New blog! New happenings! And I think I figured it all out…
When I first started blogging, I used movabletype and it worked really well for me for a while, but the support in Wordpress was too good to pass up. Now, after several years of “family blogging,” I am back on the creative wagon again. This first post is kind of a “testing” post, but I couldn’t have created this site without some great help.
The more I messed around with wordpress, the bigger this project became, so I decided that instead of building a site from scratch, it would be better to get ahold of a great theme, and style/deconstruct it to my liking. Here is my list of tips for creating a customized minimalist blog:
- Check out other (minimalist) blogs that you like and take notes. Even bookmark them, so when you find yourself wondering what to do next, you have some inspiration.
- Ask a pro. I took some time to ask a few web designers how they achieved the great look of their blogs, and most of them not only helped me out, but sent me some personal code as well. It never hurts to ask!
- Find a very well built theme with great support, and then tear it down slowly to your liking before you build your style in. I used the WooThemes template Therapy, got rid of the sidebar, and moved things around to my liking.
- Take your time. I wanted to jump into this little project a bit too fast, but slowing down has helped me keep focus. There are times when I just couldn’t figure out how to alter or write a certain bit of code, and after giving it a day or so, it came to me.
I also wanted to thank Trent Walton for the initial inspiration for going minimalist. (If you haven’t seen his site, I highly recommend it!) Also, thanks to the woo-forums people for my pestering questions, and also a thank you to my interweb friends for the support.
Now, I just need to get this thing cleaned up and ready to go.
They Say