In my post about the Pros and Cons of Blogging on WordPress, you learned that one major drawback to blogging on WordPress.com is the limited amount of customization allowed within the free templates. This is frustrating because you have a great blog and you want it to stand out!! There are plenty of ways you can make your blog your own, even within the constraints of free WordPress.com themes.
This post is specific to WordPress blogs. For information on installing a template on Blogger, head over Lindsay’s post on Shrimp Salad Circus!
Pick a Template That Suits Your Needs
Not all of the free WordPress templates are created equal. Some allow for a custom header, some allow a custom background, some allow you to choose between several color options. Prioritize what you’re looking for and decide which is best for you. When choosing a theme for my own blog, the ability to use a custom header was my biggest priority.
Make a Custom Header and Images
The header image is the very first thing readers see when they land on your blog, so it should be interesting enough to get them to stick around! Take a look at headers and images that catch your eye. I bet you’ll find that many of them are simply words. Or a photo with words. You can totally do that! Download yourself some cute fonts and let’s get this show on the road!
You don’t need expensive software to design your own header for your blog. Two free, downloadable programs are GIMP and Paint.NET (these are better if you have a slower internet speed). If you prefer to edit online (and for those trying to wean themselves off Picnik), try Photoshop Express or Pixlr Express. I prefer to use Photoshop so I’m not very familiar with any of these programs, but hopefully you will find one to suit your needs!
Evolution of the Her New Leaf header
Find out what size header your theme supports. This is super important because if it’s too small, it will get stretched, if it’s too large, it will get smooshed, and any stretching or smooshing will distort your image.
Open up your software and start messing around! Add a photo or two, type in your title, and make up a tagline to describe what you write about. You can’t learn how to use a program without trying, and the more you practice, the better you will get. Once you are comfortable with your editing software, you can also try making some sidebar buttons and add them using a text widget.
Add a Background
You can make a background yourself or you can use one of the millions of free backgrounds available for download online. One of my favorite resources for backgrounds is Colour Lovers; you can browse the user-submitted patterns and you can even re-color any pattern using your own color palette. All of the patterns are seamless so they will look great tiled in the background of your blog.
Use your Widgets
WordPress has a bunch of cool built-in widgets to add interest to your sidebar. You can display your photo and biography, your recent posts, or your Twitter feed. Widgets can also be used to add images, buttons, and links. Try them all out and mix and match!
There are tons of resources out there to help beautify your blog!
Have any tips on how you customize your own blog? Share them in the comments!
{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
Thank you! This all sounds great!
I’ve needed this!! Thank you
Many thanks! : )
I think you did an awesome job. I just went thru most of these steps solo when I set up my website last week and it would have been loads easier if I had come across this first
great information–thanks for sharing!
hi Kira! I really don’t know how to remove those recent posts, archives, categories and Meta on my sidebar? I am also using the same theme as yours, so bet you know the answer. Pretty please
Hi Tunay! Those are called widgets, you can edit them from your Wordpress dashboard by clicking Appearance > Widgets, then dragging and dropping the ones you want into or out of your sidebar.
Kira! you are saving me here. Thanks so much. Brilliant.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Thank you so much for posting this, I was thinking about paying someone to do the design parts of my blog, but after reading your posts I think I’m going to try and do it myself! X
Hi, it’s me again. Did you have to play around with the CSS on your theme so that the mobile version of your site shows up all right on cell phones? I’ve noticed that my blog always looks weird when I look at it in a web browser on my iPhone (like things I ‘hid’ in the CSS’ show up on the mobile version). Just wondering if you had run into anything similar!
Hi Esther! I actually don’t know much about mobile themes, I’m pretty sure I don’t even have one set up right now! Bad, bad blogger. If you find any good resources for tips on creating a mobile theme, please share!
If I’m using a Colour Lovers patterns that I coloured, how can I make the background of my entries on Wordpress to be white instead of the coloured pattern? Thank you so much for your helpful tips!!
Hi Skippy! The background color of your posts has to do with your selected theme – some are transparent and some are colored. I took a look at your blog and it looks like you got it all figured out – looks great!
I’ve kept my background blank for the time being, because I cannot achieve what I’d like to.
Is there a specific type of CSS or HTML code that makes the background centered like yours is? I’ve always wanted to create a background like yours (centered behind the main content) but only have experience with tiled backgrounds. Can you give me some pointers on what to look for, or where to start? Thanks Kira!
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Stephanie, send me an email at hernewleaf.kira@gmail.com – I actually had to get help from another blogger to do that but I’d be happy to “pay it forward” and share the code with you!
Great Tips!!!!
I love your blog site already! I’ve been browsing and reading one post after another. You’ve got lots of helpful tips especially for a beginner blogger like me. I use Pixlr Express and somehow I find it very cool for making blog headers! Well, I made mine using it. It works perfectly fine.
Thanks for sharing these great tutorials! I’ve linked to it in my post about blog re-redesigning (don’t want to promote myself, but lots of bloggers seem to want to see the post they’ve been linked to, so here’s the link: http://cocalores.blogspot.de/2012/07/tutorials-ans-ressources-for-your-blog.html). xo Anja
Anja recently posted..Tutorials and ressources for your blog design
Hi Kira!
My question is: what template did you use for your blog in Wordpress to customize the header? Or are there specific ones that you recommend? THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
I’m SOOOOO glad I found you! I have a Posterous blog and NEED to make the switch. I found your blog through my own “googling” and have been soaking up all of your tips
Thanks Kira!
I was an absolute beginner and your advice has helped me so much! If you want check it out (advice always welcome) Thanks so much x
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Hi Kira,
Your site is incredible!! You have such great tips- as a new blogger, it can all be very intimidating. Thank you and keep up the wonderful posts xo