How big of a difference does it make whether you customize your blog's template with unique header art vs. just going straight out of the box with one of the several hundred themes that are out there? Obviously, I'm talking about making an impression on visitors (e.g., building credibility, standing out as unique). Has anyone seen a difference between blogs they owned with and without unique header art?
Of course customizing a header makes you stand out and makes your blog look unique among the others. If you leave the default header of a free theme, you can be sure there's at least one other blog out there that looks EXACTLY like you. I for one, wouldn't like that As for the credibility, I believe a nice clean and free design does more than a heavy loaded and unaesthetic customized theme. There's also the content that reflects credibility, but that's only up to you. Hope this helps,
Read this post which Nate Whitehill recently wrote on this topic: http://natewhitehill.com/what-does-your-header-image-say-about-you/ I actually have a generic header (and theme) at the moment, but now I am planning on changing it soon now...
You want to customize everything that you can about your blog. EVERYTHING. You have to make it yours. It is so disappointing to see someone, especially blogger blogs, just paste text, and not take any personal interest in the template. IF you are serious about blogging and want readers to view you with respect, like you really give a crap. Customize your header. Its the first impression.
OK, thanks for the opinions... What are some good sites for blog header art making? I want to do it myself, but would rather not get bogged down in Photoshop whatever. I would also like some basic ideas on what kinds of images make good blog header images. Obviously, I'm looking at rights-available images relevant to my topic, but what else?
My take is a bit different. There aren't many blogs that I visit regularly, but those that I visit now and then (e.g. Matt Cutts, Dosh Dosh, Lorelle, etc.), I am not all all affected by their header/masthead. Not the first time I read them, nor the last. In fact, I cannot tell you what their headers look like if you asked me. Content of course is most important. Layout, readability and accessibility follow. It is very difficult to develop good ergonomics and this is the area that I would concentrate on (my site needs lots of help in this area). A nice header/logo is OK, but I think it has little to do with long term viewer impact, as long as the header doesn't look awful. For me, colors and overall template presentation made a big difference in the number of viewers I was getting. SEO was the biggest impact. Rich
Well, I never could find one that i liked, and the only way to get one that I want is to have it done. (Which I haven't done yet). It's really a matter of personal taste and style. I don't know photoshop either, and at this point I will probably never learn it. The header I have now, I made from a free logo creator, and just threw it up there until I have time to concentrate on what I really want. Everything won't be perfect right away. You will be tweaking and changing things on your blog for some time before it all comes together. I still have like 4 major things to change. It may never be done.
I'm half and half really - Content does come first in my book but that said if a site (whether Blog or otherwise) is horrendously ugly with ads all over the place I might just move on without reading the content. Mind you - a blog can look very well designed but if there's no content to speak of again I just move on. There's some sites that I've just given up on if their so poorly designed you can't find your way around, even if there might be gems of content. When I research on the net I want to find the info I need quickly and easily when I visit a site - can't be bothered hunting. I'm the same when it comes to shopping in real life! I think as others have said here it's about creating a look and feel that compliments whatever your content is. Because I'm in the middle of designing mine yesterday I was looking up 'best designed blogs' on the net. The Guardian listed this one and I just remembered the cows and have no idea what the content is. I guess if you can go for something striking and memorable so much the better! Lily
Yes, I agree. This is a very big area that I am beginning to focus in on. It is a matter of first understanding what your average reader is looking for (google analytics helps), and then fine-tuning the structure of the site so that readers can quickly find what they are looking for. This is a very difficult and long process. I am just beginning to understand and address this issue. It can also be quite expensive, depending upon the amount of customization that is required, so I am holding off on any major redesign work, until I feel I really understand what my average reader is looking for. I think the best blogs are generally very good at addressing the accessibility and ergonomics issues. Rich
I think a highly custom header is very important but Ive noticed alot of very succesful blogs simply have a single color and text header So Im not too sure how important it really is. Though I will always customize my headers because its a method of branding and building a brand is important to get repeat readers. And repeat readers are 100x more valuable than someone who stumbled on your site and clicked and ad and left.