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I’ve designed quite a few blogs over the last year or so, and I recently worked with a client who I thought did an extremely thorough job of planning for her new site, Remarkable Parents. The process she went through provides a good case study to look at, as the preparation for a blog launch can make a big difference in your success both in the early days and long term.
First Steps
Before Vicky even got to the design process, she consulted the experts in how to prepare for a blog launch. There are many great articles out there to help with the planning process, but Vicky chose to go straight to a master blogging authority and consult with Chris Garrett. As a result, when she came to me, she had many of the pieces in place which made translating her vision into a blog design enjoyable.
Ready to Design
So, what are these pieces that made my job so much easier?
Concept - she knew what her blog was going to be about and she had an idea about how that might translate into visual terms. She didn’t tell me exactly what she wanted the header to look like of course. Rather, the concept she gave me for designing the header was somewhat abstract, but provided guidance enough for me to work with.
Target Audience - she knew who she was going to be writing to, and knowing this made my search for images that would work well in the header much easier. She even had an age range in mind.
Look and Feel - she had scoured the web for sites that appealed to her and had elements she thought would appeal to her target audience. She didn’t just have one inspirational site and color scheme, but several and she described what she liked about each.
The result
So much thought and preparation time made the design process go very smoothly, and the final result is a site we’re both very pleased with.
If you visit Vicky’s site, you’ll see that her first post is up and she has received 35 comments on it! Not only has she put a lot of time into the preparation for her blog’s launch, she is following it up by networking, the use of social media sites like Twitter and even some offline promotion using some MooCards that have her blog’s header on them.
Even if your budget doesn’t allow for professional consultation and design, taking the time to be very thorough in planning and preparation before launching a blog can make all the difference.
You might also like:
- Blog Design Review: ChrisG.com
- Case Study: the Blog as a Promotional Tool
- Round and Round WordPress theme released
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Please use your name when you comment- I would appreciate it. Using just keywords makes your comment seem spammy, and it's liable to get deleted. See my comment policy for more detail. Thanks!
May 29, 2008 10:06 am
Absolutely agree that time and research are required for every website. Just had a client (law firm) who couldn’t see any use for market research, planning, etc… took a while but I think they finally see the value. What methods do you use to get customers to see the value of research and planning for website design? Some customers just think it’s all about a quick design and I can’t figure out where they are coming from.
May 29, 2008 10:33 am
Thanks for the mention Randa
I am sure Vicky is such a smart and driven lady with or without help she is destined for good things 
May 29, 2008 11:11 am
Wow! Thank you so much!
Vicky H
May 29, 2008 11:40 am
It’s always a pleasure to work with such clients, isn’t it?
Very nice and clean design, though the burgundy text on a white background is a bit hard to read.
May 30, 2008 2:55 am
Yes, I agree that this is a very clean and extremely user friendly design and layout. I personally liked the color scheme and think that they compliment each other quite nicely.
Great work and the blog looks like it will be a success!
May 30, 2008 3:36 am
Well done both. It certainly pays to put at least a little bit of planning into a blog launch, something the team here should perhaps heed for when they launch their blog. 35 comments is amazing for a first post on an unestablished blog.
May 30, 2008 6:26 am
Beautiful site. I’m sure it’ll be great and hopefully I’ll remember it when I become a parent
Anyone who puts enough thought and effort in is worth listening to I think.
May 30, 2008 12:27 pm
Thanks good read!
Site looks amazing by the way!
May 30, 2008 6:36 pm
That’s a really nice looking website. I would say blog design is greatly overlooked by many. Reason being it requires both artistic and technical skills to deliver that perfect look and feel on browser.
May 31, 2008 12:40 pm
That is a great looking site! Amazing what a little advanced preparation will do.
June 2, 2008 3:33 am
Thanks for this post, Randa. Knowing who you are and who you’re going to write for , and visualizing all the details can truly make a difference in the success of your blog (initially, at least). Beautiful concept, great execution. Congratulations, ladies.
June 2, 2008 12:35 pm
Wow, Vicky rocks. I havn’t had 35 comments total and my blog is about 2 months old. I have tried the social networking but have not drived much traffic this way. I still love to hear success stories.
June 2, 2008 1:07 pm
When I created my first site I did not take the time to do market research, explore a range of avenues or generally get the information I needed to succed. For my latest site I compared what the competition was doing right and wrong. It is true that putting the time and effort in to establishing a well structured design idea can make all the difference.
June 2, 2008 3:31 pm
Well I agree. If you have a nice theme that people can remember and that they will like, they will keep comming back to see how much better it is doing. Also, I believe that if you have a theme or template or whatever that goes perfectly along with your niche, your website will get more visitors and more comments. That is because people will like it, and more visitors means that you could get more potential revenue off of it. So keep up the good job, and Randa, keep making nice templates.
June 3, 2008 1:36 am
I was thinking of starting a blog too, but was not sure as to what to start of with or where to start. I used to ask a couple of my friends about it but no body could give a proper answer or help me. Thanks for the information.
June 3, 2008 2:29 am
I think perhaps the two most important factors that you mentioned is the concept and the target. You have to determine what you wanna talk about, and who you wanna talk to. That makes up the basic identity of the blog, and determines the direction it’s gonna go in. Look and feel make the blog all pretty and is secondary– although it can attract a few visitors as well. The colors make them come, content makes them stay.
June 3, 2008 5:38 pm
What a great article. I’ve been neglecting my own blog somewhat, and this has defiantly made me think about it with a fresh perspective. The main reason for me creating it in the first place was to promote my digital paintings, which I have lost sight of. The moocards look like a great way to do this as well.
June 3, 2008 6:59 pm
Great article. I’m a designer, but I don’t have a blog. If I try and create one I’m rereading this. Thanks!
June 7, 2008 9:50 am
What methods do you use to get customers to see the value of research and planning for website design? Some customers just think it’s all about a quick design and I can’t figure out where they are coming from.
June 7, 2008 11:02 am
I agree totally with you. Preparation before a blog launch can make a lot of difference. Do it right and things will go well.
I like the particular phrase ” taking the time to be very thorough in planning and preparation before launching a blog can make all the difference.”
June 7, 2008 11:17 am
Preparation is very important. The small things that other people forget about add up to be a huge difference. Very good read as a blog owner myself.
June 8, 2008 1:42 am
you have stressed it well.. preparing for the launch is the key thing there…. and in vicky’s case it obviously worths it..
June 9, 2008 12:10 am
I’m considering starting a new blog. And have been putting a lot of thought and effort into the design. Thanks for the insight and help in direction. Good stuff!
June 9, 2008 9:55 am
What a visually appealing site. I think marketers sometimes forget how important it is to the human users (vs the SEs) to have an athetically pleasing site. Plain or spammy sites are just at turn off. It’s that simple.
June 9, 2008 9:49 pm
Another well written article. It’s always a pleasure to visit this blog, and I always learn something. Keep up the good work.
And the blog looks good you have done a good job with the design.
June 10, 2008 10:57 pm
Whats crazy is you can spend more time promoting your blog than actually writing content for your blog. So many newbs end up in that death trap. No doubt every blog needs a carefully planned launch as it will take google months to send your any noteworthy traffic.
June 11, 2008 7:24 am
The blog looks great. I love the colors & layout, very user friendly. I have to agree it is always great working with customers that know what they want.
June 11, 2008 2:20 pm
Looks really good… but I’m not surprised! As I’ve been a fan of your work for some time now - Randa. Keep up the great designs!
June 12, 2008 10:57 am
Great read on the aspects of a great layout. A poorly designed website can ruin even the most thoroughly informative content.
I love the banner across the top, and it looks like the site has already had great success. Looks like all of the planning and other hard work is paying off!
June 12, 2008 5:58 pm
She sounds like an excellent client! Clients who have done their homework and know their desired outcomes are a joy to work with.
Sincerely,
Meg Meyer
June 13, 2008 10:07 am
This design was so beautifull! really really professional!
The colors and the images was well chosen!
Congratulations!
June 13, 2008 10:49 am
I think this post has been really useful and to be frank, I like what I have seen on Vicky’s site.
For some time, I have actually been thinking about a professional redesign of my blog but haven’t put it into action.
My blog is mainly on soccer-content and I need a web-designer who knows what he is doing. Will be interested in a collaboration with you.
June 13, 2008 11:41 am
Its fantastic that you have a client that knows what they want, something we can all aspire to desiring. Makes our job/s so much easier and rewarding.
June 14, 2008 12:29 am
I tried some by seeing some design contest but it really need much patience and vast knowledge. I don’t have that.
June 15, 2008 10:45 am
I just started to design and on my second project and have started to research the niche i am creating it for.
The issue being though for generic templates it is hard to cater for all niches, even if you make a niche specific templates, in niches as big and varied as on-line marketing, make money on-line etc. it is hard to effectively research it.
June 15, 2008 11:22 pm
No doubt the site in question is remarkable! However, I think professional help has made a difference too.
June 16, 2008 4:14 am
Absolutely agree that time and research are required for every website. It is a remarkable website and it shows what professional help can make a difference to a website.
June 16, 2008 2:50 pm
I admit that i was really attracted by this design. Simply perfect, very honestly.
Everything is perfect - colours - pictures - the slightly swinging layout. And nicely fitting to the topic.
One of the best blog designs I have ever seen.
June 16, 2008 6:40 pm
That really is a great designed blog.
It is very important to plan a project and not just dive straight in as I and many other people will have done in the past.
June 16, 2008 7:13 pm
I completely agree that a thorough planning and a good groundwork, before launching your blog, would always help you in getting the right kind of results. But its not only before you start, you need to continue with the same research and planning even after the launch.. for better results!
June 16, 2008 11:24 pm
I love this design! You have created a really slick and usable blog. I’ll have to remember your work when I muster up the funds for a custom design.
June 17, 2008 11:23 am
Very beautiful site. It’s much easier when the client knows the answer to ‘what audience’ and what ‘feel’ the site should have.
June 18, 2008 8:18 pm
nice design structure though i don’t recommend adding text on the search box if not using javascript effect. From the design, you have to delete the text in order to use the search box which i think is not good.
June 19, 2008 1:21 am
I disagree with MyFinanceButler on how the look and feel are secondary. Imagine this scenario: you have the right concept and target. You market, people come to your site, and they find it to be ugly and it gives them a lousy user experience. They leave quickly and don’t plan on coming back. Unless you’re the ONLY site that caters to your niche, users will go to a site that provides a better experience.
I battle this all the time where I work. Look and feel (and even more important, usability) are treated as secondary. Look and feel is not necessarily about attracting visitors (as MyFinanceButler says), they are about KEEPING them.
June 19, 2008 6:38 pm
If every of our clients is like Vicky, then the I.T world will be so much easier
June 19, 2008 8:57 pm
Its amazing how well a good planned out launch can bring a persons thoughts together, look forward to following this.
June 19, 2008 9:26 pm
Yeah, I really want to follow this and watch the site’s PR.
June 21, 2008 10:51 am
I’m a designer and according to a designer’s point of view I can say that this design is very beautifully blended. Kudos!
June 21, 2008 1:46 pm
I’m not designer, but i like the design. Just simply awesome. Bravo!
June 21, 2008 4:30 pm
wow ! just look at the design… it’s really nice.
June 21, 2008 6:06 pm
Nice work and I love the design!
June 21, 2008 10:18 pm
hmm. i never thought that designing a perfect blog had such a concept to help create it! great post and beautiful designs!
June 21, 2008 10:44 pm
the color suits the title of the topic and the face of the beautiful lady or mum, just perfect!
June 22, 2008 8:15 am
Very interesting article about the development and what can i say? Awesome result! Perfect mix of style and an effective interface. I’m a bit jealous…
June 22, 2008 5:57 pm
Great design there Randa
June 22, 2008 9:02 pm
Really good info, thanks for this. Site has come together well, good job all round.
June 24, 2008 11:46 pm
Great information, I agree with everything that you talk about to what increases all the SEO efforts and also what it takes to get a site ranked high.
June 25, 2008 7:23 am
I think one thing you could have mentioned is the objective of the blog. When I design a site (for myself or someone else) this is the first thing I think about is the objective of the site (or blog in this case) I know it sounds obvious but it is really useful to ahve a clear objective as other aspects can come of that (like target audience) and it keeps a focus, so the final product can actually achive an objective.
June 25, 2008 8:22 am
wow I love the design of that website…. very perfect
June 25, 2008 11:51 am
Well of course I went to Remarkable Parents and actually spent several minutes there reading (and Learning) She obviously is on to something there. I think we made a number of mistakes on our first professional blog launch and are actually in the process of have it redesigned with a complete overhaul. The color scheme of the site you designed was very nice. (I will be sending a link to my business partner!) I think it is so important, if your blog does have a purpose to be planned ahead of time so you will know how to best design it.
June 26, 2008 5:07 pm
Nice job
I’m also making a web pages, but my main problem is that i’m a programmer not designer. But i like Your job
Regards
June 30, 2008 9:06 am
Nice design Randa. Actually Im in the process of creating design for my own blog and the simple proces will be my basis point.
June 30, 2008 12:15 pm
actually this site templates quite nice.
July 1, 2008 6:13 am
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July 1, 2008 11:38 am
Beautiful site, well done. It was an inspiration for my blog in the future. Thanks
July 1, 2008 2:06 pm
Your blog is really nice one with some really good posts but I am little bit surprised to see that the quantity of RSS readers are small in number. I expected more then it is now.
July 7, 2008 7:25 pm
I am glad i learned something
July 11, 2008 4:46 am
Very interesting article, thanks. I think it should always be this way, although sometimes it’s not feasible - it all depends on the clients it skills and how much time they have to put into such a site. When this happens it’s nice, but we have to be aware that clients sometimes want the full site but don’t have the time to put the effort in through no fault of their own.
Great article though, thanks again =)
July 11, 2008 10:32 pm
Wow…a lot of comments. The article worths to be be proud of and the design. Creativity and colour is important in designing something.
July 18, 2008 9:37 am
EPCOT Is Growing Mickey Mouse Ear Pumpkins is a great post on Remarkable Parents. I get a kick out of this one and can’t wait to try it. I think that Vicky H did a right choice in consulting with Chris Garrett. The result is amazing. The way the top graphics line up, along with her perfect picture. It reminded me about the “7 ways blogging is just like opera”, how you go about saying to wear a good costume, a perfect picture is something that says allot.
July 23, 2008 11:04 pm
There’s nothing like a well prepared client! The website generally turns out a lot better and is more of a success, along with the fact that the project doesn’t drag on and you get paid on time! Good work.
July 24, 2008 9:11 pm
The entire purpose of design is to solve the design problem and convey the message properly to the appropriate demographic. Unless you are already an expert in the clients demographic you will have to ask them questions to define the proper demographic for the client’s service or product THEN do the appropriate research. Take notes and design accordingly. That is all for today class…
July 25, 2008 2:38 pm
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July 27, 2008 4:00 am
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July 28, 2008 6:33 am
hM. Interesting. Do you thing now people are thinking of designing the blogs theme without thinking enough. They are only running for the money.
July 28, 2008 7:05 am
If these steps are this much easy then why not all the webmaster are designing their own blogs?
July 29, 2008 12:57 pm
It’s like with every online or offline media game you play: the better the preparation in advance, the best results you get once everything goes live. I love the great style of the design by the way. Really catches the mood of what the site is all about.
August 2, 2008 7:54 am
If these steps are this much easy then why not all the webmaster are designing their own blogs?
August 2, 2008 10:22 pm
agree with you
quite simple and cool design
August 3, 2008 2:17 am
Your blog is really nice one with some really good posts but I am little bit surprised to see that the quantity of RSS readers are small in number. I expected more then it is now.
August 3, 2008 4:59 am
Wow very nice article. We’ve recently launched a blog and this would have been useful to know before doing it… but its never too late right?
August 4, 2008 7:10 am
you really have a great blog design simple and helpful
August 5, 2008 11:25 pm
What a great site! You can certainly tell a lot of effort was put into designing and planning for its launch.
August 6, 2008 6:19 pm
Excellent design, great colour scheme. We need more to see more examples like this. Keep up the good work !
August 6, 2008 8:34 pm
Really wonderful design…I’m a designer and I’ve learned so much from you..and you gain more subscriber
Thanks
Sepatu Lukis
August 8, 2008 2:50 pm
Very nice design (better than I can do). I like that sepia-tone look.
August 9, 2008 12:19 am
Wow, I wish I had found this before I launched some of my blogs. I will most certainly take this advice when I do my next one. Thanks!
August 10, 2008 2:25 am
Hi Randa..I’m back
I discover this post is really helpful for me and I decide to put your blog design into one of my design analysis case study report.
Percy Ward
August 20, 2008 7:32 am
Love this design - especially the dreamy sepia look. I’m partial to the subject also.
August 26, 2008 12:06 pm
Thank you very much It is enough knowledge
August 26, 2008 11:36 pm
It is really useful information for me, thanks a lots
August 29, 2008 1:00 am
Wow! Thank you so much!
September 2, 2008 8:16 pm
Stunning site! A very welcoming feel about it. I can see a lot of parents turning to the blogs for knowledge and advice.
An experienced designer and flexible client are key to creating not only an eye catching site but also one that is practical and easy to navigate.
Well done Vicky and Chris!
September 9, 2008 5:29 am
time and research are required for every website. I definately agree with this. However, everybody thinks that we built websites in a day.
September 10, 2008 3:43 pm
Great site, very informative and effective color scheme. Great work!
September 22, 2008 3:28 pm
hey randy you picked up a good design for case study i am really in love with your blog its full of informative articles sadly i am late and now can’t take part in those discussions ended. but hey we are here with new posts past is past.
(i really like listening to your tweets too
)
September 24, 2008 10:45 am
Tnx,
Can you post another study cases?
Thanks again,
Brooke
September 24, 2008 5:47 pm
“Great site, very informative and effective color scheme. Great work!” So do I. Working ability is great!
October 7, 2008 9:47 am
Hi great info on blog design. I was about to start my own blog on my e-commerce site Dead Sea Products and found this site and it’s blogs very helpful. Thanks
October 9, 2008 10:37 am
I’m glad I came across this as I’m getting ready to launch a new blog in the next few weeks. I doubt I’ll be as prepared as Vicky was, but at least I have a starting point.
Brad
October 20, 2008 2:50 pm
very nice and clean design…i love the color scheme..its feels so warm and soft…