The eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed I’ve been a little more active on my social media channels and blog recently and there’s a very good reason for this. With my thoughts turned to September, I find myself facing a partially ’empty nest’ for the first time in around four years as all the kids will be at school or preschool for at least 15 hours each week. This provides me with a little more free time than I’ve previously been afforded and I’d like to spend that time being creative again; sharing parts of my life and writing content that people find useful or interesting.
I miss having a creative outlet. For me the process of writing, by its very nature, means I have to shut everything else out. I’ve never been able to write whilst surrounded by people or in a noisy room and so lockdown was hardly conducive to blogging.
With the promise of more time I have been thinking of ways to give my blog a little spruce up and thought I’d share three quick ideas for those that may be feeling like they want to do the same with their blog.
Switch colour scheme
The colours you use on your blog will give visitors an instant impression of what they’re likely to find on your blog. You will notice that other bloggers in your niche tend to use specific palettes or tones and you should choose something fitting for your niche. For example, you wouldn’t usually find a parenting blogger using a monochrome design – this sort of sleek look would be more suited to a fashion blogger.
Change up the fonts
Changing the fonts on your WordPress site can have a massive impact on the overall look and feel of your blog. By downloading the free Fontsy WordPress plugin, you can import your own unique font or choose one from their extensive library. Using a WordPress font plugin you can create a totally unique and beautiful design which stands out from the crowd.
Have a clear out
If your blog has been a little neglected like mine, it’s probably time for a clear out. Get rid of those images that are out of date, rewrite your ‘About Me’ page (or write one if you don’t have one) and delete those widgets that are no longer in keeping with your design or direction. Going back to basics is best when you haven’t blogged for a while – you can almost start again but in the assurance that you have the basics already set.
Fix those broken links
After your blog has been live a little while you will find you will have broken links. These are links that you have used which no longer work and are damaging to your SEO ranking. For example, it could be you linked to a pair of shoes which the retailer no longer stocks, or you linked to a blog post which has since been removed. It’s easy to download a plugin for your WordPress site which will hunt out these broken links for you.
So there you have it, four quick yet effective ways to spruce up your blog in a day!
Have you got a blog? If so, drop the links below – I’d love to check them out.
