Five Design Tweaks for a Fresh Start in 2019

New year, new (virtual) you. Why not give your personal blog or business website a makeover? Here are five quick tips to freshen up your online home.

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Set the tone with a new header

Your site’s header is probably the first thing a visitor sees. Here, at the top of the page, you can introduce yourself, your brand, or your business immediately and establish the look and feel of your site. Luckily, it’s also one of the simplest design elements to update. Take a peek at the author site of Julian Stockwin, who we featured two years ago. Can you see how he changed his header image to promote a specific book series?

Update your header image in My Site → Customize → Header Image. Ideal dimensions are suggested based on your current theme. (Don’t see this option in your Customizer? Your theme may not support this feature.)

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Clean out the cobwebs and remove your background

Another way to freshen things up? Tweak your site’s background. Many people display solid colors, patterns, or images behind their site text. Want to go minimal instead? Remove your background for a plain white palette, which looks clean and sophisticated.

Find your background settings in My Site → Customize → Colors & Backgrounds. (Don’t see this option? Your current theme may not support this feature.)

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Get stylish with a fresh font

The typography we come upon in real life, on storefronts and signs, makes a statement. Likewise, the fonts we display on our own websites reflect who we are. Every site on WordPress.com comes with a selection of free Google fonts. If you’ve never changed your font, now is the perfect time to experiment.

Tinker with your fonts in My Site → Customize → Fonts and preview different fonts in the Headings and Base Font fields.

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Build your site’s visual identity with a custom logo

A personalized logo is essential to make a strong first impression on new visitors and to establish your brand or business on the web. Your site logo may be small but bold (like some of these letter-based logos) or full-width and banner-sized (like some of these examples). If you don’t have one yet, dive into this step-by-step logo tutorial and create one from scratch.

Add or update your site logo in My Site → Customize → Site Identity.

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Up your photography game with high-quality images

The most beautiful and engaging sites out there use professional, high-resolution photographs to draw readers in. But what if you’re not a whiz with your camera? You have access to thousands of free-to-use stock images right in your Media Library. Use these photographs for your posts’ featured images, your site’s header, and more. We’re also working with Pexels and other partners to include a more diverse collection of images that represent a wider range of experiences.

To browse these images when creating a post or page, click Add and select Free photo library to open the gallery.

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