Blog Makeover Tips

In case you mostly see my posts in a reader, here's what it looked like around here before.  

I must say I'm pretty proud of myself that I did it all on my own.  With the help of some online tutorials I messed with html, backgrounds, headers, widgets and css.

Here are some things I learned along the way

• It's a good idea to set up a test blog.  I went to my blogger account, added a new blog which I made private (so only I could see it)  Then as I played with new images or sizing, I wasn't disturbing my real blog.

• Save, or export, your current blog before you go changing any html.  That way, just in case you accidentally change some html that you didn't mean to, you have your original blog to re-upload if you need to.  (I didn't have any problems, but I saved just in case) 

• You can easily upload your own picture for a blog background.  Go to Template--Cusomize--Background Click on the little down arrow by the current background image and select upload image.  There are also tons of preloaded backgrounds, and some of them can be customized further under Advanced-Background and changing the colors.  That's actually how I did mine, but it still feels custom and original!

• Play around with different color palettes.  It's great if you have an idea of what you want (Pinterest is a great source of color scheme inspiration)  But don't be afraid to throw in a "surprise" color.  I wasn't planning on adding any green to my design, but ended up picking a shade that I think goes along great with the whole look.

• Spend some time on your favorite blogs too.  See what you like about their layout and feel.  Not to say you should be copying their site, you want to be original of course, but do you like where they put their bio, or how it's worded?  Does it have a lot of white space or lots of fun colors?  Do you like where they have their search button or categories or social media buttons located?

In addition to using GIMP and Make the Cut to design all my new elements, I also used all of these links for help. Go ahead and check them out if you're looking for tips for a blog makeover.


How to create images with more than one link in them--Something Swanky
(like my new header)
How to install a custom header--mayura4ever
How to adjust sidebar title spacing--Southern Speakers
How to center sidebar widgets--SNAP
How to remove the blogger nav bar--Blogger Plugins


To go along with my new colors I redesigned my blog buttons.  If you currently have one on your blog somewhere, I'd love for you to grab the updated one (but the old one will still work on your site--I didn't delete it from Photobucket)




<center> <a href="http://craftingintherain.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m5/SoCalledMommy/coralbutton.jpg" /></a></center>
Let me know if you have questions about anything else I did here, and I'd love to know what you think about my new look!

 
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