Poll time – who designed your blog?
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{democracy:49}
If you’ve got more than one blog – choose the one you consider to be your main blog. Tell us more in comments below!
About Darren Rowse
Darren Rowse is the founder and editor of ProBlogger Blog Tips and Digital Photography School. Learn more about him here and connect with him on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
We just did a redesign on Cupcakes Take the Cake, after a reader from Penny Lane Designs volunteered to redo the site for us for free. She revamped the logo, changed the colors and cleaned things up, and we’ve gotten nothing but compliments. After 4+ years it was definitely time to shake things up. I wouldn’t want to redesign all the time and confuse people, but once in a while a refresher is good.
I knew zip about coding so I had to research how to do it before I could tweak a free theme. Right now, I’m happy with it, but that may change in the future.
I am currently going through a blog design mid-life crisis and just came off a non-default template, mainly due to feedback that it wasn’t professional. Now I am using a blogger template that I customized a bit. Anyone want to check it out?
I’d appreciate BRUTALLY HONEST feedback! Thanks!
I picked up a template from Woo Theme that I’m really happy with. I then searched the internet for the fonts that they used in the template so that I could customize my own logo and such.
I just use thesis theme on all of my sites. Easy as it gets.
I designed and developed it myself. :)
I used a free template over at After cancer now what, designed by Ourblogtemplates.com If you guys are reading, THANKS!
I use the free wordpress templates available in the extend area of wordpress.org. I try to avoid changing the theme itself much cause when the theme is updated, I have to redo all the changes. If there’s something I can put into a widget, I do it.
I severely modified a perfectly good free blogger template. I like what I got. Funny thing – I only knew HTML when I started but I ended up learning quite a bit of CSS.
Its a great way to learn I must say. Most newbies like I was, aren’t comfortable spending on any amount when it can be done for free.
P.S. Does a template affect your SEO in any way?
I’m using a free Woo template – their free stuff rocks but I’ve got my eye on a few of the premium ones!
I search for free templates and settled with one from ourblogtemplates.com. Then, I did some minor customization until I was satisfied with the look.
Right now pro templates are out of my range, and since it’s the sort of thing I have to change annually, I prefer to invest my income elsewhere – I do donate to the designers when I can!
I use one theme for 2 or 3 of my blogs, but they’re all pretty much just for fun. I’m also using WordPress for a product site for which I created a theme from scratch. The intent was to have a theme that didn’t look like a blog, but still used WordPress for the backend to make it quick and easy to update.
@Alex: Wow, that’s an impressive customization. I usually hate Thesis-powered sites as they tend to have a cookie-cutter look, but yours looks like an Envato kind of site (ie. FreelanceSwitch.com).
I also customized a free template for my site, but I mostly use paid premium themes on other sites I develop for others, where I don’t have time to tinker over time.
Was using a free template the first year, then hired a designer for a unique theme when it took off.
I ended up using a theme from Themeforest.net . It was only $25 and is a lot easier to hack than some of the other premium themes out there. I really like it.
I would probably hire a designer once my sites grow to a certain point. But until then, will just modify this theme to suit my short term goals. I really love it :)
I’ve been surprised at how much emphasis I see on having development done for you… of course maybe that’s why I’m not rich and famous :-)
I am using Blogger with a Free template (not defual ).I want to use WordPress ,but i have no hosting .!
I’m using wordpress along with a smattering of plugins. I had to tweak pretty much everything and still have a ways to go.
One of the purpose of building my blog was to learn more about the wordpress engine and therefor I built it from ground up.
I think that you use about the same time building your own theme as trying to get into another theme-maker’s thinking and then try to tweek it – though you never really get it exactly as you want it.
I purchased mine and then tweaked it to my liking,I taught myself Style sheets, and everything else in between with trial and error.
Now I do them on the side for a cheap price, extra income always helps.
I’ve heavily modified a template with Blogger, and have been really surprised at how much you can customise the look of a site, as compared to hosted wordpress blogs (where you have to pay for the CSS access). I’ve been flirting with the idea of moving over to my own hosting, but for the time being I’m quite happy staying with Blogger.
I downloaded Takteek01 and modified the hell out of it, changing fonts and colours and designing my own major header.
I use a template and provided all of the art & photography for it myself.
I used the Thesis Theme as my platform and then went psycho on it…
http://successonmymind.com/
My choice isn’t there. I tweaked a free default template.
well, i used a paid software to generate my WordPress theme
Yes, wrong choise but i was a noob and the theme design seems very much what my blog is about.
After generating i didn`t made anything special on it….
I bought a theme called Arthemia Premium. At the time it was the best I could find for my purposes but I still had to modify it a lot, from simple things such as changing the background pattern, fonts and colours through to adding JavaScript code to the search box so that it would display “Search here” before someone clicked on it and modifying code (such as title tags) to improve SEO. I’ve learnt so much from doing it that I’m thinking I might make my own theme from scratch next time …
I use a free template from blogger. I have been having a great time. I am attempting to gain a profit from blogging…..however small without spending any money.
Have I been successful yet? If you count nickels and dimes successful then yes. I have been enjoying the process, and will continue to use blogging as an outlet.
See what Chew the Fat is all about.
Im a noob so I paid for a template. Im looking to get it customized a little bit.
I designed all my blogs myself.
It’s
– FREE
– gives me room to exercise my DESIGNER skills
– different from the rest
– an absolutelyticusshiolly satisfying experience when it’s completed.
– an even more absolutelyticusshiolly satisfying experience when people say it looks nice. :D
I found a free template off of Top Tut. It works flawlessly but I sometimes worry that it doesn’t fully reflect the feel of my blog. Eventually I hope to have my own template built by a professional.
I use the Crybook template. And I did some translation into german :) Not a big deal.
I use one of the free WordPress templates, no tweaking of code, just as is using the available free widgets and settings. Seems to work for now…
I had one originally free from pyzam.com.
I then went to Rainydaytemplates.com and had Ellie customize one for me. She loved the argyle and continued to use the image for my background.
Also purchased a unique pre-made template for my personal site: newliefasnewwife.blogspot.com
I’ve mostly done my own designing but started off using the Hybrid theme framework from Justin Tadlock. It has made the designing so much easier – especially since he released the “skeleton” child theme which doesn’t actually have any styling as such but has all the elements there ready to mess with. It’s the most flexible thing I’ve ever found :)
Bought a premium theme and made a few small changes. Bought a few diff themes and finally realized to stop looking at themes so I’m not tempted to buy yet another.
I use the WordPress The Journalist v1.3 template. I did design my own website at http//:www.onegoodphotographer.com and I am making some changes to it now.
Well, needed the choice I considerably tweaked a premium template. Will probably continue to tweak!
Where is this going?
I feel pretty lucky, because my husband is a web developer/designer, so the design is mine, but he is doing all of the work. I honestly don’t know what I would have done if I didn’t have him as a resource. (I am launching it on the 15th of July.)
I am glad to be in the majority.
“I Considerably Tweaked a Free Template.”
I borrowed code from several different free themes then tweaked it a lot to fit my needs. I’ve never seen a theme like mine, and since it was my first go at it I’m pretty proud of myself :)
Somewhere between considerable tweaked a free one and completely designed myself.. going for a new one from blank to get it just right and know exactly what’s in there.
I just had my website professionally done by Gisele Jaquenod Designs. I like her style so much that I am thinking of hiring her to redesign all my blogs so that they are a cohesive bunch (but each with their own style).
I had a premium theme http://www.wpzoom.com/themes/yamidoo/ tweaked to suit my needs. Some of the premium themes are just rubbish, I’ve paid for useless stuff before with very limited options on the admin page.
I’m now more experienced and know what to look for before buying a premium theme.
I use the free theme Atahualpa 3.3.3 by BFA WebDesign but spent a lot of time tweaking the theme and doing all my own graphics. I intend to develope my own theme at some point, just trying to find the time.
I use a non-unique paid for theme, although I didn’t pay for it! It was donated by the designer and allowed him to get it seen on a flagship blog!
I’m not very good at creating a layout from scratch so what I do is get a free one and then edit the hell out of it.
we’ve done the design ourself after trying several disappointing companies and freelancers.
http://www.zenreplica.com