Have you seen that I too like to hand out gold stars? This blog series I'm calling "Craig's Clicks". If you want to go back and see previous posts, that link will list them for you. I'm featuring blogs three at a time in these different categories: blog theme, blog profile, and blog signature.
The purpose of the series is to find good examples that inspire us and give us ideas on our own blogs. I'm clicking around ActiveRain as much as I have time to and if I see something that I like, I'll mark the click with a gold star in my book. Once I've gathered three, I'll post the features.
I'm looking at the presentation of you in the virtual world. If your presentation is attractive to the eye, engaging, tells a concise story about you to someone who has never met or seen you before then you will get my attention too.
These next three stars are also going out based on the blog theme (appearance). I'm looking specifically at blog banner and background image or color.
(These settings, by the way, are editable if you go to My Home > Activerain - Customize) I will soon be writing how-to articles on the topic, but for now we are looking for inspiration based on a job well done (and that we can learn from) The next three stars go to...
Shar Sitter
Shar and I worked together her banner. She had all the elements she wanted
but was having just a little trouble getting the pieces together just right.
I helped her with the last step but the idea was hers. The banner identifies
nicely her company name and a tagline of what she does. It also shows her
telephone number. She picked two images that represent visually what she
does. It's a good example and maybe gives you some ideas for yours!
Team Honeycutt
Even despite a tiny technical difficulty with this one, I'm still giving
it a gold star. I really like the colors and the various elements used
to construct this
page and banner. The team photo is on the right, a nice graphic on the left
and their logo and contact number in the center. Do you see the black "box"
on the right of their banner? That is because their banner is not 960 pixels
wide as it needs to be. I have a feeling this graphic is related to
their other site and perhaps why it doesn't fit quite right into the AR
banner space.
One quick solution would be to stretch out the lower stripe like I've shown below. Dear Team Honeycutt, just email me if you want that JPG and I'll send it to you! :) Well done with very classy theme, I like it!
Judy Jennings
In her banner,
Judy chose a series of seven photos that highlight different focal points of
her area. It is an interesting visual and sets the local tone for her blog.
Her background image also compliments and frames in her blog without being
too distractive. Good job Judy with your recent page updates! (Judy BTW
was the idea-giver of "craig's clicks" series name - now she has rightly
earned a gold star!) Judy, if you feel like sharing how you did it (which
apps/tools), we can compare notes!
Well there you have my next three "Craig's Clicks" gold stars in featuring blog themes.
Stay tuned for future posts where I will teach you how to do some of the things that we see here.
PS - meanwhile you may want to check out www.bannerfans.com -- Joel Kruse on AR wrote this post on how to use it. Keep in mind that you will want a custom sized banner of 960x130.
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