Blogging…

It seems everyone is doing it.

In fact, I asked someone the other day, “Does anyone create websites anymore?”  It seems that when given the choice between a blog and a website, most people opt for blogs these days.

If this describes you, I certainly understand your reasons.  Blogs are much easier to setup than websites.

They are dynamic, which means the scripts allow you to display content in many different ways (by date, category, tag, most commented posts, etc.)

The search engines love them, and the free plug-ins (if you use WordPress) can give you even more flexibility and increase your blog’s coolness factor.

One Problem With Blogging

Even though there are many positives with blogging, there’s one thing I’ve noticed about many who choose a blog over a website.

Blogging can often discourage beginners from learning the fundamentals of website creation and design.  Unlike a website, you don’t need to learn anything about HTML, CSS or uploading files to publish a blog.

You might argue the same could be said about websites if you use an editor.  However, even if you use an HTML editor like Dreamweaver or CoffeeCup for a website, you still have to familiarize yourself with the fundamentals of HTML at some point. (At least I had to.)

With blogs, everything can be done through a WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) control panel that comes with your blogging platform.  You don’t have to look at a lick of code if you don’t want to.

Of course, this is no big deal if you find a blog template/theme that you want to use “as is”.  But what if you want to customize large sections of your design or change it completely?

Staring at a gazillion lines of CSS code can be quite intimidating.  In fact, most people will tell you that in order to learn CSS, you should have a basic understanding of HTML first. (And I agree.)  So with no HTML background, I completely understand why some bloggers cringe at the thought of going near the code.

Many people choose blogs because they are easier to setup, but many don’t venture out and learn the fundamentals of HTML and CSS so they can freely update their designs.

I have nothing against blogging. I own one myself, obviously.  But I do believe that if you are going to blog, you should spend time learning the basics of HTML and CSS so you have the freedom to update your design beyond the standard template.

Of course, outsourcing a designer is always an option too.  However, you don’t want to become completely reliant on a third party.  I’ve heard too many nightmare stories with this scenario.

About once a month I get an email from someone who’s paid a designer to create and design their site, but they’ve lost contact with the person and have no idea how to make edits to the design.

As I say all the time, I am far from being a designer, but I have learned enough to maintain and customize my site.  You should too.

Even if you buy the premium WordPress Thesis Theme that I use for this blog, it still helps to know the basics of CSS so you can juice up the standard, out-of-the-box template.

A CSS Tutorial Minus The Techie Talk

If you haven’t viewed my newest 4-part CSS tutorial on YouTube, you can watch all four videos in the playlist below.  I even provide a very simple, 3-column template that goes along with the video.  You can tweak it as needed.

Even though this template and tutorial is for a website instead of a blog, it will still help you grasp the basics and make more sense of your blog’s template code.

Give yourself the freedom to design the kind of blog you want.

Since my flat stomach site has been completely “CSS’ed”, I’ve really been pushing the benefits of using CSS on your site.

If you are looking to start your first site or want to redesign your existing one, this blog post is important.

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) allows you to control large sections of your site’s design and layout by updating one file.

Not only does it make your HTML code much cleaner, but it makes for faster loading Web pages and quick site-wide updates.

You should never build a site or blog without it.

To help you learn CSS, I’ve taken my template from flat-stomach-exercises.com and provided it as a free download. I’ve inserted notes so you can learn how to make updates.  This is something I wish someone had done for me. I probably would have picked it up faster had it been presented like this.

Now, don’t be frightened when you first see the template because it looks nothing like my finished site. I did that for a reason.  First of all, I want you to create your own design, and I want you to understand how the CSS file controls the various areas of the site.

So what you will find when you download the template is a completely “dumbed down” version with no logos or cohesive colors. I’ve provided instructions in the index.html file so you can customize the template to your liking.

Download my free 3 column CSS template here and don’t forget to read the instructions.html file first! Also do not try to view the template file (index.html) through the zipped folder.

It will not display properly if you try to double-click the index.html file while inside the zipped folder.

Open the zipped folder and drag the “CSSTemplate1″ folder to your Desktop (or some location on your PC) and then view the index.html file.

When you open the folder you should see 3 files…

1) instructions.html file – Please read this first

2) index.html – Your homepage and template you can modify

3) style.css – This is your style sheet and controls the index.html file’s layout and design

To get the most out of this, it’s best to open the template files in a Web editor like FrontPage, Dreamweaver, Nvu (free) or CoffeeCup.

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Update 6/12/08: I have also created a slightly different version of this template that includes a header image. You can download it here and watch the instructional video to learn how to customize it.

Enjoy and happy learning!