Blog design has certainly never been a passion of mine (Really? Then why do I spend 6 hours a day on it?), but I have been very keen on learning more about it and have also spent a lot of time making sure my site is designed and laid out exactly how I would like it. I've stated before that I am a very visual person, and I need my site to be attractive to inspire me to spend time on it.  It might be nice if I could turn off that part of my personality so I could just stop worrying about all the little visual details  - but then my life as I know it just wouldn't be right.  Even with an artistic inclination, applying the ‘right touch’ to my blog requires knowledge in coding and experience in web design and branding - and I had none of these when I started!  I have, however, been able to find numerous resources that have served as good tools in helping my inexperienced brain figure all of this stuff out.

Technical Sites I Like:

• I stumbled upon this blog five years ago when I was seeking knowledge on customizing CSS, widgets, layouts, blog designs, inserting JavaScript’s and HTML codes.  The site is no longer being updated, but I still refer to it often as it has a ton of useful information.
• Smashing magazine is an online magazine for professional web designers and developers and offers great tips and techniques in all areas of coding.  They cover areas such as web design, typography, design patters, Photoshop, and so much more. You can also find a lot of great freebies on this site that you can apply to your own blog.
• If I need help with coding CSS (my platform requires a small knowledge of this) then I go to w3schools.com. With their online editor, you can edit the CSS, and click on a button to view the result. It’s pretty neat and I have learned a lot there.

• The Blog Maven is a new site I recently found. She offers a lot of advice on the best practices of getting social media sites such as Pinterest to work for you, how to make a media kit that rocks, and tips on backing up your work.
• Do you know what your Prime Online Real Estate is on your blog? Do you want to know how to create a winning first impression? Successful Blogging has a great article about how to use your most valuable blog real estate wisely, and blog design dos and don’ts regarding what your visitors should see first.

My Favorite Sites to Find Color Inspiration: 

• Design Seeds is a blog dedicated to “all who love color” and creates inspirational color palettes from every kind of photo. COLOURlovers is a creative community where people from around the world create and share colors, palettes and patterns, discuss the latest trends and explore colorful articles.
• This is a quick and easy color scheme designer, and this website can generate a color palette from a photo just by entering the URL of the image.

I could go on and on about my favorite sites that have helped guide me along my four+ years of blogging, but I think I am going to stop and go make dinner.  I can hear my husband's stomach growling downstairs.  Make sure to hop on over to Newf&Hound to see what great links she has for you!