5 Blogging Tips to Improve Your Website

Over the past couple weeks, I have been working hard behind the scenes on Believe in a Budget. I decided to create a short list of blogging tips that I have learned and share all the changes I have been making!

Blogging Tips

I’m sharing five blogging tips on how to update your blog’s appearance. I just gave my blog a makeover and decided to make some upgrades. I am so excited with the results!

If you are thinking about starting a blog, this tutorial will help you start a blog today. You’ll also get a FREE domain name for a year! I was able to quit my job and blog full time, all within my first year of blogging. I am really glad I took a chance and started a blog! I invested a small amount of money to start my blog using Bluehost, and I made $13,000 in 6 months of blogging. That’s the best return of investment ever! 

Related reading:

1. Upgraded my website to a child theme

A couple of months ago I went from a free, basic wordpress theme and upgraded to the Genesis Framework theme.

I was thrilled with this decision, but stuck on what direction to take my blog. I only wanted to pay once for a child theme (at least for the near future) so I took my time, explored all the child themes I could find and finally made a decision. If none of this is making sense to you, download my free Ebook above which explains the difference between a Parent and Child theme!

I selected the Delightful Pro theme by Restored 316 Designs. I’m still doing some tweaking, but I like the new design and layout. There are a few color palettes to choose from (I love the happy and bright colors!!) and the theme is flexible enough so it’s not overly girly (even though I love girly!!) for visitors.

This is what my old website looked like:

2. Improved user friendly widgets & cleaner navigation menu

I added an attractive, user-friendly signup from SumoMe. It only pops up after a visitor has spent some time on my site. A reader has the chance to receive my freebie that I am giving away if they sign up for my newsletter.

I love making a freebie for someone because it’s usually based off of something I’m doing on my end, and then I can just share it with everyone!

Next I streamlined my navigation menu. I am a minimalist and wanted my menu to be a little less crowded. I am thinking about adding a “Start Here” page, but don’t want to add any more tabs. My sidebar is also much cleaner and less crowded.

3.  Outsourced my work to save time

Since my blog is still in the beginning stages and I’m on a budget, I rely on myself to do 99% of the work. However, I am a big fan of working smarter, not harder. There are some areas of blogging I need help with so I use Fiverr.

I recently outsourced 2 different tasks and had results within hours. I simply didn’t have enough time to focus on these tasks. This saved me a lot of time for a minimal amount of money. 

If you are thinking about starting a blog, this tutorial will help you start a blog today. You’ll also get a FREE domain name for a year! I was able to quit my job and blog full time, all within my first year of blogging. I am really glad I took a chance and started a blog! I invested a small amount of money to start my blog using Bluehost, and I made $13,000 in 6 months of blogging. That’s the best return of investment ever! 

4. Increased the speed of my website

This is one of the best blogging tips I have heard repeatedly when I listen to blog podcasts. This topic has been on my to-do list for a while. I am not that great (yet!) at learning the technical parts of blogging, such as site speed, so this was one area I was happy to pay someone on Fiverr to improve my website’s speed. 

Faster speed is better for visitors! My source not only helped speed up my website, but also helped me clean up and delete unnecessary widgets and files.

5. Created free resources and tools I can share with others

I really believe that my blog not only keeps me accountable for my actions, but should positively benefit others who visit. I’m working on a bunch of freebies that I can stick in my online library that readers can have access to.

I’ve also added a resource center where I can share all my favorite apps, plugins and tools. This includes things like:

• Rakuten (I use this website to order all my office supplies; you get cash back every time you shop online – hello free money! If you want to try Rakuten, use my link to get $10 off a $25 order)

• Ibotta is another free cell phone app. You use it after you go grocery shopping and use your receipt. It’s basically a rebate app, so you can earn anywhere from 50 cents to $5 off everything you buy. My favorite part about this app is that it’s not always brand specific, like a lot of coupons are. So you’ll be able to scan “any brand of bread” for 50 cents off, etc. If you do coupon – you can STILL use Ibotta and get a rebate. For the diehard couponers out there, this will often result in getting an item for FREE. Crazy, right? If you want to grab the Ibotta app and start making money off your grocery receipts, click here to get started. You will receive a cash bonus of $10 when you scan your first item! 
• 10 Ways Your Blog and Business Can Benefit from Pinterest

Have you made any changes to your website? Do you have any blogging tips?