Creating A Blog Design You Love When You’re Lacking In Tech Skills
Your website design can play a huge part in your blogging journey; it's the first thing people will see when they visit your site and there's no denying that the online world can be a very visual place. A strong blog design can help you stand out from the crowd and make the perfect first impression when new readers visit your blog, but if you're not a whizz with HTML and CSS it can feel a little overwhelming trying to build the perfect website design for you.
If you're struggling to really create a blog design you love and you're starting to fear you'll never be happy with your website I've got you covered with four super simple ways to build the perfect blog design for you, whatever your tech skills.
Squarespace I'm a huge Squarespace fan, I've built both this blog, ALO, and various consultancy clients sites through the Squarespace platform and I couldn't imagine running a website through anything else. As a content management system it really understands the creative process of producing content, but it's strength really lies in its focus on design and mobile responsive templates. Whether you want a super minimal blog design, or even a continuous scroll home page, Squarespace has you covered with it's super easy to use design process - you can view all the customisable templates they have available here. There is a small monthly fee involved but it's an investment I'm glad I made; if you want to find out more about Squarespace, Lauren shared an awesome post recently sharing 8 Reasons You Should Jump on the Squarespace Bandwagon.
Hire out Whether you're hosting your blog through Squarespace, Blogger, or Wordpress, there are so many awesome (and affordable) template and web designers out there to help you along the way. A one off investment in a custom blog design is an awesome way to invest in your blog for the long haul and there are so many options available today for every price point. If you want to go all out and invest in brand and website design some awesome options are Elle & Co, XO Sarah, and The Nectar Collective. If a template for Blogger or Wordpress is more what you're looking for, a service like Pipdig is probably perfect for you.
Keep it simple If you want to go it alone and design your blog from scratch, my best advice is to keep it simple. You don't have to have all the additional features in the world to create a blog design that stands out in the crowd; sometimes less really can be more. Don't feel under pressure to go all out, some of my favourite blog designs are super minimal and fuss free. The most important thing is that you figure out how you want your readers to experience your site; do you want to share your content chronologically, or maybe broken down into categories sections? Put the reader experience first and build a site that works around your content and style.
Google is your friend If you want to DIY your blog design, Google will be your best friend. It's not impossible to learn the ropes of design, HTML, CSS and more in a short space of time - here are 5 Awesome Places To Learn To Code Online to help you out along the way. If you just want to do little tweaks along the way, searching for quick answers is the best way to learn, and not only is it great for if you're on a budget, but also for expanding your skill set in the long run as well. Sarah shared an awesome post on 10 Little Things That Make A Big Difference In Your Blog Design recently that I'd really recommend reading!
I'd love to know your best advice for creating a blog design you love?
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