Basics of DIY Blog Designing

I play around my with my Blog Code Design a lot. I know it is not perfect yet, but I just don't have a reason to pay for some one to make my blog look completely amazing right now. I'm okay with trying to figure it out myself. Here are some tips and tricks on how I created all of my various bits and pieces. I couldn't find a compilation of information like this, and so I hope I am helping someone else in need out there! This is not the normal "how to pick your color scheme" or anything like that. There are plenty of posts out there about those topics. This is more about how to code certain aspects or how to do nifty things in Blogger.

I started out with one of the Simple templates on Blogger and then I figured out my own color scheme. It is definitely still in the works, but I like the direction I am going. I first test everything on another blog, called my "Test'" blog. I know. The name is SO original, but it really useful. I figure out what code works and what doesn't. Then, I put it on this blog to finalize it. You can check out my Test Blog here if you want to see a really messy blog. For everything below, I have used it on my blog. If I haven't tried it, it is listed at the very bottom. For each of the topics, I put them into categories the best that I can. I hope this helps you with your blog design!

For The Posts:

Create A Custom PinIt Button

link

Change PermaLink on Blogger Posts
link

Import and Export Blog posts and comments
link

Add a Related Links
link

Prevent Photos from Being Pinned
link

Create a Post Divider:

link

Create your own Social Media Icons

CreativeBloq link

Something Swanky link

HubSpot link

Picons link

Add Signature to Blog Posts

link

For The Side Bar

Customize Your SideBar Titles in Blogger:

link

For The Design:

Create Custom Background

link

Scroll To Top Button

link

For The Social Media:

Create Rich Pins for Pinterest

link

For Everything Else:

How to Center Almost Everything

link

Create a Custom Contact Form

link

Redirect blog to another blog
link

AdSense FAQ

Transfer Previous AdSense Account to New Blog [link]
One Account, Multiple Sites [link]
How to Put AdSense Ads on Blogger [link]
Get Started with Ad Code [link]
Create an Ad Unit [link]

Great Resources for Blogger Tips!

I Can Build a Blog [link]

Anna Marie Moore [link]

Something Swanky [link]

A Typical English Home [link]

Things I find Cool:

Set up a Custom Domain for Blogger [link]

Add a Recent Posts Widget [link]

Create a GIF for your blog [link]

How to Turn Your Own Handwriting Into a Font [link]

Learn how to Code HTML [link]

*Please Note: All of these hints and tips are for the Blogger platform. I do not know anything about WordPress or any other platforms. Also, all credit goes to the authors of the blogs in the links above. Nothing is my original work. I just combined them onto one page.

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CHEAP Programs to Use for Blogging

I am not in any way a Photoshop or Illustrator expert, and because of that I don't want to pay full price for the programs. Instead, I found some awesome programs to use instead of the Adobe ones. They still take a little bit to learn, but since they are inexpensive or free of charge, you feel bad if you don't use it.

1) Microsoft Word/Excel 

Do you actually know how much you can do with Word or Excel? Did you know there are classes out there specifically for Word and Excel because there is so much you can do with it?!?! I was able to create beautiful address labels from my own computer by simply using Mail Merge and an image. Aren't they pretty? 

On a side note: Did you know you can code with Excel? I didn't even know until one of my internships in college. I immediately set out and learned how to do it. Its so easy! Now, I use it for work and for personal things too. I've created budgets and other spreadsheets by using them. Its so simple! Maybe I'll create something and post it for you guys some day!

2) Google Drive

 I use Google Drive to save all of my work/codes/crafting ideas. As a consultant, I don't get to carry my personal laptop with me while traveling, and so I end up writing a lot of the blogs on the road. Google Drive allows me to save everything in a cloud, and access it from anywhere! I think Dropbox is also great too, but since I used a Google account to create this blog, I thought I should stick with what I have for now. I am also able to share files via Google Drive on a blog post. Its a really useful tool!

3) Gimp 

Gimp is amazing. Its free Photoshop, and thankfully there are so many tutorials out there on how to use it. I'm learning something new every day. I've used it on my previous blog template to modify my logo, create my signature, and to help create certain images for blogging. I will say it is difficult to get the hang of, but thankfully there are so many sites out there to help! Click here to download Gimp or here to look at some tutorials.

4) PicMonkey

I have recently discovered the fantastic world of PicMonkey. I never knew you could do so much with the program. Of course I had heard of it before, but I just thought it was like Picnik. Boy, was I wrong. For around $5 a month, you can get a photo editor and a simple version of Photoshop. I have done most of my blog design using this tool. You can have a free month free?

5) Pixlr

I haven't actually tried this software yet. I've heard great things about it, but from what I can tell its a photo editing online software. I signed up for it and at a glance it looks like Photoshop or PicMonkey. 

I hope this helps out any future bloggers or bloggers stuck in the same situation as me. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!

Notice Something New?

See anything new? I finally created my own blog design! It is very cute-sy, but I love it. I'm a big lover of  bright color. To design all of this, I had to do a lot of research. For any of my readers out there who are interested in DIY Design, I have added a tab that shows all of the links I used to create this blog design. I do not take credit for anything I used because I did not create it. I grabbed it from someone else's posts and tips. The people on that tab are super helpful. If you are trying to find something in particular, I recommend Pinterest and Google to find ideas. That is where I found most of the blogs in my DIY Blog Design tab. Go take a look.