When Claire of The Lazy Girl’s Guide to Life decided to have a blog MOT she not only tweaked a few design elements, she changed the whole look–including her blog name. If you’ve ever thought it might be time to reinvent your blog, read on to see how Claire changed hers…
Imagine the scenario- you’ve been blogging for a few years, you have a following, but, just recently you’ve found that your own piece of the web is starting to look a bit dated. Or maybe you’ve become bored and lost your blogging mojo? What can you do?
Did you start your blog back when we all used to use the pre-built site backgrounds favoured by My Space users or American Mom blogging friends? Started to feel that, compared to the new blogs on the block yours is showing it’s age? We’ve all been there, and, even if you possess even the most basic of HTML knowledge, changing your layout isn’t as hard or stressful as it used to be.
Last year, I asked my readers and close friends in the know what they’d change about my blog. Whilst it can be daunting asking for constructive criticism of something we’ve put time and effort into, having a critical and often knowledgeable eye cast over your blog is the best place to start. I often used to look at my bright pink, polka dotted background and think that it was fine, so much so that I put that hastily and inaccurately drawn logo on my business cards. However, it soon became clear that many people, although fond of my writing, were not enamoured with the headache caused by the aforementioned pink layout. Some felt it lacked originality, as it was a cut and paste background from an online site (and was used by other blogs). Others felt that my logo was too impersonal- as a Mummy blog having something to do with Motherhood or children on the logo seemed like an obvious choice than the generic type that I had in place.
In the first big change to my blog since 2009, I changed the colour pink to something easier on the eye. Remember- black type on white can also look glaring and be hard to read, so chose an off white backing and grey type to make it easy to read. The same an be said for bright colours on black- a total no no in some circles. If you use Blogger, it now has absolutely lots of choices for colourful or simple backgrounds, with changeable layouts. Whichever you chose, it will also helpfully suggest which colour palette to use, and what font works best- great for HTML novices old and new.
I also used an image of my children in my header for the first time- but make sure to watermark or ban right clicks when using personal images of children online- just search Google for “protect my images” and you’ll find lots of options to add to your side bar.
But, what do you do if you want more than just a layout change?
In January, I reassessed what my blog means to me. I looked, via my stats, at my highest and lowest commented and viewed posts, and came to the conclusion that I had become known more for my ability to argue with an empty Twitter stream than for my writing skills. Which, as a writer, was a slap in the face.
Whilst I could have been depressed, it marked a change in attitude for me and my blog. The fact I am turning 30 this year also meant changes to the blog needed to be made. Titles of blog, and thus every forum you use and social media outlet you join, can seem great at the time. Being 20somethingmum when I was 27 was fine- but at 30? Not so much!
Names are something you really should think through, not only so they fit for longer than 5 minutes, but it’s always appropriate to check that you aren’t keen on someone else’s name!
If, like me, you’ve found that yours feels very different from the “real” you, then it’s time to seriously consider if it’s bringing down your whole blogging experience, and whether it’s time to kill off the character you have portrayed, for however long its been you!
I took the cowards way out, and, whereas I have overhauled the background of my blog, the logo and the name, I’ve kept the original URL- you can be drastic and start from a new URL, but after blogging from the same spot, through good times and ahem, not so graceful times, it seemed too drastic to change places and start completely again.
I made the name that little bit more personal- The Lazy Girl comes from my long term (and long suffering) partner who has remarked about my laziness for sometime. Which is linked to the amount of hours I spend procrastinating on the web, so fit perfectly. I had to decide whether I wanted Motherhood or Parenting in the title, but found that, as the 20somethingmum it did restrict me to certain posts and, of course, certain audiences. I went with The Lazy Girl’s Guide to Life purely as I feel that it gives me more scope to blog about anything and everything. I also changed my online community names and twitter name too- it’s always a good idea to change them all or people become confused.
That’s not to suggest that to re-invent your blog you must alienate the loyal following you have built up for as long as you’ve been using your current persona. I wouldn’t suggest going from flowery or fluffy posts to posts completely the opposite. It’s always good to write what makes you happy though. For too long, I had forgotten why I started blogging and had my blog as a shop window for Pr’s and brands, and not so much for my readers or myself.
You can take inspiration from your favourite, must read blogs- not to the point where you lift content, as that never goes down well in blogging circles! I read some of my favourite blogs and they all had one thing in common. None of them were blogging to please anyone other than themselves. They are outspoken, funny, grown up blogs and they touch on every subject, not just parenting.
I made a list of what made me happy in blogging, what subjects I wanted to cover, and what direction the blog needed to take. So far, I have found that my zest for blogging has been reignited, and rather than just rehashing the same topic over and again, I’ve branched out into all sorts of topics. Its been the best thing I’ve ever done- I’ve been featured at Britmums, and was “One To Chew Over” at Mumsnet too within a few weeks. Better still new people, and those who grew tired of my rantier nature and perhaps ditched the blog as a lost cause have come back and it shows in the stats that my blog receives.
Whether you go for something small, like a new colour scheme, or go bold and throw the lot out, reinvention can breathe new life into your blog and, more importantly, your writing.
Claire Curran — The Lazy Girl’s Guide to Life
About
BritMums is the UK’s original collective of lifestyle bloggers and digital influencers, fueling the country’s most influential social content. We lead the online conversation with members who are parent social influencers creating content on topics ranging from food, parenting, travel, politics, style and more.
Katie Vyktoriah
Wednesday 15th of February 2012
Great advice. Recently I've been really thinking about how I can change my blog to suit how I've grown as a blogger. I'm totally burnt out right now because every time I visit my own blog, I find it a depressing experience. This has reminded me that, like cleaning and rearranging furniture at home, one can breathe new life into an ONLINE space just as well by changing some elements.
Can't wait to be able to do so. :D