Welcome to Week 2 of Crafty Blog School! I'm assuming everyone has chosen a blog service they're happy with. Well, your first challenge when you start a new blog is... choosing a template!
Or, you blogging veterans may have a template already, but you're not 100% sure you love it, or you feel guilty you haven't customized your blog with oodles of fonts, colors, or shiny animated gifs...
Less is More!
May I make a suggestion? Less really is more! I know you have lots of ideas, maybe for background colors, a cool header, a really cool font (or, like 10 different fonts), but when you're starting out, choose a template that's minimal. This way, if you want to customize it, it's much easier without having to figure out where all the pictures are "hidden" in the code. Also, if you have a crafty blog, do you really want the focus to be on 10 different cool fonts, a crazy background pattern that gives you a headache, funky animated pictures, or... your crafts? :)
Here are some nice Blogger and Wordpress templates you can easily customize:
Blogger templates
Minima
Washed Denim
Stretch Denim Light
Blix
Regulus
Pool
Typepad templates?
I'll leave the volunteering to all of you Typepad users! Leave a comment with your favorite template, or one that you'd recommend for a beginner...
A Note on "Minima" Blogs
That Blogger Minima template doesn't look like much, does it? Nothing's moving, there are no dancing or sparkling gifs, but the design is clean and the focus is where it should be: on the pictures of the crafts! My favorite Blogger blogs almost always use the Minima template. It may look plain, but adding your own header and changing the link colors can make a big difference. Take a look at this list and see if it inspires you to go Minima:
anna maria horner
geninne
crafty synergy
sugarloop
Next week: Naming Your Blog and Creating a Header... Leave a comment with any questions or suggestions!
All The Crafty Blog School Posts:
week 1: Where Do I Blog?
week 2: Choosing a Template
week 3: Name Your Blog & Create a Header
week 4: Blogging Photos from Flickr
week 5: How to Put that Darned Thimble Guy in Your Sidebar
week 6: How to Take Better Pictures of Your Crafts
week 7: Getting Noticed
