Undoubtedly, one of the most important parts of any blog is how it looks. The theme you use is so important because it’s the first thing people will notice when they log on to your website, and it’s crucial you make a good first impression. There have been countless times where I’ve visited a blog and left straight away because of a poor theme; if you can get an attractive theme for your blog, it will draw people in to read your content.
A while ago I wrote an article all about what makes a good design, but today I’m going to go further in to one specific point: uniqueness.
Having a unique design is one of the most important parts of design, not only because they usually look really good, but also because it makes your site instantly recognisable from other sites, which is great when it comes to branding your website (much like having a unique logo).
So, how can you get a unique design?
Buy/make one!
I always recommend that people get a fully custom design. I say this because it makes your website instantly recognisable, as well as making your website a lot more valuable. The design you see here on Teenius was custom made by Alex Fraiser, and I’m the only person on the entire internet to use it. The only downside to going down this route is that it can be quite expensive, or take up a lot of time if you’re making your own.
Customise one
One of the great things about Wordpress is that there are loads of ready-made themes available already. There are companies like WooThemes where you can buy premium themes, but you can also find free themes all over the internet.
Once you find a theme you like the look of, I recommend customising it. It could just be a simple edit of the styling, or you could change the layout by playing around with the code that you get. The old design on Teenius was an edited version of a free theme called Statement. By customising a theme, you get that unique feel to your website, as well as being able to add in the extra details that you want on your website.
Thesis
Recently, Thesis has taken the blogging world by storm. Incase you don’t know, it’s a Wordpress theme that is made to be customised. Unlike finding a theme then fiddling with the code, with Thesis you can edit your website with no coding knowledge – all the options are there on your dashboard! One of the best Thesis designs I’ve seen is that of Blogussion (click the below picture to enlarge).
For more information and to buy Thesis, click here.
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| An uncustomised Thesis site | A customised Thesis site |
Unique, eh?
So, to conclude, it’s really important to have a unique design for three main reasons:
- Makes your blog instantly recognisable
- Adds value to your website
- Pulls the ladies (if it’s really, REALLY good)
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I’d also like to say a big thank you to Enk from ImEnk.com for the help with this post!
So you linked me finally ! :@
Well, this was really a good post regarding uniqueness. And the good thing is that I’m coming up with a Custom Design too, soon !
And yeah foh sure, Blogussion rocks in Thesis customizations !
Awesome, I can’t wait to see your new design!
Yup, I myself can’t wait to put it on.. But my day job doesn’t allow me to give time to my new design.
It’ll be up soon, hope so !
Hmm, that’s pretty unfortunate. You should check out Corey’s article about How To Find Time To Blog. Might give you some useful tips
I actually made a similar post just a few hours ago on how to choose the right theme for your Wordpress site. When it comes to personal blogging I think it’s important to have a unique theme to get your visitors to now only stay but also remember your site. I’m still using a standard version of Thesis, but I try to customize it a bit every week.
That’s a nice system you have there Stefan, cool idea!
Yeah, the ‘getting them to remember it’ thing is pretty important for branding reasons. I’ve spoken to a few people who have recognised Teenius purely because of the individuality of the design.
i can vouche for that. It’s something special with the green colour together with the guy (you?) with the briefcase and the name (teenius). For some reason I directly remember those two things when I hear the word teen in blogging terms.
Yeah, the mascot is just a cartoon version of me (plus a suit and some money
). I’m glad you remember Teenius for a term as wide as that, means I must be doing something right 
Wow that’s a really nice thesis customization.
I agree with the uniqueness thing totally but often due to time constraints I don’t fully customize all of my blogs. At very least you need a unique header.
Great post.
Yeah, I think as long as you have done customisation on the important parts (header etc) it’s OK, but it’s always good to have a fiddle with the styling as well. Really simple to do and can really change a website.
You should definately check out Blogussion by the way – it’s an awesome blog!
[...] Tips For A Unique Design teenius.com/blogging/tips-for-a-unique-design – view page – cached Undoubtedly, one of the most important parts of any blog is how it looks. The theme you use is so important because it’s the first thing people will notice when they log on to your website, and it’s crucial you make a good first impression. There have been countless times where I’ve visited a blog and left straight away because of a poor theme; if you can get an attractive theme for your blog, it will draw people in to read your content. — From the page [...]
One of the best free theme is ‘atahualpa’ which i consider as a free thesis theme. You can do 200 customization with the theme.
Website design and color combination is the most important part of any blog. Remember first impression is last impression. Website design is like a hot chick.
Haha, nice comparison!
Also, check out ‘Imagination’ by CSSJockey. That’s a really cool, customisable theme too.
Blogussion is really a great Thesis Skin. I bought and cutomized my Thesis Skin in last month ^_^ Vote for Thesis and for this post.
Thanks for nice post!
Glad you enjoyed the post, Toan! Yeah, Thesis is really cool. I was tempted to use it when I got this design made, but in the end I opted to go fully custom
Just goes to show that you really need to spend thousands of dollars to get an eye-capturing design… All it takes is customization…
To be honest, I think anyone who spends thousands on a design is a bit foolish. You can get really high quality designs for far less than that.
Your all tips to make a unique design seems very useful and effective. I well follow that.
I really like the theme and the custom logo’s you use here @ teenius.com even if the logo does make you look a little bit like Eminem in a suit
I’ve been a fan of thesis since I first saw it, it’s so clean and customisable!
I’d never realised the Eminem thing, good call though, haha!
Your theme does look great, Alex did an awesome job! Unique designs are so important.
Yeah, I’m glad I chose Alex as his designing style is incredible. I’ve worked with quite a few designers in the past, and he was easily the best.
Its a great designed theme. I like it very much. Unique themes and logo can effect your business. these are very important.
You are right kamlal because logo is the first identity of your profile. If logo will be attractive and efficient so naturally the follower will come to find it.
Glad you like my theme, Kamal
You are right my friend because the first impression is last impression.
Nice Post. I really like your design, and I love your mascot! And I agree that having a unique theme is vital.
Thanks! When I first started this site, the intention was always to make a brand. The mascot was actually the first thing I invested in once I had the idea for the site!
I too saw the big usage if Thesis in many blogs. It’s like an addiction.
I make all my themes, not only do you learn really valuable skills but it will be (without a doubt) 100% unique.
I think 100% unique wordpress design will be if you will made everything by yourself. Code, design and graphics. Every graphic you buy if it is not made for unique isn´t unique. If you´re not be able to make a unique design then hire one if you have the money for it because a unique webdesign is very important. The design reflects the image of a blogger.
Best regards,
Volksphone
it is my first time to hear about wordpress theme Thesis, it is $87 right now, i am want to try it, but I still thinking twice if I buy and try it.
A custom blog design sure helps! I too just got my blog redesigned.
One of the things I love about WP is how easy it is to change the look of your website. For literally $20 you can have a brand new blog where everything is working at the push of a button!
Clean and sleek design and good content always speak well of a site.
You just gave me one more reason to hire a designer to do the redesigning of my blog. You are spot on when you say that a unique design can help your blog stand out in the crowd. Nice post.
I have started using Thesis and I am really become fond of it.
I liked the Thesis at first but when I customise it now with increased font sizes by altering in Theme Optiuons, it gives a weird appearance. So I switched to Okinawa and now I am in a process of creating my own theme.
Yeah i understand a website’s design is a very important factor and to be honest my visitors keep telling me that I need to get a new design because my design is very simple and common. I think I will soon shift to THESIS but I will still need help of a person to help me change it. You have any idea about thesis simon?
Cool! Sorry, but no, I don’t really know much about Thesis. Have a chat to Alex Fraiser and see if he can sort you out!
[...] it on Wordpress. If this is the case, then I’m going to hope that, as I suggested in the ‘Tips for a Unique Design’ post, you have a custom theme, or at least one that is [...]
Yup customising is one of the best things I like and customising thesis makes it very easy.