Blog Design For Dummies

 Content: Machine generated contents note: About This Book --
 Foolish Assumptions --
 Conventions Used in This Book --
 Icons Used in This Book --
 Beyond the Book --
 Where to Go from Here --
 pt. I Getting Started with Blog Design --
 ch. 1 Recognizing Components of a Well-Designed Blog --
 Knowing Why Blog Design Matters --
 Communicating with design --
 Orienting users with navigation design --
 Discovering How Readers Visually Travel Your Blog --
 Exploring how visitors click through websites --
 Recognizing that people are skimmers --
 Using Design Elements That Complement Your Message --
 Communicating your brand through design --
 Acknowledging the importance of images --
 Applying enough formatting --
 Creating a Great-Looking Blog (When You Aren't a Designer) --
 Striving for simplicity --
 Building a blog that's intuitive --
 Keeping design balanced --
 Staying away from clutter --
 Looking at Available Tools --
 Selecting a blogging platform --
 Finding an image-editing program --
 Using themes and templates --
 Exploring the importance of widgets and plug-ins --
 ch. 2 Applying Core Design Principles --
 Providing Structure with Proximity --
 Grouping related content --
 Defining white space --
 Using Repetition --
 Creating consistency --
 Using repetition without being boring --
 Creating Contrast --
 Exploring methods to create contrast --
 Applying the right amount of contrast --
 Aligning Design Elements --
 Creating order through alignment --
 Using grids or lines to aid in placement --
 ch. 3 Getting to Know Your Blog (Even Better) --
 Creating Goals for a Strong Design --
 Pinpointing what you want to accomplish --
 Drawing attention to goal-oriented design elements --
 Defining Your Writing --
 Carving out a niche (or not) --
 Showcasing your voice --
 Determining your tone --
 Understanding Your Audience --
 Knowing your audience can benefit your design --
 Finding out who they are and what they want --
 Creating a user persona --
 ch. 4 Establishing a Style Guide --
 Exploring the Benefits of a Style Guide --
 Building a foundation of reference material --
 Creating consistency throughout your blog --
 Identifying Elements to Include --
 Defining your blog's purpose, voice, and tone --
 Formatting blog post titles --
 Knowing how to structure a blog post --
 Remembering your color palette --
 Ensuring correct usage of fonts --
 Applying consistent imagery --
 Listing frequently used words --
 Attribution of photos or quotes --
 Keeping handy your latest biography --
 Creating Your Style Guide --
 Developing Guidelines for Blogs with Multiple Contributors --
 pt. II Choosing the Visual Design Elements --
 ch. 5 Gathering Design Ideas --
 Creating a Mood Board --
 And Why --
 Compiling ideas by hand --
 Brainstorming on Pinterest --
 Keeping track of ideas with Evernote --
 Studying Other Blogs --
 Knowing what to look for --
 Looking outside your niche --
 Digging into Blog Analytics to Improve Navigation Design --
 Uncovering navigation issues by looking at bounce rate --
 Finding opportunities to highlight key content --
 Looking at referral traffic --
 Studying In-Page Analytics to see how users navigate --
 Deciding Who Designs Your Blog --
 Hiring a designer --
 Purchasing a predesigned theme or template --
 Designing it yourself --
 ch. 6 Selecting Fonts and Colors --
 Choosing Fonts --
 Exploring what fonts say about your blog --
 Choosing web-safe fonts --
 Expanding your options with embedded fonts --
 Knowing which fonts to avoid --
 Finding fonts --
 Combining complementary fonts --
 Assigning roles to fonts --
 Choosing Colors --
 Getting to know the color wheel --
 Defining RGB and hex codes --
 Creating color harmony --
 Finding color inspiration --
 Exploring what colors mean --
 Deciding on colors to match your brand --
 Determining how many colors to use --
 ch. 7 Developing Your Overall Blog Layout --
 Getting Familiar with Common Layout Types --
 Two-column right sidebar --
 Two-column left sidebar --
 Three-column right sidebars --
 Three-column with split sidebars --
 Magazine style --
 Adaptable layouts for different devices --
 Selecting a Blog Theme --
 Considering a theme's flexibility --
 Choosing between a free or premium theme --
 Finding sources for themes --
 Exploring Ways to Showcase Blog Posts on Your Home Page --
 Showing full blog posts or excerpts --
 Deciding how many posts to put on your home page --
 Creating blog post excerpts --
 Deciding Where to Place Advertising --
 Putting your visitors first --
 Avoiding advertising overload --
 Taking care of your current advertisers --
 ch. 8 Customizing Your Header, Footer, and Background --
 Expressing Visual Identity with a Strong Blog Header --
 Making a great first impression --
 Deciding whether you need a tagline --
 Choosing an effective header size --
 Designing a simple header --
 Enhancing Navigation with a Blog Footer --
 Creating a useful footer --
 Determining elements to include --
 Incorporating a footer into your design --
 Polishing Your Design with a Blog Background --
 Deciding on a solid or graphical background --
 Finding background patterns --
 Creating your own background pattern --
 Adding a background to your blog --
 ch. 9 Customizing the Design with Coding Basics --
 Seeing How HTML and CSS Work Together --
 Basic HTML Every Blogger Should Know --
 Inserting hyperlinks --
 Formatting words --
 Making lists --
 Inserting images --
 Basic CSS Every Blogger Should Know --
 Changing background color --
 Adjusting other colors --
 Changing font properties --
 Aligning text --
 Adjusting margins and padding --
 Styling links --
 Accessing the CSS in Your Blogging Platform --
 Inspecting Your Blog with Firebug --
 pt. III Designing for Easy Navigation and Interactivity --
 ch. 10 Navigation and SEO Basics --
 Discovering the Mission of Good Navigation --
 Staying focused on your readers --
 Limiting choice to drive action --
 Easing Navigation with SEO-optimized Blog Components --
 Building a sitemap --
 Creating proper headings --
 Using an effective title tag --
 Getting specific with a meta description --
 Making permalinks friendly --
 Adding alt attributes and titles to images --
 Getting specific using anchor text --
 Making Your Blog Mobile-Friendly --
 Responsive design --
 Using a mobile plug-in --
 Branding your plug-in --
 ch. 11 Laying Out Your Navigation Menu and Sidebars --
 Introducing Important Content with a Navigation Menu --
 Deciding what content to include --
 Exploring whether you need secondary navigation --
 Naming your tabs --
 Putting Together Your Navigation Menu --
 Selecting colors and fonts --
 Adding a simple menu --
 Adding images to your menu --
 Showcasing Key Information with a Sidebar --
 Tying placement back to blog goals --
 Keeping the same look and tone --
 Identifying Elements to Build a Sidebar --
 Introducing your social profiles --
 Providing ways to subscribe --
 Sharing a brief biography --
 Highlighting credibility --
 Adding great social media widgets --
 Including relevant buttons or badges --
 Incorporating advertising --
 Deciding how to showcase categories and archives --
 Saving space with a tabbed sidebar element --
 Including Visual Design within Your Sidebar --
 Adding interest with color --
 Creating section dividers --
 Showcasing key content through images --
 Staying Clear of Sidebar Distractions --
 Eliminating visual clutter --
 Avoiding auto-playing media --
 Limiting your counting widgets --
 Removing user behavior or location widgets --
 ch. 12 Making Content Easy to Find --
 Giving Visitors the Opportunity to Explore --
 Making Sure Visitors Find What They're After --
 Organizing with Categories and Tags --
 Grouping with categories --
 Describing with tags --
 Helping Readers Find Old Content --
 Adding a search box --
 Creating an archive page --
 Increasing Reach by Highlighting Your Blog Posts --
 Showing popular posts --
 Highlighting related posts --
 Linking to other pages --
 Building a sneeze page --
 ch. 13 Increasing Ability to Share and Interact --
 Exploring Sharing Buttons for Your Blog Posts --
 Deciding what social media platforms to include --
 Customizing your plug-in for effective sharing --
 Managing Comments --
 Capturing spam --
 Using word verification and moderation --
 Choosing a third-party commenting system --
 Highlighting Social Media Profiles --
 Adding social media buttons to your blog --
 Enhancing your blog with social media widgets --
 pt. IV Creating Design-Friendly Content --
 ch. 14 Designing Main Pages of Content --
 Incorporating Design into Your Blog Posts --
 Customizing blog post titles --
 Identifying what to include in your byline --
 Styling block quotations for visual interest --
 Sharing Your Story with an About Page --
 Breaking up areas through visual design --
 Including navigational cues --
 Laying Out the Basics with a Start Here Page --
 Showing off your best stuff --
 Asking your reader to take action --
 Encouraging a Sale with a Product Page --
 Piquing interest through quality imagery --
 Interesting your prospects with appealing testimonials --
 Closing the deal with a distinct call to action --
 Building an Enticing Resource Page --
 Grouping related content --
 Avoiding link lists --
 Creating an Informative Advertising Page --
 Showcasing your blog's opportunities --
 Selling ad space directly from your blog --
 Making Yourself Available with a Contact Page --
 Providing multiple ways to contact you --
 Minimizing distractions to encourage communication --
 ch. 15 Working with Images --
 Finding Photos for Your Blog --
 Knowing the anatomy of a good photo --
 Using your own photos --
 Using images from other sources --
 Understanding permissions --
 Editing Photos --
 Choosing photo-editing software --
 Choosing the right file format --
 Resizing photos --
 Cropping photos --
 Using Images in Your Blog Posts --
 Deciding where to place images within a post --
 Properly sizing images --
 Naming image files --
 Showcasing Multiple Images within a Post --
 Deciding how many images to include --
 Creating a photo collage --
 Adding a gallery --
 Working with Illustrations --
 Getting to know vector images --
 Note continued: Choosing vector-based software --
 Creating a simple vector graphic --
 ch. 16 Incorporating Design into Your Blog Posts --
 Banishing Long Blocks of Text --
 Breaking Text into Smaller Paragraphs --
 Using Subheadings --
 Including Images --
 Applying Indentation and Block Quotes --
 Including Lists --
 Increasing Space between Paragraphs --
 pt. V The Part of Tens --
 ch. 17 Ten Places to Extend Your Blog's Design --
 Facebook Page --
 Twitter --
 Google+ --
 Pinterest --
 E-books --
 Printables --
 Media Kit --
 Blog Badges --
 Blog Business Cards --
 Slides for Videos and Presentations --
 ch. 18 Ten Well-Designed Blogs Joy the Baker --
 Go See Write --
 Nom Nom Paleo --
 Say Yes to Hoboken --
 Alex Beadon --
 Los Angeles, I'm Yours --
 Rage Against the Minivan --
 What I Wore --
 Butter --
 The Everywhereist.
 Abstract:             
              The average blogger does not typically have experience with design or coding, but that shouldn't deter them from having a professional-looking blog design.                 Read more...