Making a Custom Bravenet Blog - Getting Started
  Creating a Custom Blog Header
  Custom Bravenet Blog - The Finishing Touches

In this month's Tips and Tricks we are going to walk you through customizing your Bravenet Blog!

Would you like to create your own custom Bravenet Blog design? The simple instructions below will help you to do so!

Before we get started you should also register for our Free Photo Album service and a free web site (if you haven't already). We are going to use the Photo Album service to store our images for our Blog design. The Photo Album service requires a free web site to store the photos.

First of all you should ask yourself these questions: 'What type of blog do you have' and 'What would you like it to look like'? Answering these questions will help you to design a nice blog that matches your theme and content. Once you have decided on what you would like your blog to look like you may want to find some images or graphics to use in your blog design. If you have a digital camera handy you may even want to take your own photos to make your blog even more personalized.

Since my blog is just for fun I just grabbed some random photos to use:

Before you start making images for your Blog you need to decide on an overall page width; I decided to make mine 750px wide. To change your Blog width go to 'general settings' and the first option is 'Service Width.'

The difference between pixels and percent: Pixels are a fixed size - no matter how big or small the viewers monitor is your blog will stay the same size. Percent fills a percentage of the viewers screen - your blog will be bigger or smaller depending on monitor size. If you are using images (like I will be) I highly recommend using a pixel size.

Before we get into making images we should also select a blog layout. From your service manger click 'look and feel' and then 'Layouts'; I decided to use '3 Column Clean & simple.'

From the same 'look and feel' section click 'Images.' Here you will see a guide image (for the blog layout you selected) showing you where you can place images and how your blog will be laid out. Using this you can create the necessary images.

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Using your favorite photo editing software you can now create your images. To simplify things I am only going to be using a header (shown resized below) and background image. Once you have all your images created, you are ready to start styling your blog. If you would like to use my images you can download my header image and background image.

First of all let's upload and set our header image:

1. Click 'Block A BG Style' on the left.
2. Click 'Image Picker'.
3. On the left click 'Upload new Image'.
4. Browse to your header image and click upload image.
5. Select your header image by clicking its name in the list.
6. And now click 'Use this image.'

For my header image I selected the follow options: 'Do Not Tile', 'Top', 'Left.'

These options make sure my background does not repeat and positions to the top and left. So my header image fits in my blog just nicely.

NOTE: There is a difference between 'Title Image' and 'Block A BG Style.' Title image is an image that is placed in your title/header but does not fill the whole space. 'Block A BG Style' can be used to fill your entire header space. It can be a repeating background or one giant header image set to not repeat (like I have done in this article).

Now we have to do a few tricks to adjust our header. Since we have opted to use a title graphic that is large and textual, we will want to remove the default text that would typically appear in the title area which contains text title and description.

Under the 'text' option enter the following text:

Blog Title: <div style="display: none;">your blog title here</div>

Blog Description:
<div style="height: 205px"><span style="display: none">blog description here</span></div>

NOTE: change the height to match the height of your header image.

I have set my title and description to display:none; because if I delete them then there is no way for other Bravenet Bloggers to know what my blog is about! So it is best if you use the display:none; method I have shown here rather than deleting your title and description altogether. ALSO you MUST have a title and a description entered to be chosen for Journal Of The Week!

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Now set the background image by selecting 'Page BG Style' and repeat steps 2-6 from above (selecting your background image instead of your header image).

For my 'Background Options' I used:

Only Tile Vertically: makes it so my background image only repeats top to bottom.
Do Not Scroll Background Image: makes it so my background image stays in place when a page is scrolled.
And I have positioned it Top and Center of my page.

Like I already mentioned to keep things simple I am only using a header and background image. If you would like to set the rest of your images go ahead and do so now.

Now I am going to make my colors match the images I am using; click the 'Colors / Fonts' tab. Go through each option and set your colors and fonts. In case you want your blog to match mine, my choices were:

• Font: Georgia
• Text Color: #FFFFFF
• Link: #565968
• Border: #523D4E
• Block A Text Color: #020202

Once you have everything set you can hit 'Save' and then 'Save All Changes.'

View your blog!

Once your creative juices are flowing the sky is the limit when it comes to creating your own custom design. Have some fun, try out the different settings and just keep playing with it until you have your perfect blog. Happy blog creating!

After all that hard work you should now have an awesome custom Bravenet Blog! Would you like to show your blog off and have a chance to be featured on BraveJournal.com? Then submit your Blog now for Journal Of The Week!

Still don't have a Bravenet Blog?
Sign up for one now!

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