So You Want to be a Blogger... ||| Creating an Eye-Catching Design

The design of your blog is what draws people in.  You can have the best-written posts ever, but the design is what makes people want to stay.

So...what makes a good design?  (Just a note: The design tutorials in this post are for Blogger.  Sorry, Wordpress users!)

1. A pretty and professional header.

The header is the first thing a reader sees when they click on a link to your blog.  Seeing the Blogger-made header isn't the most attractive.  Making a header doesn't require you to be a professional graphic designer.  I know I'm sure not one.  :) 

You can see this when you go to a blog...
(Blogger-made header)

or this.
(Homemade header)

Here are some fantastic tutorials on header-making.

- How to Create a Blog Header (That Looks Good!) - The Wonder Forest
- Easy Blog Design Tutorials for the Blogspot Blogger (#1) - A Writer's Faith

Tips!

- Don't forget about copyright!  Before you use any font or image, make sure you can use it on your blog without infringing copyright.

- Dafont.com is a great resource for free fonts.

- Unsplash.com is has free pictures you can use on your blog!

- Your header will most likely dictate the color palette of your blog.

2. Find your color palette.

Find a few colors in your header that look good together.  You will use these throughout the blog.

3. Find the right Blogger template.

Blogger comes equipped with a few templates.  From there, you can customize the colors and fonts.

4. Make sure your fonts are easy to read.

This is huge.  If someone doesn't find something easy to read, they most likely aren't and will leave your blog.  Yes, you want everything to look nice, just please make sure everything is easy to read!

5. Create pages.

Particularly the About Me page.  People want to know who you are!!!  Katie Grace at A Writer's Faith has a fantastic step-by-step tutorial on this here.

6. Declutter the sidebar.

KEEP IT SIMPLE.  Simplicity is best.  Katie has a fantastic tutorial on this as well, which you can find here.

7. KEEP IT SIMPLE.

I say this again.  Simplicity is best.  Please, please, please do not make it to busy.

8. Study other blogs.

What do you like about his or her design?  Why do you like it?  How can you apply it to your blog?

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Any questions?  What are your best blog design tips?  Has your blog ever undergone a makeover?