I was inspired to create this post as I've have been considering a blog makeover for quite sometime now and have noticed that a lot other blogs have also had an up do and are looking fabulous, so why not might as well join in.
I have been blogging since 2010 so four years now and I have always created my layouts and templates myself using blogger's standard template and html editor. However the increase and popularity in buying pre-made or custom designs becoming an 'in' thing - and Hey I'm all for it, html drives me insane and I have never managed to achieve a layout that I was 100% happy with when trying to create one myself. So really pre-made templates are a dream. Although if your like me and super indecisive when it comes to making decisions and the simple layout and look of things then choosing a template you love is the most difficult thing, EVER. Seriously I have been back and forth for days, weeks, and months trying to track down a layout that I will like and love.. forever.
So along this very time consuming journey I have learnt a few tricks and tips that helped me hugely when it came to making that final decision and you'll be surprised at how simple but effective they are.
Firstly I researched (which was the long bit) I looked at my favourite blogs and favourite layouts,
Etsy is great for the layout part as they have so many to choose and see in action (
preview). I highlighted what it was that I liked about the design and what key factors made the page stand out and drew me to look further. It is important to choose a layout that suits you and your blog already, most importantly a design that you know you'll continue to like. This is where my next trick comes in.. everybody please let me introduce you to (drum roll*) Microsoft Power Point. Oh yeah this old fashioned bad boy if my best friend when it comes to all things layout and collage assemble.
So before I go into details I just want to welcome you all to my blogs new face it was designed and created by the talented
Koytrna Bass. After hunting high and low her
designs were far by my favourite and all so reasonably priced too, literally I was down to four I couldn't choose from and they were all Koytrna's.
![HOW TO // Re Design you blog post]()
So after selecting four of my favourite templates I sat for quite some time trying to picture what my blog name and my images would look like in the side bar etc.. Then it came to me why don't I simply place my images over a screen grab of my favourites, seriously I don't know why I didn't think of this before (maybe you all did already and there is me on the late train, just getting it) but this simple little technique helped hugely.
1. First thing I did was screen grab my favourites layouts.
2. Open them in powerpoint and cut down to just layout screen.
3. Placed different images from previous posts on to each different layout, both in the post format and the sidebar.
4. Insert a 'textbox' over the title with Kirsty Wears covering the original, trying best to recreate the same font and colour.
These steps allowed me to get a different overall feel of what different types of images and posts would look like under each layout. After using different images I then went and did the same steps again but with all the same image and side bar profile. This allowed me to then realise which works better out of the 4. It is a really simple way of just creating a mini preview of what your blog will eventually look like and too see if you still like the look and feel.
In the end I was after a design that was bold enough to stand out, but simple enough for me to like it every time I go onto my blog. I was stuck between having a template with colour or just keeping it black and white themed, in the end I decide black and white was the best option for me as I like to keep my pictures the main focus. I wanted a design that was a little different from the rest (obviously I've purchased a pre-made design, so somewhere this design has been used before and it is not 100% original) and I like the fact that it was still minimal but not to minimal. So the template I purchased was '
Fashion Week' as I felt it was bold enough but simple enough for me to work with. I have listed below some other pretty templates I have come across whilst researching..
If you are not keen on buying pre made templates and are just looking for some tweaks to add and adjust your blog, below are some useful codes that I have frequently used over the years and found extremely helpful.
Adding recent or related posts under your current blog post for users
For this I have used both
Linkwithin (which I know is popular) and I now use
nRelate as I have heard Linkwithin redirects your users through their site briefly before containing onto your post which apparently can interfere with your stats something or other.
Make post images all the same size
Add this CSS code to your blogger template, under 'advance', adjusting the 'px' number to the size you want.
Code : .post-body img {
width: 500px!important;
height: auto!important; }
Align your blog header and date header
To either centre, right or left align the date and title. Change 'center' to either 'right' or 'left' in the codes below and enter these into your CSS under template, advance.
If you used an image for your header then to center add code below too CSS under 'advance' in blogger template.
#header-inner img {margin: 0 auto !important;} #header-inner {text-align:center !important;}
If you have text as your heading, then the code below will align in to the center, again input this into CSS under advance.
#header-inner {text-align: center ;}
These are the ones that I constantly used all the time, however I simply found these from Google and always have done when it came to editing my html. So if your ever stuck just ask Mr. Google he knows everything. Hope you found this post helpful or useful in anyway and let me know if you have had a blog makeover recently would love to check it out.
All template images are from Koytrna Bass Designs, I have linked all designs displayed.
