless you are prepared to spend $1000 to 5000 to start for a custom design. Free is your best option. And the custom theme may not be any better for your use than free; unless you really know what you want and need from both the front end and back.-
Thanks, Werelax. I will be checking out these links too.
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Don't waste your money, go to Youtube and just about every possible scenario, tutorial and help is available free. If I ever get stuck on a problem with anything to with website building, Wordpress or anything to do with blogging I just go to Youtube and someone has posted a video on it.-
Yeah, I lean more towards researching and teaching myself how to do things. However, with a career and two small children, sometimes paying someone to do it quickly is very appealing.
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In answer to your question asking, what it means to have your own domain and what the benefits of that are?
There are basically 2 ways to blog. The first and easiest is through sites like blogspot & wordpress where most of the work is already done for you and it's just a matter of choosing site visuals according to taste.
The second way is to purchase your own domain name. The advantage is the site is then yours to do whatever your heart desires. There are no limits, as there are above.
There are actually 2 wordpress sites. One is where they host blogs - wordpress.com. So if your blog is called "konk", there it would be listed as konk.wordpress.com.
The 2nd wp site is wordpress.org and that's where those with their own domain hang out. Your independent blog would be known to the world as konk.com.
I think someone would need very compelling reasons to have their own domain name to take on all that extra effort and work.-
Thanks for the information, Savvy. You did a great job of explaining this whole issue. Yeah, I don't think I need my own domain anytime soon. It is good to know that the option to get one is there for the future should I feel the need to broaden my horizons.
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