Whether you are just starting out or you’ve been blogging since before anyone knew what a blogger was, chances are you have had blog design on your mind on several occasions.
From a new blogger to a long-time veteran blogger, I have no doubt you will find a wealth of resources and useful advice in Melissa Culbertsons “Blog Design for Dummies”.
From selecting your fonts and colors to choosing your blog layout and working with images, you will find a plethora of core design principles that will impress not only you but your readers as well!
When I found out Melissa Culbertson of BlogClarity.com (formerly MomComm) wrote a book on blog design, I was so eager to read it I messaged her personally and asked her if I could do a book review for her. I was so excited when she said yes!
Most of you probably don’t know this about me, but I majored in web development. In my study of web development however, I discovered web and graphic design is my true passion.
Having the opportunity to read “Blog Design for Dummies” from my IT perspective gave me a new insight into what Bloggers and business owners alike need to understand when it comes to the design of their blogs or websites.
One of the things that I really enjoyed about this book is that I didn’t feel as though I was reading a ‘dumbed down’ version of an IT textbook, in fact, it didn’t feel like I was reading a textbook at all. More like, an informative article breaking down the basics in easy to understand formatting; whether you’re a novice or a veteran blogger this book will speak to you! If you’re familiar with the Wiley Brand “For Dummies” series, you know the quality of books they publish too. In the words of Melissa:
“This book isn’t meant to make you a full-fledged blog design expert, but you don’t have to be a design expert to whip up a nice-looking blog. Sure, you might want to know how to do this and that. The more you learn, though, the more you can add to your blog design over time, whether you’re enhancing the design or the functionality.”
Seriously, I can’t begin to tell you how well written this book is. It’s such a refreshing change of pace from the drab IT books I was required to read in college. Let me just say IT authors ‘think’ they have a great sense of humor. Trust me, they don’t!
Melissa’s writing was not only helpful but she writes in such a way that it actually kept me interested and intrigued in the content. Something you won’t find very often in most IT textbooks.
You will walk away with a lot of useful knowledge from her book I assure you. Here are just a few insights that I picked up along the way:
Consider this book an investment in your business and read it! It’s not one of those books you have to read from cover to cover either. Just go through the highlights of what you feel you need to understand the most. If you are rusty in some areas, it’s a great way to refresh your knowledge too!
Please come back and tell me what you thought of it and what changes you implemented in your own blog because of it.
For me, I learned that less really is more and that just because I find a shiny new widget or plugin, doesn’t mean it’s going to work great or make my blog better. I will be putting a lot more work into learning SEO and keywords as well and making sure my website is responsive and mobile-ready. Most importantly, I want my blog to feel inviting and easy to navigate so that my readers will want to return soon.
Tell me what you think about this book and what part of your blog do you feel you need help with the most?
This book isn't meant to make you a full-fledged blog design expert, but you don't have to be a design expert to whip up a nice-looking blogI feel so strongly that you’ll LOVE this book that I am giving away (at MY cost) your choice of either a hardcopy or ebook version for one VERY lucky winner!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
*Disclaimer: I was given this book to review and write my honest opinion about. I was not compensated in any other way. All opinions are my own.
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As the founder of Why Not Mom; a unique online directory of mom-owned boutiques and mom-invented products, Tonia has strived to create a unique organization of female business owners, creating a diverse network that assists each other in driving more business to one another, in addition to providing tools and resources to achieve success in their business endeavors. It is her passion to make Why Not Mom the world’s largest online directory of women-owned businesses in the pursuit of strengthening families and supporting small business owners worldwide.
I’m excited to learn more nitty-gritty stuff of blog design aside from the basic stuff I know now! 🙂
It’s such a great book for basic and nitty-gritty! Thanks for stopping by Tori!
I think a specific cloth diaper section on your Shop would pull a lot of attention 🙂
I’ll add it to my list! Thats a great idea!
I’d love to learn a few things about the few features which elude me!
I’m glad it’s only a ‘few’ features at least! 😉
I’ve always wanted to learn about blog design. I’m blogger and I know I can get inspired from your book to make my blog better!
Melissa’s book is most certainly inspiring, I’ve been tweaking mine non-stop since I read her book!
I just know the very basics, I know there is a lot of information that could help me make improvements.
It’s definitely worth reading for all those little improvements on our blogs! Thanks for stopping by Karen!
While learning web design I got the HTML CSS stuff but I never could figure out how to make it look nice aka the design part. I’m really excited about is book because now I’ll finally know how to make a good website.
I know what you mean. I studied web development but they really didn’t get into the design part and didn’t teach wordpress at all, only Joomla. I think you’ll really get a lot of this book.
I love the For Dummies books, and would LOVE to have this book because I’m constantly learning new things about design, and it looks like a great resource. Thanks for a great giveaway!
What’s great about this “For Dummies” series of books is that it’s in FULL COLOR! I forgot to mention that in my review, but it’s really impressive!
Thank you for entering and sharing!
Really, I’m pretty clueless as far as blog design goes, so any information will help. This is great!
Hi Kathleen! I hope you find this book as helpful as I did! Thanks for entering!
I love playing around with my blogs’ (yes, all three!) design but don’t have enough of technical knowledge to do so. I’ve been reading Melissa’s blog for a couple of months and I’m really sure that this book will be a great resource!
I can barely manage one blog I can’t imagine THREE! lol! You’ll love this book for the technical as well as design aspect of it.
I’m excited that it is written so that even I can understand it! I would LOVE this!
No kidding right? After taking IT classes it’s nice to have one I can understand! lol!
It is a book that is written so anyone can understand I am horrible with design and need to learn badly.
It is great for the novice or veteran so I’m sure you’ll get a lot out of it Katie! Thanks for stopping by!
I love looking at all the different business and things to buy, I am a It Works distributor and would love to see that 🙂
Thanks Katie, I appreciate you stopping by! I’ve had a lot of inquiries with different direct selling companies. However I don’t think that’s the direction we will be going with this site. Otherwise I’d have to pick and choose from hundreds of representatives for the same company. I might consider it later on when my site is going full force. Time will tell! 😉
Honestly, there are so many little “hacks” and widgets, I don’t even know where to start. It’s driving me NUTS because I know there’s so much more I can do with my design!!!
Oh my gosh! There really ARE! I keep adding and removing widgets and plugins and it seems I’m never content! lol!
I do feel that I good blog design will keep people come back again and again. I’m not an expert so I had my site designed by a friend, but there are a few things I’ve learned to do on my own. I would love to learn more about it so I could change things on my own, etc.
So true, I get so frustrated when I see blogs that look like they’re plastered with ad after ad. Total turn off for me. I personally like a clean and simple design. Thanks for stopping by Rachel!
I am excited to learn more about blog design. I’d love to get my site to look more pristine and professional.
We never seem to be done with our blogs do we? I think you’ll really appreciate the quality and content of this book Amber, thank you for stopping by!
Thanks for the suggestion Angela, I’ll add it to my list!
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