I design blogs, incase you didn't know and I've been doing it for nearly two years now and I've picked up a few tips and tricks along the way. I want this (a tips and tricks guide for blogging) to become a regular feature on the blog so this if you please, can be the start of a new feature on Iridescent Noire.
Disclaimer
Please not that these are my personal opinions and not anything more. I am not a professional design though I have been doing some design work and coding for the last two years so I like to think I know something about it.1. Less is More
When I design blogs, I tend to think less is more. Don't overdo the CSS, ditch the shadows and go for Flat UI for a more modern feel. Simplicity is key.2. Colouring
This follows on with the last thing I mentioned: 'Less is more'. I always like to have a good colour scheme before starting any design work. I generally like using whites, blacks and an accent colour. You do not need to follow the same as how I am doing it but I recommend simple colours instead of those that will burn your eyes like acid green or something!I recommend a white background with dark grey text. The reason that I recommend dark grey (#333333) instead of black is because dark grey is a lot easier on the eyes than a pure black (#000000).
3. Is Your Blog Easy To Navigate Through?
On a blog or website, navigation is so, so important. Have a look through your site and check if you can easily go through and find all your blog topics (fashion, food, style, etc) and find all your pages easily (about, contact, any policies you may have, etc).
People will generally skim through your blog and if they don't find your navigation with 2-3 seconds, they probably will not bother with it anymore.
4. Is Your Blog Cluttered?
Can you see a lot of things in your sidebar that aren't absolutely needed? It's a huge design pet peeve of mine when I see a cluttered blog. Remove anything on your sidebar, footer, etc that you don't need. Here are some of the things that I think are important for your sidebar:
- Search
- Email subscription
- Hello/Welcome text
- Social media icons
- Archives
5. fonts, Fonts, FONTS!
Fonts are really important. Choose 2-3 fonts to use on your blog and no more than that. Think about your overall blog design, is it clean? Is it super minimalistic? Is it vintage? Is it colourful and playful or is it girly? Once you have that, the rest is easy. I would go for thin uppercase fonts for minimalistic and maybe cursive, fun fonts for colourful and playful such as Pacifico.
Go for one main font and one secondary font and one body font (the font you're writing in for posts and things).
*Edit
So there you go! I hope that was helpful if you were doing some design work on your blog or website. Feel free to ask any questions about this topic in the comments as I will most likely have the answer.
Go for one main font and one secondary font and one body font (the font you're writing in for posts and things).
*Edit
6. Is Your Logo (overall design) memorable?*
I think it's very, very important to have a memorable design. You don't want people forgetting your logo do you? Go for something that you think looks bold but still your style... Maybe do something different and will stand out from everyone else's blogs. You could show the design to a friend or family member and ask their thoughts as they might catch something that you don't.
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So there you go! I hope that was helpful if you were doing some design work on your blog or website. Feel free to ask any questions about this topic in the comments as I will most likely have the answer.
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