Uniquehorn Designs

How to Invest in Your Blog Design Beauty vs Budget

Beauty vs Budget: How to Invest in Your Blog Design

When you are start considering designing or redesigning of your blog you can be faced with a lot of questions. One of the first questions you should ask is how much should you invest in the blog design.

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You have four main options for choosing your design a free WordPress theme, a premium WordPress theme, a customized premium WordPress theme, or a customized WordPress design. We will be exploring the pros and cons of each of these to help you decide how much your site is worth to you and how your investment will benefit you.

By mccheek

Free WordPress Themes

Just like a mobile home a free theme will have predesigned colors and style and it may not match you and your style. Plus hundreds of the exact same blogs are out there due to the theme being pre-constructed. But just like a mobile home you can live in it for a time until you run out of room and you are tired of that one cupboard that just won’t stay closed. Especially since it was offered to you free from a relative.

Pros:

Free
A free theme is better than a default theme
You can find lots of free themes to choose from
Even my favorite theme provider offers free themes. (MyThemeShop (Affiliate Link))

Cons:

Doesn’t really represent you and your brand
You will not have as many options for customization
Attempting to customize the theme yourself it may just not turn out right
Your images and style may end up feeling mismatched and disjointed
You may see other bloggers using the same theme
The theme may not fit your needs exactly (ei. menus don’t fit, colors don’t match, etc)
You can feel overwhelmed sifting through all the themes out there

Conclusion: A Free Theme doesn’t represent you and your brand but you can live with it.

ByMartin Pettitt

Premium WordPress Themes

Just like a manufactured home you can find a premium theme that is very inexpensive and you can choose the siding, the carpet and counter tops, but once you get it into the mobile home court you realize your home looks just like some of the neighbors homes. But you at least you have a home that has new appliances and keeps you dry. This may work for a time until you realize that you are tired of your friends getting lost every time they try and find your house and it becomes time to upgrade your fridge.

Pros:

Very Low Cost
You will find more features than a free theme
Premium themes tend to have a more professional look
You will have more options for customization

Cons:

Doesn’t represent you and your brand
You still may have troubles with customizing the theme beyond the basics
Attempting to customize the theme yourself may make it lose it’s professionalism
You may still run into other’s using the same theme
You can still feel limited by the options

Conclusion: A Premium Theme doesn’t represent you and your brand but it functions.

My favorite company to purchase themes from is MyThemeShop (Affiliate Link). I am affiliated with them, but that is only because I love them. There themes are amazing and the control panels for their themes are easy to work with and well made.

By LancerE

Customized Premium Wordpress Theme

Just like a modern stick built home you can have a customized theme built for you. A builder will give you multiple floor plans to choose from to create your new home. Then you get to pick the flooring, the wall color, the counter tops and the appliances. You get to have a home that really showcases your style and gives you some special functions you have been really wanting.

Even though you live in a house that may be the same floor plan as your neighbors your friends will still know which house is your house. Plus now you will not be embarrassed to invite your boss over for dinner.

Pros:

Low Cost
No one else will have the exact same design
Represents you and your brand
Professional customization makes your brand more recognizable
A Professional does the customization so your under less stress
Brands and readers can see that you have invested in your blog or site
Professional help cleaning up your layout and making it easier for your readers to navigate
You will have more options and functions that a professional can install
Sponsors will see you have invested in your blog and they will want to invest in you

Cons:

More of an investment
You may have to wait on a waiting list for your design
Still may feel cookie cutter as you see the same layouts at other sites
May take some time to find a professional that you feel matches you and your style

Conclusion: A Customized Theme starts building brand recognition and makes your site more professional.

By Omaha Homes For Sale

Custom WordPress Design

Just like a custom built home you can invest in a Custom Design. Your imagination is the limit. You can have any flooring, walling, appliance, and more that you could possibly want. You can change the floor plan to fit better with your needs and wants. You could even have a swimming pool built into your dinning room for swim-dining!

You can create a place that is all about you and your style. Your friends will know your home instantly even on the first visit and you will be inviting you boss over for monthly dinners just so you can show off your beautiful home and brag.

Pros:

The Design is all yours, you will not see anyone with the same design or layout
It is obvious you are invested in your blog or site, so users and brands will invest in you
You will find you will have unlimited customization and options
Everything coordinates and functions just as you wish

Cons:

Large investment
Have to do some homework to find the right designer that fits your style
Takes some time to create

Conclusion: A Complete Custom Design represents you with a unique layout and images and functioning.

I hope this gave you some things to consider as you are choosing the level of investment you want to make into your blog.

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Social Media

Welcome Facebook Timelines for Business in Style

I’m sure you have been hearing the buzz behind Facebook releasing the newest move to timeline on their pages. Yes there are pros and cons, people are either angry or excited. We could talk about it but everyone already is let’s do something about it. Let’s dive in and make our timelines beautiful! 5 key …

7 Elements of a Blog Blogging

4 Directions to Create your Logo

How do you make your customers or readers remember you and your blog or business? How do you make them know instantly that they have arrived at your website, twitter feed or facebook page?

You create a logo that your visitors remember and associate with you and your business. Branding can be one of the most important steps when creating a business. Sometimes this can even make or break your business.

One way that you brand your business visually is by creating a logo for your company.

I have heard advice throughout the web on how to make a logo or brand for your business or blog. Not all of these suggestion for logos are good ideas.

We will be talking about 4 ways of creating a brand or logo and the pros and cons of each option.

1. Use your picture

I’ve actually seen a few suggestions to use your picture to represent you, your blog or your business. The thought behind this is that it is more personal. People really like to see a face behind a business.

You could also do this for very cheap by just taking a photo of yourself, but unless you are an excellent photographer I would not recommend using your own photos. You don’t want to use a bad photo to represent you and your business.

What is the first impression a bad photo is going to give? Is that photo going to be remembered? In a good way?

Another issue with using your photo is that your personal image and your face are constantly changing. Think about your drivers license. Do you still look like that person in that picture?

If you are using your photo on your business cards (and even as a blogger you should have business cards) or on your website or your twitter you will want to keep it up to date. With business cards this can start becoming expensive.

This also runs into the trouble where you are trying to make a “look” that your readers or customers remember. But it will make it harder for them to remember your logo if it is constantly changing.

Let’s now talk about the biggest issue with using your picture. This is not a logo. A logo should be simple, clean, and should be able to go from color to black and white (think photocopy). Obviously a photo is not a logo. It can be used in your branding but you should have a logo that can stand alone also.

2. Use a stock image or premade logo

Something I see constantly, especially in the blogging world, are “logos” created from stock images. This can be an inexpensive option especially when you are starting out.

But everybody is doing it and don’t be surprised when you are browsing the Internet and you find somebody using the same logo as you.

You will also lose a little bit of that personal feeling when people see an image that closely represents you but isn’t quite right. Then if they happen to find the same image on another website they will feel even less connected to you and your brand.

Stock images also have limitations on their licenses. Make sure and read the fine type. You may be limited to the number of printings you can have or limited on where and when you can use the image. Be careful.

3. Hire your brother or a friend

This could be a great option for you. A friend may offer to create a logo for free or a discounted rate. But you have a couple negative outcomes that could show up.

Sometimes your friend may think they know how to make a logo, but you may find that they don’t create it in the correct format so you may have to have it redone in the future. Or if the format is incorrect you may find you cannot use it for different marketing peices including posters, banners, stickers, t-shirts, etc. Logos should be created as a vector, not in Photoshop, and your designer should give you the original files.

You may also find that if your friend does create logos professionally that you will be at the bottom of their to do list. Your friend is still running a business and many freelancers over commit themselves. Doing a free or discounted logo is not going to be high priority for them.

You may find that nothing has been worked on for a month and you are still waiting for your logo. Or you may find that they rushed through your job just to get it out of the way and it is not up to par to their typical work.

4. Hire a professional

Hiring a professional designer will be an investment and this investment depends on the logo and the designer you work with. Talk with the designer and find out if you will work well with them.

Some basic questions to ask:

How many mock ups will I recieve?
How many revisions?
Do you charge by the hour or by the design?

When you hire a professional designer for your logo you will find that they will spend the time with you to find out about you and your business. They will create a logo that is completely unique and will represent you and your business. When you see the final work you will be proud and say this is me, this is my business!

A professional will also make sure that the files will be in the correct format and may give you the logo in multiple formats for printers and for further work down the road. They should also get you the matching colors and fonts for other branding including your web design.

A professional can also help you learn more about how to make your logo usable in multiple formats including web, print, large or small, black and white or color.

Whichever way you go make sure that you pick a logo that you love and will love for a long time. Make sure that when you see this logo that in an instant you recognize it, it pops at you and that it truly represents you. Then use your logo everywhere: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, website, blog, business cards, stationary, and anywhere you can mark your presence.

7 Steps to a Better Comment Area

After last nights Comment Cocktail Hour I had one of the ladies, ManWifeDog from Man, Wife & Dog, ask me about how to clean up her comments section of her blog. I always love to share with people how to simplify the look and feel of their blogs. This has been one thing I have been starting to write about over at Unicornbeauty, my design blog, but I wanted to share this one with you right away.

Step #1

Make sure your version of WP is up to date! The current version is WordPress 3.1. WordPress has built in some great commenting features. We used to have to have special plugins to be able to reply to comments and make sure the people who commented knew we replied. Now that is all built in.

Step #2

Deactivate all the comment plugins you currently have installed. You may decide you want some of these back but the fewer plugins you have installed the better. And you don’t want any of your plugins to start having confllicts.

Step #3

Look at your comments on your most current post. Does everything look nice and clean?

When I am working on my blog or a clients’ blog I will have the dashboard open in one tab and the actual blog open in another. This way I can quickly check my changes.

Step #4

Before we start installing plugins you need to sit back and think about your readers.

Do you have a lot of readers from twitter? Then you will want to let them link up their twitter accounts. Do you have a facebook page? Then you will want to encourage your facebook friends to share or like your post. Are your readers usually other bloggers? Well you will want them to be able to share their link and give them encouragement to comment.

Step #5

Now that you know who you are targeting now is the time to start adding plugins, but remember less is more!

Here are some great comment plugins:

CommentLuv

“Plugin to show a link to the last post from the commenters blog by parsing the feed at their given URL when they leave a comment. Rewards your readers and encourage more comments.”

CommentLuv is great way to encourage your blogging comments to comment even more. Of course, they love the free advertisement of their most current blog post! I like it because I can instantly jump to a blog post to share some comment love.

Subscribe To Comments

“Allows readers to receive notifications of new comments that are posted to an entry”

Another very similar plugin to this is Comment Reply Notification. These plugins just give your readers an option to know if you or someone else has commented on your blog post. And really your goal with comments should be to interact with your readers and to start conversations with them and between each other.

Twitterlink Comments

“Plugin to show a link to follow the comment author on twitter if they have entered in their username at least once in the comment form”

I have a lot of twitter followers and readers so I added this to my blog so that they have the option to share their twitter id and page. This is also a tool for me for Comment Cocktail Hour.

Step #6

You would think that we are done, but I would say that social media sharing is a part of commenting these days. Make sure that you have a clean and precise “call to action” for your social media lovers. Remember again less is more!

I use an all in one social media plugin:

Sharebar – “Adds a dynamic bar with sharing icons (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) that changes based on browser size and page location. More info and demo at: Sharebar Plugin Home”

Sharebar is kind of because you can adjust it to fit just perfectly with your layout and you can have it float as your reader scrolls. This plugin also gives you multiple social media options, but don’t overwhelm your readers with options. Know your readers and where they are most likely to share your posts and only set these up.

Also, in the past I have used Sexy Bookmarks which is also a good multiple social media option. I would say your choice between these two would depend on your theme and style.

Step #7

Delete all plugins you deactivated earlier and are not using. Remember you don’t want to have to many plugins installed. This can cause your site to be slow, cause conflict problems and it just makes it harder keeping your current plugins updated. You can always reinstall anything you want back later.

Are their other plugins you would recommend? Or are you looking for a plugin to do more and you haven’t found it yet? Feel free and let me know in the comments!

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What is PSD Web Template Design?

After a year working on my business, Uniquehorn Designs, I have found my focus. I have found that my favorite projects are creating PSD Web Templates. I love the instant gratification I get using Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop to create a beautiful layout.

What is a PSD?

The .PSD (Photoshop Document) … stores an image with support for most imaging options available in Photoshop. These include layers with masks, color spaces, ICC profiles, transparency, text, alpha channels and spot colors, clipping paths, and duotone settings. – Wikipedia

I’m sure your eyes just glazed over, I know mine did reading that and I know exactly what it’s saying.

In basic terms a PSD is Photoshops file. When you save the file as a PSD you save each separate layer and the different aspects of those layers including transparency, special effects, and more. You can create a design where each shape, text element and photo is on it’s own separate layer and with the layers separated you can edit each element quickly and easily.

As an example I will use one of my images from my free valentine’s day printables:

There are 3 layers in the PSD file of this image.

The dark pink scalloped background
The textured lighter pink box
The XOs

I could quickly open the PSD file and change the colors of each item, I could change the font of the XOs, I could change the texture on the light pink box, or I could change what the picture said all together. But if I tried to do this with the JPG image file I would pretty much have to start over because all those elements have been smashed together.

What is a PSD Web Template?

A PSD Web Template is an un-coded web site. It has all the visual elements of the web site including the background, the images, the layout, the typography and more. But there is no HTML or CSS involved.

Each layer will have the different elements for the website. You will have a layer for the logo, the header, the content, the navigation (or multiple layers in a folder) and so on.

What do I like about PSD Web Template Design?

I know how to write HTML, CSS and some PHP but it is not my favorite part of designing a new website. It can take me days to get the coding just perfect on a website. You are constantly looking at code and then switching to the visual interpretation of the code, then back to the code again.

With PSD Web Templates I can just focus on the design, the beauty, and let someone else worry about the code.

There is something wonderful about finding a focus for my business and knowing exactly what I love and being able to do it: PSD Web Templates!

Photoshop Icon Image by Young Design

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Our Christmas Card to you!

~*~*~ Our Family wants to wish you a very, very merry Christmas – May it be filled with the Love, Joy, and Peace throughout the Season! ~*~*~ Did you know you can order your Christmas Cards from Uniquehorn Designs?

Hi I am Pepper, yep that’s my real name, it’s on my birth certificate. I’m an old school blogger going back to her roots. In 1999 I wrote out my feelings and shared my silly random thoughts.

Well I’m back! This is me sharing the real me, hoping that it shows you that hey you aren’t alone in those weird, funny, hard moments in life. I’m putting the pieces of life back together after divorce, emotional abuse and starting out on a new adventure. Want to join me?

More about Pepper >>

My Weight Loss Story >>

Free WordPress Themes

Premium WordPress Themes

Customized Premium Wordpress Theme

Custom WordPress Design

1. Use your picture

2. Use a stock image or premade logo

3. Hire your brother or a friend

4. Hire a professional

More Questions?

Step #1

Step #2

Step #3

Step #4

Step #5

Step #6

Step #7

What is a PSD?

What is a PSD Web Template?

What do I like about PSD Web Template Design?

Photoshop Icon Image by Young Design