Today is Day 8 in the 10-part graphic design for bloggers series, and we’re looking at must-have graphic design elements for bloggers. While there are tons of creative ways to use blog graphics, there are some that are more essential to your success than others. Customized images can serve many purposes in efficient ways, and it’s really important that you use them well.

Creating templates to use in branding, titling and promotion doesn’t need to be overly complicated, though. To lessen your overwhelm, let’s break things down to the absolute must-have graphic design elements for your blog. Once you learn and feel comfortable in creating these, you can expand your skills.

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Bio Photo

Sharing who you are is vital as a blogger. You share your knowledge, experiences and opinions through your content, and people want to know that there’s a real person behind that content.

Your audience will get a sense of your personality as they browse your posts or become regular readers. To increase your chances of encouraging them to stick around, you’ll want to create a bio photo on your site, either on your about page, or in your sidebar (or both). Remember, people are quick to leave a website if they don’t immediately see something of interest. Capture their attention with a photo introduction.

Blog Header

Your blog header is likely the first thing readers see when they visit your site. It’s at the very top of the page and lists the blog’s title. This can be done very simply with text only, but a design that incorporates a bit more can help develop your brand.

Be sure to check your blog’s theme to determine the size your header will accommodate, otherwise, your design could look distorted or simply not work at all. Go with simplicity because you don’t want to distract the viewer’s eye with too many aspects. Choosing a few colors, with no more than two fonts for your blog’s name and tagline should suffice. You can add a shape or uncomplicated graphic if that makes sense.

Logo

Many solopreneur bloggers don’t bother with an actual logo, but your logo can be an important piece of your branding. This small design element packs a big punch when it comes to recognition. It can be used on social media, business cards, your website, stationery and promotional items like t-shirts or magnets.

Creating a logo is possible even if you’re not a graphic designer. Just be sure to keep it simple and not too busy. Choosing a shape and adding your blog’s name in your signature font can be enough at the beginning. Try to elicit the feel of your brand. You can do this by a shape with soft edges and lighter hues to create a relaxing feel or by going with a bold image in bright shades to evoke energy.

Post Headers

A post header is the graphic that introduces your blog post. It is usually a photo or illustration, sometimes with the title of your post. A shape can be used as a text box to make your words stand out.

Your post images should remain consistent for every post, with similar colors and a similar theme or feel. Your font should also be consistent, if you use a text overlay. These things will soon become recognizable when seen on social media as your readership increases. Be sure to leave enough white space around the edges of your graphic so that any text is legible.

Social Media Images

Your social media shares should always include an image. It’s been proven that graphics substantially increase click through. You can use your post header as a template, but each social media site has its own recommended sizes. Once you’ve determined the current size being used by each site, create a template that can be customized with new photos and text for each new post.

I use these templates to make my Pinterest graphics, and templates from Logo In A Day for my Instagram graphics. Instagram is quite important as people can’t just click through a link, so your URL should be on images promoting your blog, even if you have your link in your bio. Here’s an example of an Instagram graphic I’ve already designed to post on the last day of this series.

These graphic design elements are the must-haves for your blog. Their creation is the foundation you need to feel confident about presentation and promotion. Taking the time to develop these assets will put you on par with other successful bloggers and give readers an better overall experience when visiting your blog.

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