DIY WordPress: How to Make a Blog Banner in About an Hour

September 20, 2010 By 7 Comments

(Reading time: 3 – 4 minutes)

As a DIY WordPress’er building your website in a weekend, you need to get things done Right Now, and worry about the details later.

And unless you’re a graphic design wizard, your banner is probably going to be a great, big, pain in your tailfeathers. (Technically, a “PITA.”)

Now, there’s some serious irony here, because I’m doing the same sort of thing, working for about an hour to get both a new banner and this blog post describing the banner posted.

Let’s see how far we get.

Blog banner in an hour or less

The key is starting from a known working banner… and by “known working” I mean using Photoshop or GIMP files which are ready-to-go. Helpful blogger that I am, I’m providing you with just such.

Or get both!

The next thing to notice is that each of the elements of the banner are on different layers. There’s layers for:

  • Background (white, not used)
  • Overlay color (green)
  • Woodgrain texture
  • “Website In A Weekend” text
  • “Web Zero to Web Hero” text.
  • Blackie and I enjoying a moment together.
  • Others, not important right now.

Cut and paste layers

Now, just cut and paste for each layer as you will:

  • Use your own image. Move it around.
  • Use your own blog title and tag line.
  • Change the color and texture.

Once you have all your layers, export your png or jpg file, and you have a brand, new banner.

What’s cool: once you get a basic image file going, you have created an asset for your website or web business.

Get professional help

I do graphics when necessary. It’s not my strength. Here, changing the image in the Website In A Weekend banner was pretty simple, as I had the base file. In any case, simple graphics is, well, simple.

It’s design that’s hard!

When I need to design, I get professional help. Here’s two of my favorite professionals:

  • Amanda Farough, the brilliance driving violetminded design. Amanda designs for accessibility and connection, and did the conceptual design and implementation of the current Website In A Weekend. She’s on a brief sabbatical, make sure to get on her list.
  • Roberto Koci, the powerhouse behind Red Diamond Studios. Roberto designs for energy and excitement. I’ve worked with Roberto for years, cannot recommend him highly enough.

An hour’s work, more or less

Recall from yesterday I’m experimenting with working 1 hour per day maximum on Website In A Weekend, including writing blog posts.

I’m finishing up right here with 12 minutes to go, which included:

  • Redoing the banner for Website In A Weekend.
  • Uploading the banner to Website In A Weekend Thesis theme custom/images directory.
  • Updating W3 Total Cache to use the new banner. I want to see how it looks now.
  • Writing this blog post, some of which was done while I was working.

Now it’s time for a little split-shifting. Off to surf, will check email later!

Meantime, how are you getting your bloggy chores done fast and efficiently? Leave a note in the comments, let’s compare!

Filed Under: Website design Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Get Those Visuals Handled – Blog Better with a Virtual Assistant: Tip #2

June 16, 2010 By 20 Comments

(Reading time: 2 – 2 minutes)

Visually attractive blog posts often incorporate video or photos.

Problem: You have one or more great blog posts but need videos and photos to make them visually appealing. Finding and uploading your own photos and videos can be time consuming.

How a Virtual Assistant can help:

  1. If you already have a collection of your own videos you can share them with a Virtual Assistant in a, say, a Dropbox folder. The VA can then upload, tag and publish them to your YouTube, Vimeo and Viddler accounts.
  2. If you do not have your own videos she can research videos that are suitable and applicable to your written post and embed them.
  3. Your VA can search sites like Stock.Xchng and EveryStockPhoto, and flickr.com for creative commons photos to insert into your posts. She can upload them directly to your media library for you to insert into posts, or she can insert directly into posts following guidelines you establish.

Why: Many people are more visually inclined and photos / videos make your post more attractive to them. Additionally, If you write posts that are “How To” in nature visual learners will appreciate being able to see the steps in action. Those same videos, published on sites like YouTube, Vimeo and Viddler will also increase your visibility and provide other bloggers with ways to link to your created content.

How are you handling all these chores? Are you looking for photos, images and videos on a per-post basis? Or do have a stockpile of cool videos and images that you can draw from as necessary?

Michelle Mangen is owner of Your Virtual Assistant in Venice, Florida, providing virtual assistance to small business owners who realize their time is better spent on high value, high ROI tasks. Visit Michelle at Your Virtual Assistant.
Filed Under: Blogging business Tagged With: , , , ,
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