May 31, 2009 By Amanda Padgett

With so many bloggers joining the Twitter world, I thought I would write a post discussing Twitter backgrounds. If you have no idea what Twitter is, click here to be taken to my Twitter page and you will probably get the idea. It isn’t complicated or too time consuming, but it is a good way to connect with other bloggers and to bring attention to posts, reviews or giveaways you have at your blog.

The standard backgrounds Twitter provides are perfectly lovely, however, if you would like to make yours a little more personal or add extra information to your home page then you need to either find a designer who offers custom Twitter designs or look into customizing it yourself. Either way is fine, and I wanted to share designers who can make something custom for you. Or, if you need something free, check out my post on free Twitter backgrounds.

Designers who can create a custom design for you:

Would you like to follow me on Twitter? If so, click here and click on “follow” below my picture. I am not quite the Twitter addict as many, but I do tweet many times during the day, and try to announce giveaways and helpful blog posts.

If you design Twitter pages, free or custom, let me know and I will add you to my lists.

February 23, 2009 By Amanda Padgett

I was ready to showcase another designer, but decided first to talk about basic blogging.

Through my surfing to find blog template designers, I have seen many blogs with great blog templates, yet they are a mess with too many buttons, pictures and buttons that are all askew on the sidebars, posts that have no paragraph breaks and more. Those things can detract from your blog design and even turn away readers.

Do you want to have a blog that is attractive, flows well, draws readers in and keeps them there a while? I strongly urge you to visit the many excellent sources of blogging tips and tricks. Go to one or more and listen to what is being said. Read the design tips they offer, listen to the pet peeves that are listed, find out all the little things you can do to improve your blog before you ever install a gorgeous free template or contact designer for a custom blog design.

The authors at my favorite blog-aid sites were successful with their own blogs before starting a blog-tech blog.

Here are the one I frequently go to:

Modern Media Mom (also the designer at Fruition Designs).

Darn Good Blogging (also the author of Simple Mom).

Blogging Basics 101 (also the author of Bloggy Giveaways).

Blog Coach (also the author of Baby Cheapskate).

There is also a forum at Blog Coach where you can ask Angie, the owner, and other bloggers about anything related to blogging.

Hopefully as I grow in my confidence with blogging, I will feel qualified enough to give advice, but for now, I will simply point you to the experts!

February 12, 2009 By Amanda Padgett

Last night I found a really cool site, Penniwig’s: Free Graphics Daily and I feel like to found a gold mine! She has so many cool, interesting and adorable graphics and buttons – all FREE! These are things you can add to your side bar or to a post. And, while I was there I discovered her other free graphics site, Skull Blossom.

Penniwig’s has graphics, buttons, post dividers (and more) for winter and spring. Skull Blossom has those same things but for the fall. Both sites include graphics for the holidays celebrated during those seasons.

Here are a few that I thought were too cute and hope to use in the future for my own blogs.

May 21, 2009 By Amanda Padgett

Twitter has some cute backgrounds available, but if you want something different here are places you can get free backgrounds.

Do you know another place that offers free Twitter backgrounds? Leave the address in a comment and I’ll add them to this list. Thanks!

November 3, 2011 By April

First, we just wanted to drop a quick note to say that tonight is the first class of the last Blog Designer Workshop of the year. This is the workshop that teaches you how to start your own design business! Since this workshop was first offered last year, we have had nearly 200 students take the course and go on to pursue creating their own business. The BDN has also re-vamped the workshop to be the most user friendly, up-to-date, and comprehensive course on blog design. Each session we find something new to add, and even share it with past students! This session includes a free BONUS class on graphic design in Adobe Photoshop as a supplement for those using (or who wish to use) that software. (Photoshop not required for the course and a graphic design class is already included as part of the workshop.)

We would also like to add that we will be offering one FREE class each month to those who are interested. We would love to hear some feedback and requests for classes you would like to see offered. They can range from basic Blogger classes, to advanced Photoshop classes, and even specific classes – like how to make a Flash (rotating) header. They can also be for designers, or just beginning bloggers. So share with your friends (below) and ask them what they think as well! Then comment here and let us know what you’d like to see offered as a free monthly class.

Thank you for all your support! We’re so glad that the BDN can be a place of learning and networking to promote this ever changing and growing field of work.

November 16, 2011 By The Blog Designer Network

Now is the perfect time to register early for one of our various classes and workshops offered in January!  For a short time only, you can use the coupon code shown above to get 50% off most classes during that month.  We also have two new instructors on board, and are hiring more before the close of the year. We aim to hire quality instructors who are knowledgeable and personable, and are blogosphere savvy too.  (Info and profiles coming soon!)

Don’t forget that we now offer FREE classes each month. December’s class is “Blogging for the Newbie” which is the perfect introductory course to the blogging world. This would be great for that friend or family member who you’ve been begging to start a blog, or for someone who just started their first blog. Click the link to learn more and register.

Here is a list of eligible workshops scheduled for January that you can save BIG on! Click on any workshop for details and a description!

Creating Genesis Child Themes – Covers how to create, customize, and package themes for use with the Genesis Framework.
The Blog Designer Workshop – Learn how to become a blog designer from start to finish!
Blog Marketing and Advertising – Teaches how to effectively promote your blog though various media streams and SEO tactics that can both increase traffic and form relationships.
Social Media Mastery – Covers the design of Facebook and Twitter profiles and strategic social media marketing strategies.
Learning CSS and HTML – Learn the basics of editing CSS and HTML for sites like Blogger and WordPress, or any platform for the web – and the differences between the two.

Here are some additional classes occurring soon!

WordPress – In Depth – An advanced class for those interested in learning how the self-hosted WordPress platform works.

We will be adding more to this list in the coming days, so stay tuned!

March 17, 2010 By Amanda Padgett

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.

If you have ever hunted for beautiful, free blog templates, no doubt you’ve come across Simply Fabulous Blogger Templates. Lena, the designer, provides tons of incredibly beautiful and totally free Blogger templates, which are some of the most beautiful and well done free templates available.

Lena, on a journey to adopt, has also started offering very affordable and beautiful premades templates at Premades For A Purpose. These templates are a bit more customizable than her free ones. These have spots where you can add pictures of your choice, to make your blog template more “you.”

These gorgeous templates are an unbelievably great price – only $10 for the following four templates! For $10 you can have four completely different looks for your blog, to change when you feel inclined. She has two personalized premade collections, each containing four templates. She also has some individual premades available for just $5.

I am giving away a package of the beautiful premade templates below. The winner will be emailed the codes after the giveaway ends. Lena has tutorials on how to install them them. For a nominal fee, Lena can add your photos to the templates for you.

Here are the giveaway particulars:

• To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment telling me how often you like to change the look of your blog design.
• If you do not have your email address on your Blogger profile (which you should – hint, hint), you need to leave me your email address in your entry comment.
• One entry per person.
• The giveaway will end Friday night at 9:00 EST.

November 7, 2011 By The Blog Designer Network

Below are some talented graduates of our Blog Designer Workshop who have recently launched their own design sites.  Take a look at their adorable (and professional!) sites below.  We’re so glad that our classes were able to help you learn what you needed to know to get started in the design world!

January 21, 2009 By Amanda Padgett

I have to start somewhere and I decided to start with Designs by Summer. I came across her site when I was reading someone’s blog (honestly I cannot remember which one). After reviewing her portfolio, I was impressed by both the quality of her designs and the price for her services. The phrase she uses is “Beautiful Designs, Wallet Friendly Price,” and she is spot on.

Summer is a self taught designer, who had her start with digital scrapbooking first, which turned into blog design after teaching herself about HTML and CSS. Examples of her work can be seen by going to iMommy, or Org Junkie’s Product Reviews.

Prices for new blog design are set by package and range from $35 to $100. She also can make headers (ex: Inspired Mama Musings above), buttons, signatures, awards, Etsy banners and avatars for $3 to $15.

My personal blog, Moving Forward, needed a face lift in a major way. The template I am using is a free one, and beautiful, but it does not fit my personality. Last week I contacted Summer to design a new template just for me. I will share the new site (and button) once the template is up and running.

January 21, 2009 By Amanda Padgett

Hi there! I am glad you have stopped by. This blog is in its infancy, but I hope you find it beneficial anyway.

The purpose of this blog to show case the many women who design blogs either as a hobby or as a part time business from home. I started blogging about six months ago, and really only started following other blogs about two months ago. I was so amazed by the beauty and style of some of the blogs and wanted that for my own. Many hours have I spent looking at blog after blog to see who they were designed by, then going to that designer’s site.

Through my researching, I found many, many incredible designers and I thought I would pass that information along to those who may be interested in updating their blog’s look. Several of the sites offer free templates, some simple, some more elaborate. Many designers offer premade templates, which can be purchased for a small fee.

Please be patient as I find the right feel and design for this blog. I have dozens more designers to add, and I sure the lists will continue to grow as I discover new ones.

Next week I will be giving away a premade template from a fantastic designer, with the winner choosing the template, so make sure to check back in!

March 10, 2011 By Dawn Farias

It used to be that you needed a fair bit of coding to get a nice looking horizontal navigation bar for your Blogger blog. Not anymore! Let me show you how easy Blogger has made this aspect of your design.

Pages only horizontal navigation in Blogger

Your blog posts are dynamic, ever changing content that appear in reverse chronological order on the homepage of your blog. Blog pages are different in that they contain static content which doesn’t change much and are linked to from your homepage. Two examples of popular blog pages are the About and Contact pages. In Blogger you can create a horizontal navigation bar that uses your pages only. Here’s how:

Create and publish a page.
Dashboard > Edit posts > Edit pages > New page > Add your content > Publish page > Blog tabs > View blog

Done!

For tips on writing an About page, see Blogging with Amy‘s How to Write a Killer About Page. Next up: Horizontal navigation in Blogger – pages, links and labels.

Do you have an About page that you’re proud of? Have you come across an awesome one recently? Please share in the comments below – we’d love to see them!