Tuesday, August 26, 2014

How to Make Your Blog More Professional

If you are just getting your blog started, you're probably wondering, "How in the world do I make it look professional?"  Or maybe you just want to make improvements on your blog.  We've all seen, and disliked the overdone blog that overwhelms you with flowers, sparkles and random colors.  Well, through research, trial and error (LOTS of error ;D) I have learned some basics that truly make your blog look more professional.

1.  Get rid of the navibar.  You never see this on professional blogs so we are going to ditch it.  Go into Layout then click on Edit that's in the Navibar box, then click Off.  That's all!  VERY easy.


2.  Create your own favicon.  Again, you never see the traditional blogger emblem on a professional blog.  Here is a link to a favicon program.  After you save it to your computer,  got to Layout, click on Edit in the Favicon box, load your favicon, then click Save.  It may take 24 hours for it to change, but it will load!


3.  Don't use too many colors.  Choose about 4 colors.  I made 2 of them my main, then 2 my accent. My main colors are black and hot pink, then gray and a light pink.

4.  Don't clutter with too many designs.  You don't want to overwhelm your readers.  You want them to focus on your pictures or writing.  Then you want them to remember your blog because they loved your work, not because of a crazy header, song (sometimes music is fine, as long as it's done tastefully), and sparkly background.  A blog needs to compliment, and bring attention to your work, not be so strong it makes the person forget your pictures. (Another problem with too many designs is it takes your blog longer to load, and people don't want to wait a long time.  So instead of waiting for your page to load, they'll leave and go visit another blog).

5.  Don't use text slang.  It is extremely unprofessional to be using, "Yesterday, we went 2gether 2 da park and 8 on da playground."  Seriously, its painful and looks like you skipped grade school.  Just no.

6.  Get your their, there, they're and your and you're straight.  People appreciate well written sentences.

7.  Don't use crazy text.  You want something simple that can be easily read.  If it's not simple, people will lose patience and leave your blog.  The same thing goes with the color of the text, on the body of the post, make sure you stay with gray or black.

8.  My last tip. Go to professional blogs you love and see what they did.  Look at the blog and think, "What do I like?"  Really study the blogs you love, and then use that knowledge to improve your blog.

I hope this was helpful!  Leave me a comment if you have any questions. :)


6 comments:

  1. Yes! This was very helpful Olivia! I've often questioned the need to keep the Navibar, and getting rid of it DOES make for a cleaner & more professional looking blog. =)

    ~Jenny

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    1. Thank you Jenny! Yes, getting rid of the navibar makes a world of difference. ;)

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  2. This was SO very helpful!! I got rid of my Navibar and changed the Favicon! It was so easy! :) Thanks again for the tips!!

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    1. I'm so glad Tashia! I looked at your blog and it looks great! Keep it up! :)

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  3. This is just what I was looking for! Thank you so much. I'm working on setting up our blog and I'll defiantly use these tips!

    Ashley

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    1. You're so welcome Ashley! I'm so glad this helped. When you finish your blog leave me a link so I can see it! :)

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