by Elizabeth, Delightfully Tacky
There are different routes to go when it comes to your blog design. You can do your design yourself, hire someone or a company to design your blog, partially design your blog and have someone else design specific parts (like your header or background), or you can find a pre-made template online. A lot of your decision depends on both your ability to design your blog yourself, your commitment to searching for online tutorials on HTML, or your financial ability to hire an expert to do your design and formatting for you.
I currently design blogs for Freckled Nest Design, and I have also used a blog template and designed my own blog by figuring out stuff using online HTML tutorials, so I've been involved in many of the options available. The first thing I did when I started my blog was start customizing it. I googled something like "vintage blogger layout" and found something that looked good and uploaded it. After that I pretty much tweaked it endlessly using HTML tutorials online until it became what it is today. Figuring out HTML and doing your own blog formatting & design takes a lot of time and work, sometimes frustrating. So, while doing your own design work is cost effective, it can also be extremely frustrating and time consuming.
Another option is to hire someone to design your blog. This is a great alternative for someone who doesn't necessarily have an eye for design and doesn't have the time to spend trying to figure out the behind the scenes HTML to make a design come to life. It is an investment, however, so if you don't have the money to spend on having your whole entire blog made over, consider the option of getting just a few items designed for you. You can give your blog a mini facelift by having a designer give you a custom header or a fresh background at a cost that's considerably lower than having a designer do your full blog layout.
If you have the time, energy and a good eye for design I would say go for trying out your own blog design! If not, take a look at some designers and find one that you think would fit your needs!
