You want new blog with a great look, or maybe you have a blog that needs a facelift. You might have come to this conclusion on your own, or you could have experienced one of our drive-by consults.
Before you send out that email to contact a designer, take a moment to form a clear idea of what it is you want for your blog.
The Look
Share the ideas of the look you might like for your design. No designer likes to hear the guidelines, “Make it pretty.” That’s far too vague, and it’s also a little silly – designers aren’t there to make their work ugly.
“Sharp and slick” or “professional and simple” isn’t enough, either. Those qualifiers help identify the mood you want to convey to a visitor, but a designer needs more. What colors can you imagine for your site? Which do you hate? Is there a specific image you’d like for the banner or logo?
When Brett came to us for “a blog that reminds people of Fight Club” or Monika asked us for “a classy black and white theme with a plume,” they had clear visions of what they wanted and did their best to share those visions with us.
They provided samples of images they liked, some rough sketches, guidelines of what they did and didn’t want, and details that made my job easy. With an overall theme in mind, their suggestions left me plenty of room to expand on the ideas and take them to the next level.
Functionality
Blog themes are everywhere for the taking. It’s easy to find plenty of great themes that you might love to have. Keep your head, though. Remember, just because a theme looks pretty doesn’t mean that it suits your needs.
Think about the type of blog you’ll have. Is it a personal blog for fun or a business blog? Will you be highlighting media like music downloads and videos? Do you want special functions or large images?
For every purpose, there is a theme. For every theme, there is a purpose. Forget about the looks. If there is a demo available, try it out and test functionality. Imagine how visitors would use the blog and extra functions before you ask a designer to customize it.
Hosting and Installation
If you’re on a free hosting service, like Blogger, TypePad, or WordPress.com, you won’t have the flexibility your own domain would allow you. It’s a better idea to host your own site to achieve full potential.
Make sure that your hosting service offers the WordPress application, because you’ll need it installed before you start blogging. Some hosting services may not have WordPress available.
Also, become familiar with your cPanel, the function that allows you to log into your host and upload files to your site.
A Little Bit of This and That
Some themes are plug and play. You upload a theme, activate a few plug-ins and away you go.
Other themes require you to be more code savvy. These themes may require changes to the code in order to have everything functioning and looking the way you want it to. These themes are definitely not for beginners. You may need to know about style sheets or know what to look for in a .php file.
You might also need a graphic editing program like Photoshop. Adobe offers a program called “Photoshop Elements“, a simpler version than its bigger brother. It’s perfect for the individual who wants to dabble from time to time.
More goes into creating a beautiful blog theme than simply contacting a designer. It’s not something to enter into impulsively. Build a checklist of what you want, and once you have that in order, then you’re ready to email your designer and get started.
Absolutely! Great advice, Harry. There are few things more pleasing as a web designer than having a client who knows what they want and knows how to express it.
At the same time, it’s important to give your designer some creative freedom. You’ll often get a much better result if you leave them with some space to breathe. Don’t give a designer an overly-developed blueprint that you’ve created yourself; you won’t be taking full advantage of their eye for design and usability, which is what you’re paying for in the first place!
I love what you’ve done for Monika and Brett — both are beautifully fit for purpose and show that you can turn your hand to any style or brief, however varied! Great work.
Nick Cernis’s last blog post..Moleskine Notebooks: The Ultimate Guide (and how to rank your addiction)
Ack. I’m starting to think you two pick my brain while I’m sleeping for topics.
“What does Amy need to read today?” Pen Man #1 asks, as #2 taps the frontal lobe…
I’ve thought of asking you guys to take on a few of my lawyer clients. Then I thought no…. because you’d end up hating me. These are not people who are good at making decisions. These are people who think “to the point and search engine optimized” is plenty of direction for an article.
But this will definitely help me. In a few ways. Just in case I forget to listen, Harold, do have the rifle standing by!!
Amy’s last blog post..HELP: an Acronym, a Tall Order
Good post, Harry. Clarity ahead of time makes things much easier. On my current blog design, I literally made a mock up in Photoshop and sent it to my designer so there would be no disconnect.
Disclosure - My cash is going to the Men with Pens team right now to do my blog redesign – as should yours
These guys ask great questions, are masters of helping clarify not only what you want your blog to look like, but what you want it to *do* when someone arrives at it …
I give ‘em four thumbs up! (my kid is standing here, so he’s putting his thumbs up for you guys!).
Dave Navarro’s last blog post..Catch Yourself Making Excuses, Then Do Something About It
When designing a website, I usually like to know these questions from the client:
1. What is your web address if you have one?
2. Description of your website
3. Give me a few websites you think look nice and like the functionality
4. What colors do you like
5. Do you have any images you want to use
And you’re right on about where to host your website. In my marketing endeavors for my company, I come across on a daily basis people wanting free web hosting. Everyone wants something for free.
The thing is, if you start a business on a free web hosting account, even if it’s something like Blogger or WordPress, you might find you’ll have a HUGE headache down the road if you later decide you need an actual big boy web hosting account and transfer everything over.
John Hoff’s last blog post..Is Your Website Web 2.0 or Corporate?
I am going to be a dream client.
Very Thought-provoking…I can’t even get my–not swearing here-plug in that I worked on all day Friday to work, so I haven’t progressed to this point yet. It’s all too much. I am just thankfull the Pen Men are here when I get that far. At least I now know what I have to mull over while I’m waiting.
Wendi Kelly’s last blog post..Stop and Smell the Goodness
Harry, this post is a great look into how a new blogger (or someone going to a custom design) should be thinking. I enjoyed working with you and James on my theme exactly because we understood each other’s needs, and you guys are great communicators.
@ Nick (& all, actually): after sharing my ideas with the Men, I gave them free rein to take my ideas and shape them as a professional can. When Harry sent me the proof, my mouth dropped open – it was perfect.
I put the DVD liner notes from the movie next to the blog theme and it was just perfect. Just as I imagined, in fact, better than I could ever have imagined.
So I changed nothing…
how could I?
I will have other blogs in the not too distant future, and my money is going to the Men with Pens. Thanks guys, you are the best!
Brett Legree’s last blog post..the power of one.
Harry,
Great thoughts as always. I explained it to a client last week this way: If I go to my hairdresser and say “do whatever you want,” I get her hair on my head. Unless you are positive that you and your hairdresser think alike, this is not enough direction. If I go in, tell her that generally I’m feeling like this much shorter is good, and I always like sexy yet professional, and I don’t want to have to fuss with it much, and blonder is better, then tell her I trust her on where to lay a scissor so I get that feel, color, and maintenance, I’ll get my hair the way I like it, interpreted by a professional. As long as she’s a good listener.
Insert design terms everywhere in that paragraph. You’ve got to talk to your designer, then trust them. “Do anything” is topped only by nitpicking in terms of wrecking a professional’s ability to give you what you want and need.
Regards,
Kelly
P.S. The way your “clients” hang around here like family is the World’s Best Advertisement, isn’t it?
Kelly’s last blog post..Tip of the Week: Thank-You Knowts—So Old They’re New Again
I enjoyed this post Harry. Thank you. For the moment and strictly due to financial constraints I have had no choice but to begin with the “free” blogging site that is available. I can use some of these suggestions for now for my personal blog. I look forward to later on when I will be able to do more.
Brett’s site looks phenomenal, as does the Men With Pen site, so I know what is available farther on down the road.
I also wanted to try something on my own, so yes, it is very simple but it is very much me. I didn’t need to ask my husband for help because I was able to figure out most of it myself.
Jenny Burr’s last blog post..Conversation Stopper
@Nick: You’re right, too much or too little information is always a problem. It’s got to work like the 3 Bears; it has to be just right. I think the thing is to have your idea in mind and provide all the detail you can, but at the same time, be flexible enough to accept changes when the designer says something won’t work or another way might be better.
@Amy: This was written over a week ago. We know what you want before you want it.
@Dave: I was just saying to James yesterday you deserve extra points for providing a sketch! As with Brett, that helped me to look at what you needed and formulate suggestions for what might work better.
@John: All very good points, especially about the free hosting. That was the point I was trying to make to the bloggers on Seekerville
@Karen: watch and learn!
@Brett: Thanks. Clear communication is everything, and so is the willingness to provide the extra support afterwards. A job doesn’t just end with the handing off of files, there’s always a few more questions with set up, as you well know
@Kelly: Good analogy, you’re absolutely right.
@Harry –
As a Quality Assurance manager by day, I HATE rework with an unyielding, undying, unquenchable passion. HATE. IT.
A picture is worth a thousand re-edits.
Dave Navarro’s last blog post..Catch Yourself Making Excuses, Then Do Something About It
@Jenny: When you’re ready to make the move, we’ll be here.
@Dave: Amen, brother.
@Kelly
I go to my hair dresser and say “Do what you want” and she does a great job.. over the years she’s brought my sideburns up and down, made the back longer and shorter to match whatever current fashion says I’m supposed to have – without her I’d have no idea; might as well put a bowl over my head and cut what sticks out.
If I were going to have someone redesign my blog, I’d look to them for artistic guidance because I have no sense of color or proportion. And sure, I’d tell them a bit about what I want the design to “say”, but I think I’d ask them to first tell me what it says now.. because I don’t even know the answer to that!
But of course I’m too cheap to pay someone to do any of that
Ha! I’ve been kicking around the idea of a complete overhaul for weeks now. After James’ post about mis-branding and now your post, Harry, I think I’ve built up enough courage! I’m pitching my domain name and all the content and starting fresh! I can’t wait!
MwP has inspired me to change for the better!
@ Jenny: thank you! and when you are ready, the Men will do a really great job of your site also.
@ Harry: you are welcome – credit where credit is due, and that’s another thing I forgot to mention, so thanks for reminding me.
These guys (Harry & James, James & Harry) are awesome this way – you send them an email, an IM, a tweet, and they are there to help. Like the Koala Brothers, only cooler
Brett Legree’s last blog post..the view from the other side.
@Brett: Just like the K Brother’s Helping song. Yes, I had to watch it one day just to see what you all were talking about. Keep in mind, I have no kids. I was amused, the cats were just baffled.
@Amy, I agree with the brain probe thing.
I think they pay someone to send us subliminal messages in email and Harry designs the graphics to brainwash us all. That makes me wonder what James’ part is. Maybe he’s just the bling to attract more readers. The Pen Men are taking over the WEB!
@ Harry: exactly! I think I’d know about the K Bros even if I had no kids, I think that part of me never grew up so I tend to know about most of the cool kids shows. You can learn a lot from them.
The only show we watch as an entire family is Spongebob (my sides are usually hurting at the end of that…)
Brett Legree’s last blog post..the view from the other side.
Amy,
It’s all about the sex appeal. That shot of possibly-James’ forearm (or stock photog) is why Harry keeps him here, to attract the ladies.
Brett, Harry,
My kid is getting too old. Koalas? I don’t know who you’re talking about. Yippee!
Later,
Kelly
Kelly’s last blog post..Tip of the Week: Thank-You Knowts—So Old They’re New Again
@Dave, the Photoshop mock-up is the only way to go. I make one every time I work on site design!
I’ve always gone with independent hosting (as opposed to freebies), but I have to say I’m not that happy with my hosting company. My e-mail and the site seem to go down a lot more than I’d like. If anyone has any tips in that area, I’m all ears!
Melissa Donovan’s last blog post..Jeff Buckley: Grace (Album)
@ Kelly: here you go http://www.koalabrothers.com/ they have an airplane, and they live in Australia (hi Monika!) so that makes them really cool
Brett Legree’s last blog post..the view from the other side.
@Melissa: Check out In Motion Hosting. We’ve been with them for several years now after having gone through some of the problems you’ve mentioned. If you do decide to go with them, let us know. We’ve recently become a part of their affiliate program.
Harry, I have a few more months on my contract. If I go with Motion Hosting I’ll definitely give you a heads up for the affiliate. My current host has automated installs. I click “install WordPress” and voila! So, I’m hoping to find a company with a similar feature. I will check them out!
Melissa Donovan’s last blog post..Jeff Buckley: Grace (Album)
@Melissa: Just FYI, IMH has that too, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
@Melissa – just make sure before you do the “1-click install” that the current version they provide is the latest version of WordPress. If not, download it from wordpress.org. This way you won’t install an older version and then immediately have to upgrade.
It’s also possible that the particular server you’re on has another website (or a few) that’s hogging all your server’s cpu time. You’ll know this because at times your site will move quickly and others it will move more slowly. You might even get a “can’t find site” and then when you hit refresh it comes up. If this is the case, you could ask to have your site moved to another server, some companies will do it, some won’t.
John Hoff’s last blog post..The Best Rule To Follow: Keep It Simple
@Tony: If you want to put yourself in the line of fire, we could schedule a hit…um…a drive-by.
It’s all the rage now, don’t-cha know.
Hallo everyone. I had a beautiful day in the sun and snow, and I’m pleased to see that life on the blogosphere didn’t explode without me.
I love the Koala Brothers. I especially enjoy their theme song and sing it out loud (with dancing!) each time it plays.
And sure. I’ll be the bling. Harry can be the brains. Can I work less now?
@John Hoff, Yes, my site is currently sharing server space. I know that is part of the problem. They do offer some package with get dedicated server space but they charge by the MB, which sounds pretty costly. At some point I’m going to have to look deeper into this. IT is obviously not my specialty.
My biggest concern is making the move. Site goes down, transfer files. I have more than one site so I don’t know how that will go down. I did it once before but my sites were inactive. Well, at least I have a couple of months before I’ll be able to do anything…
Melissa Donovan’s last blog post..Jeff Buckley: Grace (Album)
@Melissa – The best way to do it is keep your domain name registered with wherever you have it now. Then open up a new web hosting account with your new provider. Do this a little before your current one expires.
Then upload all your files to your new web hosting account. Get the dns from your new hosting provider (they should send you this in an email when you sign up or you can ask them what it is) and point your current domain name to your new web hosting account.
Every change in the DNSes of a domain name leads to 24 hours downtime until the new DNSes propagate through the net.
You can move your WordPress database by exporting it from the old host and then upload it to the new account using the phpMyAdmin.
Hope that was helpful. That’s the way I’d do it.
BTW, checked out IMH. They look to be pretty solid on the surface.
@James – Never heard of the Koala Brothers. And can you work less? Didn’t I tell you to get to work a day or two ago? LOL.
John Hoff’s last blog post..The Best Rule To Follow: Keep It Simple
@John: I agree with pretty much everything, but I don’t see a need to mess with the WP database. If she exports the xml file from the WordPress dashboard, that carries all the settings, comments and posts. All she has to do is import that into the new WP application on the new server.
We’ve never had to mess with MySql when transferring from one place to another. Or were you thinking of something else?
Very cool. I didn’t know about that feature in WordPress. Well, that makes things a lot easier!
John Hoff’s last blog post..The Best Rule To Follow: Keep It Simple
@John: You learn something new every day, eh?
Oh god, I sound like a Canadian now.
I love the idea of having a beautiful new blog . . . I love even more the idea of having a beautiful new website . . . .
I suspect, too, that I should make sure this whole blogging thing is going to stick before I pay someone money to make it look lovely and then get distracted by something shiny. Ooh – tinsel! And then the blog gets abandoned.
It’s been known to happen. I have a girlfriend who is actually addicted to picking up broken bottle glass. True story. And she NEVER blogs.
Tei’s last blog post..Things Bloggers Know.
@John @Harry, Yes, I like to use the export/import feature in WordPress. I also use that to back up my blogs each month! It’ll be a scary move but I’ll probably have to go through with it if things don’t improve soon.
Thanks for all the tips
Melissa Donovan’s last blog post..Jeff Buckley: Grace (Album)
ya u write all points for building a good professional blog
ajay’s last blog post..Windows 7 in 2009 : Gates Said
@Tei: Yes, bright shiny things are James’ downfall too.
And thanks for the link in your post. I left two comments, but I think the first one got eaten by free Word Press. I enjoyed your post very much and I think if you did stick to it, you could make a successful blog of it.
@ Melissa – It’ll only be scary if you continue to make it scary by telling yourself it’s scary.
@ Tei – One of the biggest mistakes we see is people who put up free blogs and really do a bad job on design. Then they say, “I’ll make it better when I make money.” Well, with a bad design, no one makes money… Thank you for not being one of those ugly ones; I like your blog’s looks.
@ Harry – Bright shiny things can be good, you know. Arse. Canadian arse. *smirks*
Bright shiny RSS buttons are Harry’s downfall. *Snoop locates writing/gaming button, sighs at Harry’s addiction.*
Kelly’s last blog post..Tip of the Week: Thank-You Knowts—So Old They’re New Again
@ Kelly – I disagree. Bright, shiny RSS buttons are Harry’s signature trademark
*Is completely puzzled about the snoop writing/gaming button reference…*
Technorati. Seeing what a few people I respect read, located a blog he’s working on with yet another fancy fancy RSS button. (Maybe abandoned? I assumed recent because of the button.)
Kelly’s last blog post..Tip of the Week: Thank-You Knowts—So Old They’re New Again
He called them his addiction or some such a couple of weeks/eons ago.
Kelly’s last blog post..Tip of the Week: Thank-You Knowts—So Old They’re New Again
Techno-…. *cough cough cough cough mutters about leaking upcoming projects*
YEAH! *redirects conversation smoothly* So how about that weather outside?! Beautiful day, eh? What’ll you be up to, Kelly?
That’s why I spoke in code. Then you asked, so…
Kelly’s last blog post..Tip of the Week: Thank-You Knowts—So Old They’re New Again
Dishes
Finishing two web pages due tomorrow and one for myself if time
Compiling interviews I did last week, and making a list of interviews for next week for a new blog series
Bills
Listening to as much music as possible
Figuring out a post for tomorrow
Database entries that never get done on weekdays
Picking up daughter at 6
Kelly’s last blog post..Tip of the Week: Thank-You Knowts—So Old They’re New Again
Laundry
Vacuuming
Change bedsheets
Get some sun
Write blog posts
Procrastinate on web content
Procrastinate on accounting ebook
Think about listening to music and then forget I wanted to do that
Longingly gaze at the guitar and feel guilty I haven’t played in three weeks
Pick up daughter at 4
Oh, darn, now I have to add laundry, since you reminded me.
No sun here. Pouring rain.
And cause trouble for my favorite Men. Can’t skip that step.
Kelly’s last blog post..Tip of the Week: Thank-You Knowts—So Old They’re New Again
Put music on immediately, so I wouldn’t say what happened to that plan later. I do that all the time. : )
Now I’ll rock out and get things done with a smile.
Kelly’s last blog post..Tip of the Week: Thank-You Knowts—So Old They’re New Again
@Kelly: It’s not an addiction. It’s becoming my signature trademark. I’m on a mission to do what no one else is doing, and if that means animated RSS buttons, so be it. If you start to see them elsewhere, you can say you saw it here first.
Oh, and I’ll be doing the following:
writing posts
cleaning the desk
laundry
Here’s a great example of something Harry mentioned up above. I didn’t have my email subscriptions code working, and Harry fixed it for me today, as well as fixing a couple of other little things.
*Top notch service*
Thanks again guys – Brett
Brett Legree’s last blog post..the view from the other side.
Brett,
Pen Men are pretty cool.
You know I subscribed two seconds after this comment showed up in my inbox. Stopped what I was doing and everything.
Dishes *check*
Two pages *check*
My page decided to do two; one’s done, one is *giving me trouble grr*
Skipped to interviews *check*
Music *thank goodness*
Bills *ugh*
On to post for tomorrow, time to see what I’ve got stockpiled.
Regards,
Kelly
Kelly’s last blog post..2008 Interview Series
Here’s my checklist:
Partial – Laundry
Not done – Vacuuming
Not done – Change bedsheets
Not done – Get some sun
Done – Write blog posts
Doing – Procrastinate on web content
I actually finished this – Procrastinate on accounting ebook
Got 10 minutes in before I had to turn it off (can’t write and listen at the same time) – Think about listening to music and then forget I wanted to do that
Done – Longingly gaze at the guitar and feel guilty I haven’t played in three weeks
Still to do – Pick up daughter at 4
On the other hand, I had two client calls, one phone meeting, an impromptu run to pick up the teen… So I did do stuff. Just not what I wanted to. *sigh*
@ Kelly: I hear you, believe me. We should do a blog post like this:
“Men with Pens. Cool. P-Diddy. Not cool.”
(nothing personal against Puffy, just needed an example)
Wow, I’m looking forward to your “Series” posts this year.
- Brett
Brett Legree’s last blog post..the view from the other side.
Cool like Fonzy, dude. Cool like Fonzy.