Blogging 101: Design and Domain

So you’ve planned out your branding and picked out your platform but now it’s time to get your domain and start designing the perfect blog. By perfect, I mean the perfect blog for you, not for everyone else!

First things first, you need to find somewhere to purchase your domain name. However if you’re still unsure of your name from when you created your brand then try to hold off a while and use free hosting with blogger or wordpress. Your domain name can be anything you want, but aim for a word or phrase that isn’t already taken. If you’re using a taken name with lots of numbers this isn’t going to look good and it’s not as memorable as you would want it to be. Also, don’t make it too long as you want people to remember your URL.

I purchased my domain name through Bluehost when I went self hosted. But you can also use GoDaddy, Easily or 123 Reg and purchase separately from a host company. Make a note of expiration as you will have to repurchase on a (most likely) yearly basis. You may have to make variations if your name isn’t available by adding dashes or abbreviations. But if you’ve chosen a unique name, this shouldn’t be too much of an issue.

For you blog design you have a few options. If you’re design and html savvy you can go ahead and create your design/theme yourself. You can actually use a free theme and edit small parts to create a unique look for your blog, but often some blogs start to look similar. I personally bought a Pipdig theme because I lacked the skills, but I do still have the same issue of the template being extremely similar to others. If you want a completely unique theme, you will either have to learn to skills to code yourself, or pay extra for someone to do it for you.

The basic rules for design are that it should look simple yet professional and ensure that it’s user friendly.  A limited colour palette is also advisable to keep on brand and to not be hard on the eyes. I also recommend that you include your social media and contact details as easily findable or within your side bar/menu which will always appear to the user.

Pick an Aesthetic

The basis of what your blog design is around the aesthetic it’s fitting into. You could have a  girly aesthetic which has lots of smooth edges and pink touches, or a darker and more gothic aesthetic, or something wildly in between or outside these set structures. But once you’ve found the aesthetic you fit into, try to fit to it wherever possible to keep your blog design consistent. 

Sometimes it can be good to mix different styles into your blog, but it looks better if it flows naturally rather than a to and fro between vastly different looks. 

Find the Fonts

First up is noting that whatever font you choose, it needs to be first and foremost READABLE. I’ve seen a couple of blogs who for the aesthetic have gone for cursive handwriting fonts, and I couldn’t read it properly, it made me want to just leave the site altogether. 

The most used fonts online are ones like Arial, Helvetica, Georgia, Calibri etc. Whilst these are all average fonts you can find on word, they’re easy to read and so they work. Your readers are going to be able to read your content without wanting to pull their eyes out. You could use fancier fonts for headers or on images, although I still advise legibility should be a key focus. 

Create a Colour Palette

If your aesthetic isn’t a multicoloured one, I’d recommend picking a handful of colours (and tones) which will create your blog’s Colour Palette. Choose colours which work well with one another, but also a couple that will contrast against one another and stand out. 

If each of your colours flatters the others then your overall look will flow more easily. Bright colours can often draw the eye too much, which may be distracting your readers – but with a palette that’s easy on the eyes it keeps the blog interesting but your reader can continue reading the content. 

Images

Images are a key part of your blog design as they draw the eye of your reader more than any other aspect. So, your images need to fit your aesthetic, but also fit your content and what you’re trying to say. 

Depending on your theme and how you want your blog to look, it’s often better to have your images the same width of your blog post and all the same width (If you use a vertical image, it should scale to fit the width too!). This just makes the lines cleaner, which helps draw the readers eye downwards better than them all being different sizes. 

Choosing the right featured image can also be vital for people clicking on your posts. If your images look bad, have poor composition or are blurry – people may just scroll on by. Using the featured image post to choose your best image, and even a header image or Pinterest image can improve clicks. 

Make Your Site Accessible

You want everything on your site to be easy to use for your readers. Make sure any buttons you have, whether it’s for commenting or following your social media  are displayed correctly. Ensure they’re in a place people may look for (so at the bottom of the post, or in the sidebar respectively.). 

Ensuring you have categories can improve user experience, and going even further and using tags correctly can also help. Some readers will prefer certain kinds of content, so make it easy for them to find that content. 

On top of this, make it accessible for everyone! Ensure your images have correct alt tags so those with screen readers will still know what is displayed. 

Ensure Responsive Design

Have you ever gone on a website which you have to zoom in and out constantly because it shows you the desktop version on your phone? Remember that frustration as the buttons didn’t work properly and you couldn’t quite get what you needed from the visit? This is why you need a responsive design on your website. 

The highest number of your users are most likely going to your site on their mobile phone (although you can check actual numbers in Google Analytics!). Because of this, you’ll need to ensure that whatever theme you’re using is good to have a responsive design, so it can scale to fit any size of screen, whilst still being a good user experience.

You can get theme templates from some of the below. I don’t have first hand experience with any of the except Pipdig, but from what other bloggers have mentioned they’re all legit options.

• Pipdig
• Restored 316
• Feast Design Co
• Pretty Darn Cute Designs
• Studio Press
• 99designs

I would also recommend that you get some familiarity with some tools that can help make blogging a little easier. I will also be making future posts about each of these tools if you’re interested so keep an eye out.

• Google Drive
• Yoast SEO
• Canva
• Hootsuite
• Trello
• Dropbox

You may still have some questions about the above information. Because for some things, I’m not the best person to answer, I’ve got some good links below which should help you to fully understand how to set up your design and domain.

How do I purchase a domain?

How do I add WordPress to Bluehost?

How do I add a theme to my website?

If you do have any other questions please let me know in the comments.