7 Simple Ways to Spice Up Your Blog

Our blogs speak. They giggle and they groan; they squeal and they sigh. Too often, they say the wrong thing.

If your blog reflects your personality like a dirty mirror, it's time for an upgrade, and these seven simple tips require basic blogging knowledge and require only 30 minutes or less. Save your sanity and save your time so you can focus on gaining new readers and  building your brand.

1. Decide on a color scheme

Color contributes to branding. Google wouldn't really be Google without its multicolored logo, nor would we recognize McDonald's without its famous golden arches. Pick and stick to a color scheme -- a set of two to three colors used throughout your blog, business cards and social media presence.

I use this pretty light blue color on every post photo to keep my brand recognition strong.

2. Design your own dropdown menu bar

Horizontal menu bars that grace the top of the page offer more intuitive exploration of your blog versus horizontal ones -- people perform actions best when presented left-to-right. Readers also notice this type of menu bar easier than they do horizontal ones, which often look lost among other
sidebar features.

I designed this menu bar to align with my color scheme and I absolutely love it.

Wordpress offers a simple customizable menu bar plugin, however Blogger users grab the short end of the stick; coding for a drop down menu is tricky. I decided to skip the hassle and design my own menubar at CSSMenuMaker.com, which supplies a range of customizable templates -- vertical, dropdown and even flyout -- for only $14 (it's actually a $14 annual membership, but you can go ahead and cancel it afterward if you want). 

3. Perfect your "About" page

A good "about" page is like a first date outfit: it should reflect your personality while remaining classy and leaving a little to the imagination. A well-worded and well-designed "about" page will ensure the start of a great relationship with each and every reader. Check out this step-by-step guide from Rachel at In Spaces Between to learn how to handle "the soul of your site."

4. Implement social media buttons

Ranging in shape, size and color, social media buttons or icons mimic your blog theme and catch the reader's eye.

Design your own with any vector program, like Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop. Not the artsy type?  Dozens of bloggers offer free downloadable sets of social media icons. Conduct a quick Google search or check out some of my favorites below:

           Watercolor icons                                     Shadow icons                                    Pink banner icons
       via Dreierlei Liebelei                         via New Evolution Designs                          via Kellology
        

5. Link to related posts

Lead your readers in the right direction by suggesting related reads at the end of each blog post. You can choose to do this manually, as I have at the bottom of my "about" page, or you can opt for a third-party widget, like the one from Link Within that I use at the end of my blog posts -- it chooses post suggestions based on common tags.

 6. Experiment with hover effects

Also called a rollover effect, this simple code results in a change to text or graphics when hovered over with the cursor. This subtle addition adds an instant sense of personality and interactivity to your blog.

Hover effects allow you to add a personal touch to your blog features. Even a simple color change to your social media buttons is enough to make your blog readers go "Ooh! Aah!"

Check out this tutorial from Carrie Loves to learn how to add hover effects to graphics and photos. More advanced coders can test out one of the many other effects, from text changes to photo tilts, outlined in this post from Code it Pretty.

7. Design your own favicon

The favicon -- a combo of "favorite" and "icon" -- displays on the browser tab alongside the name of your website. The tiny image acts as an extension of your brand and adds to your credibility as  a professional blogger. Marianna from Design Your Own Blog wrote a handy dandy tutorial for creating your very own unique favicon, complete with screenshots and common dilemmas such as deciding on a white or transparent background.

What aspect of your blog design do you want to change? Have you made a recent change you love? Comment below to share your story.