In this last and final part of my blog design process I’m going to make one very important statement from the get go and that is - I hate IE. I mean seriously, trying to get a layout to look like how you want it leaves you with less hair, less time to do other things and most of all total disgust at having wasted so much time.

Whew…

OK, so the layout is all coded out and everything is almost ready for launch. Unfortunately, another person who was in charge of something else did not deliver, so now we’re stuck for a few days. Which is fine, since that gives me more time to give the layout and the CSS some extra customized features. I’ve talked about designing with an instinct, relevancy and flow of content in design now I would like to talk all about tweaks.

Yep, it’s all about the tweaks

You can make a layout as pretty as you want in photoshop, but converting it into a template is not a walk in the park. {see IE note above}

Once you do have the basic layout and imagery in place, point to note: reduce images in quantity and size as much as possible to facilitate faster loading times, the fun really begins while messing around with the CSS. Subtle changes in color for lists, blockquotes, some sleek little icons to show up in various places. Keeping it discreet, but yet just enough to retain interest for the eye.

Some tweaks may take you a couple of minutes, some will take you a few hours or more. Just make sure that the tweaks that you do plan on making actually contribute in some way to the overall experience on the blog. Not just because some elements may be the “cool” thing to do. Remember web design is pretty much like real life, classics are timeless. A black dress will always remain eye-catching. You can add some Swarovski Crystals for a shine, but in moderation. Apply the same techniques on the web too.

Cleaning Up

While coding it is not uncommon for anyone to write far too many lines of codes than necessary just to make
things work. By coding, I mean CSS and HTML here, OK. I’m no Ajax guru.

So bring all the elements that you have spread out, together. Put all your relevant images and scripts in their necessary folders. Place the ones you are not going to use in a “do not use” or “old” folder - you might still need them later on, or you can delete if you are comfortable doing so. As you do this clean up exercise you will see yourself spend less doing the same thing next time, while spending more time learning and experimenting with new techniques.

Sadly, I cannot unveil the design or the blogger as yet. Because a few elements are not complete, and we’re still waiting on that other guy! I’m hoping sometime next week I can unveil it to all you.

This ends my series of a little glimpse into my blog design process. I know it was not extensive, sans screenshots etc…, but I will be doing more of these so do not despair. More will come.

Subscribe to my full RSS feed.

About the author

Hyder has been blogging for the past two years on this blog. He started Weborithm, his web company, in 2007 and along with designing blogs and websites also releases various web related products.