Disclosure – this is a sponsored post with Fontsy

Last month I celebrated writing my little blog for 15 years! I thought I would look back over my time by sharing some of the easy ways you can give your blog a makeover and keep things looking fresh and appealing for your audience.

How blogging has changed

Blogging changes so much. When I started out in 2005 I chose my blog name (not even sure how I chose the gingerbread house!), bought my domain and hosting and that was it. I taught myself how to run a basic WordPress blog, to upload pictures and enjoyed writing about the things I wanted to.

Initially I used Flickr to share my creations and there was a great sense of community. Soon other social networks came on the scene and I found myself joining Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram. I started a mailing list. Social networks changed the way I blogged but also gave me platforms for sharing my content and firming my niche.

5 easy ways to give your blog a makeover

I love changing the design of my blog regularly and use lots of different plugins on my blog time to add function and also look better. It’s so important to have an blog that anyone can read on a computer or phone, and ensure you don’t discriminate against any users of your blog. There are some easy ways to give your blog a makeover and I thought I would share my top 5 ways.

As my tastes have changed since I started blogging it’s obvious that I would want my blog to reflect that. The most obvious things to do whether you’re self-hosted or not is to change the theme of your blog. Changing the theme gives your blog an instant updated look. I’ve used free themes and even bought some and customised them to make them work the way I want them too. Just make sure you pick a theme which has been downloaded and is updated regularly by the developer, you don’t want an out of date theme breaking your site.

Did you know that you can change the font on your blog? You can use a WordPress font plugin and choose one that will reflect your style and personality. Just make sure that you pick a font which is easy to read! Fontsy has a library of free or premium fonts to choose from, there are over 1300 ones available which means endless possibilities for making your blog just how you want it.

Often your blog header will be part of your theme and you will be able to customise it. I love changing my blog header and used to make my own all the time. When I started to take blogging more seriously I realised that I wanted my branding across my blog and social channels, so I invested in a proper artwork from a designer. I loved the results and it definitely made me look more professional and get taken seriously when I approached companies to work with them.

Updating old blog posts makes them more relevant and appealing to readers. Everyone wants to write a useful, resourceful blog, and so it’s worth taking the time to look at older blog posts. You can add new images and an attention grabbing image for readers to Pin to Pinterest. It’s important to check for broken links too as this will help improve the experience for your readers and ensure your blog looks like it’s well looked after and improve your ranking with search engines.

Alongside updating older blog posts, you should make sure your posts are optimised for SEO purposes. SEO is so important, and a whole other blog post, but you want your old posts to rank well and bring traffic to your blog. I use a really handy plugin which helps me identify key areas to improve.

I would love to hear if you have any other ways to update your blog. Blogging changes frequently and I love learning new ways to keep my blog fresh!