| Description |
xii, 336 pages : color illustrations ; 24 cm. |
| Series |
--For dummies |
|
--For dummies.
|
| Note |
Includes index. |
| Summary |
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. This friendly and easy-to-understand guide provides you with the tools you need to establish a creative, unique, and aesthetically memorable blog without having to learn how to code beyond some basic HTML. Whether you're looking to write for a major brand, become a brand ambassador, sell a product, acquire new clients, advocate for a cause, or simply tell a story, you'll find design tricks, helpful techniques, and invaluable advice for creating a great-looking and functional blog. Provides the tools you need to understand what makes a successful blog from a design standpoint. |
| Contents |
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. |
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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. |
| Subject |
Blogs.
|
|
Online social networks.
|
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Blogs. (OCoLC)fst01429931
|
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Online social networks. (OCoLC)fst01741311
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Web log (DE-601)344907406
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| ISBN |
9781118554807 (pbk.) |
|
1118554809 (pbk.) |
|
