This is my third year participating in the Slice of Life Challenge. When Leigh Anne Eck, from A Day in the Life, convinced me to give this a try, (Thank you Leigh Anne!) my first obstacle was creating a blog. Writing everyday for an entire month was one thing, but creating a blog to share my writing was a whole new challenge. I felt so much pressure. What to name my blog? What would the url be? My username? Lots of big decisions for something that might be around for a long time. If you knew the turmoil I endure buying a new couch, you would understand this was very similar. Finally, I just had to take the plunge and realize I was just starting out. It didn’t have to be perfect. I could change and revise things when I’m ready.
Well, three years later, and my blog looks the same. It serves the purpose of sharing my SOL posts, but not much more. Last month, I even signed up for a virtual help session with WordPress, but had to cancel when my day got crazy.
I’ve spend a majority of my reading/commenting time in the #SOL22 challenge noticing the layout of slicer’s blogs. Many have stuck out to me but, unfortunately, I didn’t bookmark them or write them down. Here are a few of the ones I did make a note of…
- I love the notebook look of Charlene Doland’s blog Reflections, Ruminations, and Renderings.
- Caitlin’s layout stopped me in my tracks. I explored all the sections of love always, caitlin. Everything from her Mary Oliver quote to her Meet Caitlin section; I just loved it all!
- The Book Dragon, Saba T. Siddiqui, has sections with drop down arrows. Talk about organized. I love this! I also really like her Goodreads running down the side. I’ve seen this with Twitter, also.
So, I’m seeking advice. What are your best layout tips? How do you create a blog that works for sharing multiple things…book recommendations, SOL, teaching tips, etc. Please feel free to share a link to your blog in the comments, so I can check it out and learn from you!
One Blessed Block 
Oh, I’d love to hear the answers to your questions, too I have two blogs and managing the technology piece often takes way more time than the writing part. Good luck!
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Maybe I’ll create a follow up with all the advice!
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Oh I would love to learn with you! My blog is a hot mess!
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I will share anything I learn!
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There are so many things to think about and each platform is different. A few things that I do like are having blogs that I follow on the side. This makes it easier for me to find them and see when and what they post. I also like having my own blog post tags to the side because it seems like I am always looking for a post that I have written before. Plus it lets me know which topics or challenges I wrote the most about. The archive is nice because I know how many posts I have made each month/year. I have changed layouts three times, and I think with different color schemes. I like making my own header with my own picture. Canva is a good place to create this. Although I have Twitter and Goodreads, those things above are must-haves for me. This is probably way more than you wanted! Good luck with your new design!
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Thank you for these tips, Leigh Anne. I will let you know how my blog redecorating goes 🙂
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I love how you have the grey boxes and pretty fonts! Like you, I am trying to make my blog more artistic in appearance (reflect more of my design preferences). Thank you for connecting me to those other blogs!
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I’m hoping to learn some tips! I’ll keep you posted on what I find!
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