Remember those sayings, “You can’t judge a book by its cover” or ” Looks don’t matter.”
I think they kind of do when it comes to a blog.
My first blog theme was Suburbia, which I found out doesn’t exist anymore. I’m not surprised, it was quite ugly. I’m not sure why I decided to choose in the first place. It clearly showed I had no idea how a blog layout should look like. I changed it to another theme, which I think was called Bueno, however I literally just looked up Bueno now and it looks completely different than from what I remembered it to be. My most recent free WordPress theme was Mantra. It was alright, but let’s be honest, it wasn’t very appealing to the eye.
HUGE thanks to the readers, fellow pf bloggers, and commenters who still came. My content must have been good enough to a certain extent.
Then I decided to take the plunge, use some of my ad income and actually buy a theme from StudioPress. After a few hours of tweaking (the installation was much easier than I thought), I am satisfied with the new look of my blog (At least I think I am for now). It looks brighter and more fresh. Like it got 8 hours of sleep and awoke to a brand new start.
Aside from makin’ my blog better, I’m also gradually makin’ better food choices. I had recently picked up Oh She Glows vegan cookbook and have already made Chana Masala. I am planning on using more chia seeds and quinoa as part of my diet. Since quinoa is a part of the Peruvian diet, I had a lot of it during my trip.
To set the record straight, I’m not going vegan or vegetarian or any other one of its forms. I’m still an omnivore. I still love my meat. I’ll just try to love vegetables and less processed foods more.
Image Courtesy of Suat Eman/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
So what have you been makin’ lately?
Love the new look!
Thanks, Michelle! 🙂
Looks good. Just a suggestion and I hope you don’t mind…maybe have the banner pop a little more adding some kind of artwork or something to it? Maybe hire someone in fiverr or something? The most important thing is that your blog is readable and it is definitely that!
Of course not! I welcome all sorts of constructive feedback. 🙂
Having a logo or artwork has already been suggested by a couple of fellow pf bloggers. It is the next major thing on my list to hit. I had purchased the pre-made design theme several months ago, but it wasn’t until now I had the time to set aside to actually sit down and work on it. Life always gets in the way somehow. Lol.
I am hoping I can have some sort of logo before the end of this year.
It looks great! I’m glad to hear you had a good experience with the installation. Funny enough, I use Mantra now, but I’m sick of it. It’s been the same theme since my blog’s inception, and I’m ready to move on. I’ve been thinking of buying Genesis but the price tag did scare me off a bit.
Your version of Mantra is MUCH BETTER than mine though. I tried tweaking it but wasn’t really getting anywhere with it.
At first I thought it was quite a bit of money to spend, but it’s like that saying, you’ve got to spend money to make money. I am hoping the look of my blog will attract more readers and advertisers.
I had pondering about between getting a custom design vs. buying a premade design. I was getting sick of the look of my blog and found it so dark and blah. Now I can’t stop looking at my blog. Lol.
I like the new look!
Thanks!! 🙂
I love the new look!
Glad you like it! 🙂
I like the new theme – so much cleaner and aesthetically pleasing to the eye!
Good on ya for more whole foods! I’ve been on a long process towards mostly whole foods, veggies, fruits, nuts, fish and it’s amazing. Not that I don’t sneak the occasional cookie/chips/snack but overall, a diet based mainly on nutritious whole foods is the best!
I agree. There’s nothing wrong with satisfying your craving for junk food here and there. I find I’m actually craving cookies and chips a little less, which is pretty big for me because I have a huge sweet tooth and I LOVE chips.
I’m loving the new look, although I try not to judge a book on its cover. As long as the content is good I keep reading.
Same here. Well designed blogs are what catch you, but it’s the content that holds you. 🙂
The new layout looks awesome!
I just got Oh She Glows too… I’ve been reading all the awesome info at the beginning so far, but soon I’ll try my hand at something!
Thanks Anne! I got Oh She Glows from the library and now have to return it. I’m thinking I should actually purchase it, since it’s a great book full of useful info and yummy recipes.