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Post by Erin Shebish on Nov 10, 2014 14:11:28 GMT
Good morning! My name is Erin and I'm the blogger behind Sugar-Crumbs.com. I'm also the mentor for the Cooking and Food board. Yay! I'm so excited to get started and to get to know everyone.
Today we're going to be chatting about Blog Design. So now is a perfect time to take a look at your blog design! It is aesthetically pleasing? Are your side bars too cluttered?
Be sure to share a link to your blog if you have any questions/concerns OR just want a second opinion. Sometimes having a fresh perspective is all you need to really fine tune your design.
Thanks so much for joining in The Blog Mentoring Event and I can't wait to see your designs!
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awtwd
New Member
Posts: 3
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Post by awtwd on Nov 10, 2014 14:14:40 GMT
Hello Erin! I am a lifestyle blogger switching to mainly food blogging. I have had to redo some of the pictures to make my food more visually appealing (at least now I think they are). I just need a second eye to let me know I am in the right direction... Here I am: AWomantheWorldDeserves.com
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Post by Erin Shebish on Nov 10, 2014 14:23:42 GMT
Hi there, awtwd!
I just went to your blog to check out your food photos and you are definitely in the right direction! Your main photo for the Red Beans and Rice with Sausage is absolutely mouth watering. My only real suggestion is to put some writing on that lovely lovely photo! Adding the name of the recipe to the photo makes it much more Pinterest Friendly.
Looks absolutely delicious though and I can wait to read more of your blog!
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Post by Curious Cuisiniere on Nov 10, 2014 15:13:35 GMT
Hello! Glad to be a part of this! My husband and I have been struggling with our blog design for a while now. We just don't think the design captures the personality of the blog, and I wonder if a change would make it more appealing to our readers. We try to keep our focus mainly on appreciating culinary heritage, be that learning about the ingredients and techniques behind our food or experimenting with local or global cultural cuisine. Thanks for any feedback! You can find us at Curious Cuisiniere!
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Post by allinall on Nov 10, 2014 15:54:51 GMT
Hello! I write about food, faith, and family. I really love writing and sharing recipes, so I'm looking to focus more on the food blogging niche. For now I am on Blogger. Because my monthly page views are over 200,000 I've been told that I may need a pro level hosting plan once I switch to WP. It's a little too pricey for me at the moment since I've only just begun to monetize. So I'm holding off on the switch until after the new year. In the meantime, I want my blog to look as professional as possible given my current platform. I'm not spending any money on it since I'll be switching soon. What do you like? What changes would you suggest? Are there any apps for Blogger to make printing recipe cards possible? I'm a totally amateur photographer, so any ideas there would be great. Thanks! www.carissashaw.com
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april
New Member
Posts: 4
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Post by april on Nov 10, 2014 17:33:19 GMT
Hi! I'm April and blog at www.myrealfoodfamily.com. I'm just now starting to monetize my blog and try to take it from a hobby to an income-producer. I've been considering a new theme so I'd love to get some opinions on my blog and suggestions to grow it.
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Post by cookienameddesire on Nov 10, 2014 19:24:42 GMT
Hi all! I blog over at cookienameddesire.com. I've been blogging for a year and a half now, but just started food blogging since January. I am using the Foodie Pro design now, but I've been wondering if my sidebar is too cluttered.
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Post by Erin Shebish on Nov 10, 2014 21:09:37 GMT
Sara, thanks so much for leaving your link! I love your blogs content but I can see why you feel your design doesn't really capture the personality of the blog. On my computer, the backgrounds are all a littler darker... like off whites and greys. Maybe a brighter background would help liven it up? I find that clean/bright backgrounds are key in blog design. It doesn't have to be white either!
Have you considered talking to a designer about where you'd like your blog design to be? I think blog design is one of the best things to invest in. You can have absolutely GREAT content and still not get your views where you want them if it's not aesthetically pleasing. Isn't that funny?
But I think you're on the right track with such a clean layout!
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Post by Erin Shebish on Nov 10, 2014 21:15:53 GMT
AllInAll, thanks for sharing your link! I think you're going to love the switch to wordpress, there are so many options there for food bloggers and recipe plug ins. I'm not sure about recipe widgets for blogger though. Maybe someone else could chime in with a suggestion? I think photography can be tougher with lighting... my suggestion for photos would be to find a window in your house that offers great lighting and set your photos up there! Lighting can make all the difference When you say you want your blog to look as professional as possible, what does that mean to you? Take a look at other blogs designs that you like and figure out what it is you like about them. You can easily make changes to blogger to meet your needs. And yay for 200K+ views!
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Post by candielm on Nov 10, 2014 21:18:31 GMT
My name is Candi over at adayincandiland.com. My focus has changed several times. At this point it is changing from a tea party site, which never really happened. I was trying to bring my business of desserts and tea parties into my blog, but it didn't work for me. I have two websites, 3 social media profiles for each site and I have to separate them and don't know which ones to use. I have personal, blog and business on each one. I am focusing on my blog more than my business now. I am trying to monetize so looking for the right niche and tagline and theme to work on. I write more about desserts, but want to bring in Southern California travel and locations into it. I need advice on my images, which I am not great with picmonkey. Also I want more how tos and tips instead of just recipes. Recipes takes a long time for me to write, since I have to make it, take photos and write it. (looking for advice on this) Need a new tagline, with the words I have but rewrite it, so its not about tea parties. It could be about sharing recipes and friendship over a cup of tea and dessert maybe. I have been trying to get my numbers up to get some sponsored posts but that hasn't happened.I have been approved to several but they don't offer me any.
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Post by Erin Shebish on Nov 10, 2014 21:19:36 GMT
April, welcome to income producing blogging! I just stopped by your blog and did a quick review. I think you're definitely on the right track for your blog BUT I think the food collage at the top is a liiiiitttle overwhelming. That could just be personal tastes speaking out, of course, but I think it takes away from your blogs clean design.
And hello, scroll to top feature! I absolutely love that!!!
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Post by Erin Shebish on Nov 10, 2014 21:21:56 GMT
CookieNamedDesire, I LOVE your blog! Your design is clean and pretty. I don't think your sidebar is overly cluttered BUT if you feel concerns about it, don't hesitate to make changes.
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Post by Erin Shebish on Nov 10, 2014 21:29:40 GMT
Candielm, thanks for joining us! First things first! I think it's important for you to decide what you'd like your blog to look like and to make any changes to your tag line. I think it's important to address those two things before anything else. Figure out what you design elements you like! Once you do so, making changes are simple Picmonkey isn't hard to use once you've learned some of the basics. I highly recommend using the upgraded version, Royale. It's only a few dollars a month and well worth it. What sort of things do you need help with there?
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Post by candielm on Nov 10, 2014 21:56:00 GMT
Candielm, thanks for joining us! First things first! I think it's important for you to decide what you'd like your blog to look like and to make any changes to your tag line. I think it's important to address those two things before anything else. Figure out what you design elements you like! Once you do so, making changes are simple Picmonkey isn't hard to use once you've learned some of the basics. I highly recommend using the upgraded version, Royale. It's only a few dollars a month and well worth it. What sort of things do you need help with there? Thanks, I do have the royale version. I think its how to use fonts and color the best and any backgrounds. Yes, I am having trouble getting any response from my designer, it takes her months to get back to me. I am thinking of changing to foodie and don't know if I have to contact her or if I can do it myself or have someone else do it.
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Post by myrecipebookuk on Nov 10, 2014 22:36:09 GMT
Hi, I'm Charlotte at myrecipebook.co.uk, I'm very new to blogging (4 months) so I'd appreciate any feedback you have on my blog.
My main area of concern at the moment is my homepage, I think it's pretty uninspiring but I'm not sure what to do with the layout (There's no need to mention the photo quality, I'm working on improving that already!!). I'm tempted to invest in a new theme but I want to be sure about what I want before I go ahead. I'd love to hear what people think, what you like, what you don't, and if there's anything important missing.
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