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 items to be aware of

March 30th! – Everyone will be switched so start planning now!

Cover Photo – Dimensions for the large cover image is 851 x 315 pixels.

Follow the Rules! – The rules for cover photos >> no ads, no call to actions, no contact info, no mention of like or share. Nothing word based. Read more.

Profile Photos – The photo you upload must be at least 180 x 180 pixels

No more landing pages - But people are still coming up with some great ways to use the landing page app to create buttons on their favorite section

Want some Great Examples?

I started to through some samples of great Brand Timelines from Facebook on this post but as I was looking for articles to give me clues to who had already switched I found no post. Okay I found a couple posts but I was surprised at how hard it was to find good examples and to find who had switched over. So I decided to write a second post listing up to 60 different Timelines you should check out. So make sure and check out The Ultimate List of 60 Amazing Brand Timelines on Facebook.

How Can You Get an Amazing Timeline? Check out Uniquehorn Designs

As the owner and designer of Uniquehorn Designs I am giving one lucky reader the chance to win their own Timeline Cover Photo Design from Uniquehorn Designs. Three runner ups will also get 50% off a Timeline Design.

You provide your logo in high resolution or vector format. You let me know what you want on your timeline and I will design a cover photo that you will love (and is within the Facebook guidelines)!

Enter to Win

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Once the contest ends you will be contacted and you will have 24 hours to respond to retrieve your prize.

Jenny is actually one of my online friends and so when she signed up I was excited but also nervous at the same time she has a lovely site.

THE PROS

• Good Color Scheme
• Beautiful Photographs
• Great layout overall

THE CONS

• No real feature post to show off her beautiful photos
• Sidebar a little crowded
• A little plain for her quirky personality and great coding skills

THE PLAN

Add a Feature section to highlight the photos

Add a Footer to spread out all the content from the sidebar

Add some quirky fun design elements

THE REDESIGN

This month’s lucky redesign is New Critter. This is actually an old site, but Nichole is hoping to resurrect in the near future.

THE PROS

• Very little clutter
• Organized
• Great concept

THE CONS

• Very basic design with no real personality
• No social media
• Layout really doesn’t highlight each creature

THE PLAN

Change the layout to really showcase each character by adding a slideshow

Make it easier to find the newest creatures by creating a newest critter section

Highlight the categories of the animals by creating a menu

Make a dedicated section for social media

THE REDESIGN

When you are starting the investigation for designing or redesigning of your site you can be faced with a lot of questions. One of the first questions you should ask is how much to invest into the design. You have four main options for choosing your design a free prefab theme, a premium prefab theme, a customized prefab theme, or a customized 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 Prefab Theme

Just like a mobile home you can find a Free Theme where the colors and style may not match you and your style. Plus hundreds of the exact same home are out there due to it being pre-constructed. But 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
• If you look long and hard enough you can find some free professional themes

Cons:

• Doesn’t really represent you and your brand
• You will not have as many options for customization
• Attempting to customize the theme yourself may make it look cheezy
• Your images and style may end up feeling mismatched and disjointed
• You may see other’s 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 Prefab Theme

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 loose 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 Woothemes. 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 Prefab 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 the images fit and coordinates
• 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

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 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.

More Questions?

I’m always happy to help with questions so feel free and ask here in the comments or email me at (unicornbeauty (@) gmail.com)

Sorry that this month’s PSD Makeover is a little late. I decided to close the original blog this design was on and move it to Pepper Scraps.

This month’s lucky redesign is Jules from Big Girl Bombshell.

THE PROS

• A very basic layout and easy to follow
• Great blog name and tagline
• Social media is easy to find and follow

THE CONS

• Site is just a little too white and has nothing that makes it unique
• When I originally did the redesign she did not have a logo
• Menu is on two lines and hard to follow

THE PLAN

Create a logo too play off the great title and create a color scheme.

Truncate the menu and make it easier to follow.

Tie in the social media icons to the theme to create more of a style for the blog.

Create a better call to action for signing up for her newsletter or email feed.

Create a place to talk more about the blogger to give more of a personal feeling to the blog.

THE REDESIGN

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!

This is the second makeover in my new series: PSD Makeover. This month’s volunteer was Lorna at Gin & Lemonade.

THE PROS

• A very basic layout that is easy to follow
• Menu is easy to find and links are very easy to understand
• Sidebar is pretty clean and not too cluttered

THE CONS

• The site is too basic there is no real color or personality
• No real logo
• Social media is spread out between a page and in the sidebar

THE PLAN

Create a logo that was bright and fun.

Add some color and style. Pull the color scheme from the logo to showcase the fun name of the blog.

Bring in some texture with the background and banner under the logo.

Add the social media icons to the top of the site above the menu where visitors can find it quick and link up.

Keep the layout basically the same but excerpt the blog posts to make less scrolling.

Also included a designated place for photos to make the posts themselves pop.

Make the email subscription sign up bolder and stand out more.

Bring in the same style and color scheme into the sidebar.

THE REDESIGN

YOUR INVITED

I am looking for anyone who may be interested in participating in a PSD makeover by Uniquehorn Designs. If you are interested post in the comments with the link to the site you would like redone!

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.

1. The dark pink scalloped background
2. The textured lighter pink box
3. 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

Welcome to a new series from Unicornbeauty: PSD Makeover. I will be taking a current website or blog and giving them a makeover with a Photoshop PSD. My very first volunteer was That’s Too Cute.

THE PROS

• A good wordpress template that has all the elements tied in and coordinated and the basic layout is good
• Menu is easy to find and use
• Great slider to really to show off the content

THE CONS

• The site is too dark and too web 2.0, especially for the subject of fashion
• No real logo or unique style
• Too many posts on the front page – 22 older posts
• Sidebar is too busy and social media links spread out and mismatched. Images in the sidebar were different sizes and styles creating a cluttered feel.

THE PLAN

Brighten up the colors: I was drawn to a color scheme from colour lovers but then modified it with some of the colors from Trilala’s post about the Glee OPI nail polish.

Create a quick fun logo

Polish up the menu a touch and give it some style, break it away from the basic arial font and bring in a bold fun font.

Keep the basic structure of the layout since it is working well.

Touched up the slider to make it blend with the rest of the layout.

Keep the two current posts but make the post structures blend in with the new color scheme and minimize the meta data.

Instead of 22 older posts place 6 post thumbnails to hint at the older posts and draw in the curious visitor.

Create a section for social media icons (including creating one for Bloglovin’): This brought up the tabbed section to be more prominent on the sidebar.

Move the membership section to it’s own page and add a link in the menu to eliminate clutter.

Create a footer for the site which pulls in some of the elements that were on the sidebar: Archives, Links, and Tags to help clean out the main sidebar.

THE REDESIGN

YOUR INVITED

I am looking for anyone who may be interested in participating in a PSD makeover by Uniquehorn Designs. If you are interested post in the comments with the link to the site you would like redone!