I have lots of very fun designs ready to offer for sale at SNS Blog Design over the next couple months, but to make room for them it is time to clear out the inventory a bit.

Right now is a wonderful time to pick up great designs for under $25!  One of a kind blog design for that price is impossible to find!

Hurry though, you know the drill … the first person to purchase a design gets it then it is GONE!

As a designer and as a blogger I simply cannot tell you what blogging platform is the best fit for you.  I can, however, share with you a few thoughts & questions to consider when you are trying to decide.  I am most familiar with Wordpress (self-hosted) and Blogger, but I do know a bit about Wordpress.com and Typepad blogs as well.

Just some very basic information about the platforms mentioned:

Blogger: Possibly the most basic and user friendly blogging platform available.  Blogger is absolutely free, offers a huge variety of “gadgets” for your sidebars to make your blog look and feel more professional without the hassle.  There are many many free templates available to use on blogger and there is NO extra fee for you to install custom themes!

Self Hosted Wordpress: The next favorite from a flexibility perspective is self hosted Wordpress.  Although it is definitely a bit more complex, it is very popular even for new bloggers.  Although the software is free at Wordpress.org, you do need to have it installed on your own hosting …. which is not free.  If you are not familiar with Hosting or with how to move around within your hosting to install applications or software, then I suggest that you go with a hosting company that offers wordpress installed.  There are several out there.  I even created www.MomBlogCentral.com to meet this need; there I provide hosting for my customers that comes with a wordpress blog installed, provides regular updates as they become available and installation of the plugins you want for your blog.

Wordpress.com: Basically wordpress.com offers free blogs with many theme choices (NOT custom).  I don’t use them and I don’t design for them, because few people decide to pay for access to the CSS file as it is simply easier to move to their own hosting if they wish to do so.  If you want to keep things free (which seems to be why people even think of looking at wordpress.com) you are rather limited in a few other areas as well: 3 gigabytes of storage (long term this may be an issue) and they do serve ads on all free blogs (they say this is occasional, but to remove them you have to pay an annual fee).  A few of my clients have approached me frustrated because it was confusing as they signed up with all the options that did require a fee.

Typepad: Admittedly I don’t know nearly as much about this platform as I have never used it for my personal blogs.  Typepad seems to be loved by those who use it, but from a design perspective, I have to state that it isn’t the easiest to work with and you Cannot add custom headers or other images for the design unless you have a paid (plus or higher) subscription with them.

Here’s some Q & A’s for you:

• How familiar are you with using the web? If you are brand new to the blogging world, I want to tell you right off the bat that you can blog even if you can barely check your email!  I definitely suggest Blogger for the most basic and beginner friendly blogging experience.
• Do you know HTML? You don’t have to know HTML, so don’t let this question scare you!!  If you do happen to know a bit of html or are not intimidated by a bit of coding, then any of the blogging platforms will meet your needs, no matter how extensive.
• Are you looking for a very dynamic site or simply a great family journal? If you are looking to journal thoughts, memories, photos, etc of your family and keep it simple, then you can definitely stick with the most basic blogging platforms long term.  If you want to be a “pro” blogger, you may want to consider going with a Wordpress blog right off the bat.  I say this simply because it seems to be where they all end up eventually, wanting more control of design, features, hosting etc.
• Are you willing to spend a little on hosting, etc? or does the blog need to be free? Thankfully there is something for everyone. Blogger blogs (the ones with .blogspot.com at the end) are completely free and do NOT have ads on them so if you are looking for a completely free and functional blog, then I recommend Blogger.  Wordpress.com also offers free blogs, but you are more limited in design (you have to pay for “css” access and even then most designers do not design for wordpress.com).  If you’re willing to spend a little bit, then you can go for Typepad (still a bit of a design issue with them for most designers) or “self-hosted” wordpress.  With Self-hosted wordpress, you will need to get your own monthly (or annual) hosting and a domain name, but wordpress is free.  There are a WIDE variety of “hosts” out there, and for obvious reasons if you are only using the hosting for blogging I definitely recommend a host like www.MomBlogCentral.com where your blog comes completely installed, updates are handled for you as needed and any plugins you want will be taken care of for you as well!

For everyone the blogging experience is going to be unique and the needs for functionality in the blogging platform will be equally as unique, so I know that I haven’t answered every possible question you may have here.  I am more than happy to try to answer any questions you may have, but keep in mind that with the constant changes in all the platforms I cannot be an expert on every one.  Good news though is that there ARE many blogs out there that are written by people who have spend a lot of time researching, exploring and truly becoming an expert on one platform.  So, I also suggest that you search for one of those blogs for each platform you are considering.

Before signing up anywhere and especially before putting out any money, you’ll definitely want to make sure that you know what you need to know and feel comfortable with your decision.  I know that many bloggers, and almost all bloggers who have been blogging for quite a while have a domain name, but you DON’T have to start with one if you are going with Blogger, Wordpress.com or Typepad!  In fact, Blogger even offers a VERY simple process for you to use that will allow you to purchase a domain name simply right through your blog.

Did you know that Sweet ‘n Simple Design offers some truly unique and creative products for you to give to the moms you love??? Here’s just a couple ideas:

• Mommy cards are very popular and I have recently added some fun new scrappy designs!
• You can also purchase a large variety of products for the entire family from t-shirts to mugs and everything in between at Sweet ‘n Simple Design’s Zazzle store.
• If you want to create a custom gift package offering matching stationery (mommy cards, note cards, notepad or even a vinyl window decal for your car or home), contact me for pricing and information.
• You can also pre-purchase a blog design for the Mommy Blogger in your life!  Just let me know in the notes that it is a gift and include the mom’s email address and when/how you’d like the gift to be presented (I can email you a printable gift card to give to her and then email her right after the holidays to schedule her design).  This is a super fun and popular gift for hubby’s to offer their wife on their birthday or for Christmas!!!

Happy Holiday Shopping Everyone!!

I you are an active blogger, you’ve probably started to notice some interesting and dynamic themes out there!  Many of the large blogging sites that have many contributors or subjects are converting to this style blog and the great news is that they are available for both Wordpress and Blogger blogs!!!

I am happy to offer these to my customers and you will notice them going up on the site over the next few weeks.  As always if you have any questions or think that you may be a good candidate for purchasing a design using a magazine style template, feel free to contact me prior to purchase and I’ll help you choose the perfect product for you!

I am always looking for great plugins, but admittedly there are thousands and I only check them out as I have a need.  I was looking for a plugin that could tell me how many visitors were online at any given time.  I found that feature (and MUCH more) in the plugin called WASSUP!

It tracks visitors in real time, seriously … it refreshes itself every 5 minutes or so … right in your dashboard!  Very fun!  There’s a fun widget that you can configure and place in your sidebar that tells those visiting you how many visitors are online now (you can see this in action at www.AFrogInMySoup.com on the lower left sidebar).

I got a lot more than I bargained for with this plugin and it does quite a bit more than I mentioned here.  I highly recommend it to anyone that has a busy blog or would like to keep better track of those popping in to look over your wordpress blog.

I’m taking a bit of a breather this week to get ready for the onslaught of mid-month design orders so I thought I’d update the blog.  Complete with a new design and theme .

Have you discovered our sister site yet?  To get wonderful premade, semi-custom blog designs hop on over to SNS Blog Design for all the latest!  These affordable blog designs are available for Wordpress and Blogger blogs and are … of course … still all one of a kind!  One of a kind blogs for one of a kind moms is so totally the motto!

Speaking of SNS Blog Designs though, I am offering many of the designs in a mega giveaway at A Frog In My Soup.  You’ll definitely want to check that out.  As those designs leave, I’ll add more over the next few months to replace them.

New mommy cards are coming this week too, scrappy, colorful and modern.  Very fun!

I occasionally sponsor free designs as part of a Cyber Baby Shower or other Giveaway event online.  These are a very fun way for me to get the word out about Sweet ‘n Simple Design.  I have recently begun a regular feature called Froggy Bloggy Friday Freebies that feature my designs twice a month. Read more…

Brand new super fun blogger design for Jenn of True Tales of a MiniVanMama.
This one was a lot of fun for me as I was able to take some cute full color photos that she sent me and turn them into recolored black and white photos perfect for a header.  I also created the custom striped background.

Another WordPress Blog design just for Crazy Hip Blog Mamas!

Did you know that Crazy Hip Blog Mamas is a membership group for over 1000 mom bloggers?  If you are a mom who loves to blog you may want to consider joining up with them and participating in all the daily activities they offer!

Didn’t think it was possible?  Neither did I, but I have!  My sister recently opened an Etsy shop and as I created a super fun logo for her I realized that it was a great product to offer to you! 

So Sweet ‘n Simple design is now offering custom and premade Etsy Logos (headers) and Avatars at very affordable prices!  All of the art styles I already use are available for use in my Etsy products and packages. 

Premade Etsy Logo/Avatar Sets: will be available here in limited quantities and at my Etsy shop . . . cost = $10-$15

Custom Etsy Logo/Avatar Sets: Always available for $20.

Etsy Business Packages: These will be available soon and will all be one of a kind.  This package includes: Custom Etsy Logo, Custom Etsy Avatar, Matching Custom Business Cards, Custom Web Advertising button (125×125) and Custom Web Advertising Banner (468×60).  Estimated price on this package will be $75-$100.

You can even find me on Etsy for even more options at www.sweetnsimpledesign.etsy.com.