6 Mistakes Made in My Blog Design

If you have been following my blog before the summer months then you were familiar with my former blog design. Evidently I’ve now done some redesigning. Today I want to share with you some mistakes I made in my former blog design, so that you will have these in mind when you consider your blog design.

When I first switched over to a self-hosted blog last summer, I decided to invest in a professional blog design. The woman who designed my blog did an excellent job and was very patient with my requests.  However, the design I asked for and had created just wasn’t me. I was happy with it for around two to three months. After that I was yearning for something that more accurately portrayed me as a blogger.

So this summer I redesigned my blog to fit me and the brand that I want to grow. Check out these 6 mistakes I noticed in my former blog design.

1.Header

I loved my header when it was originally made, but the more I looked at it the more I realized it didn’t reflect me.  The only thing I liked about it was the scripty font of Blonde Freedom.

The main problem I have with the header are the colors. I didn’t incorporate those colors in anything I posted. I didn’t use those colors in Instagram posts or when creating text graphics. I liked the tribal print and the arrows, but once again I didn’t incorporate those looks and graphics into any of my blog content.

Bottom Line: Your header is one of the main things people see when they come to your blog. Make sure it’s an accurate reflection of you as a blogger and your branding.

2.Irrelevant Pages

The names of the pages I had listed at the top of my blog were not useful. Sure, the “About the Blonde” and “Contact” had relevant information, but not so much for “faith,” “fitness”, and “recipes.” Sure I posted content about faith and fitness, but nothing so important that it needs a page link. Guess how many recipes I had under the recipes page? One. One single recipe. It definitely did not need a separate page.

Bottom Line: Put some thought into the pages you decide to list across your header. Are they links to content that you regularly produce for?

 

3.Post Title

While the title of the posts does transfer the colors from the header, it’s almost too distracting. I would rather it be all the same color or more neutral colors.

Bottom Line: Contrast of color is good, but don’t go crazy with it! People still need to read it!

4.Sidebar Text

Like the post title, the sidebar text does continue the color from the header. However, can you even read what it says? The text was too small, was difficult font to read, and was a hard color to read.

Bottom Line: Little text is hard to read for anyone! Make it easy for you and the people reading!

5.Pages Post Title

You see “contact” at the top of the page. What do you think of the font of the text? To me it’s a little too childish. I’m also not a fan of the color once again.

Bottom Line: Your titles have a big influence if people actually read what’s on the page! 

6.Unused Social Media

When I created my new blog I thought it was a good idea to create a new Twitter account for my blog. It would have been a great idea if I actually used the Twitter for my blog. However, I didn’t use it at all. So my social media icon for Twitter was sending people to a Twitter account that I wasn’t even active on.

Bottom Line: Make sure your social media icons are ones you use and are up-to-date!

The blog design you see now is a work in progress and I have little things to fix here and there. I’m much happier with how my blog looks now and hope to continue to make improvements. 

Are there things about your blog you’d like to change?

Any critiques/suggestions about my current design?