Someone very wise once said that “Rome wasn’t built in a day”. Indeed. As I’ve come to find out this past week, blogs weren’t built in a day either. Regular, sharp-eyed visitors to this blog probably have noticed that “Oneika the Traveller” has been going through a number of cosmetic changes, some quite good… and some absolutely terrible. I fess up: tired of the tired look of my old blog, I over-excitedly, naively, over-enthusiastically decided that it was time for a cosmetic overhaul. But I never imagined that it would be such a pain. Read More…
Let’s get things straight: I am regrettably, embarrassingly, and enduringly tech-stupid. I couldn’t write an HTML code to save my life. Talk of servers and webhosts confuse me, terms like plugins and sliders elicit only a blank stare.
Despite my love for words, photo snapping, and story presenting, I am a complete disaster when it comes to maintaining the technical aspects of this blog.
This is bad when you then attempt to re-design your blog. This is very, very bad.
I somehow thought I would be able to whip up a new design in a moment’s breath. How wrong I was. My lack of tech prowess is working against me. While I am lucky to have some expert help, things will be looking a tad ”wonky” around here for the next little while.
So in the meantime, I apologize for the uninteresting header, broken links, and unfinished sidebars; I apologize for the dearth of posts as I struggle to wrangle widgets and not words.
I know that it is the content and photos, rather than the look/layout/font of the blog that counts. But I still would like the blog to look pretty… 
Anyway, please bear with me and stay tuned!
Are any of you guys tech-stupid like me, or are you whizzes at HTML? Have you ever done a blog redesign? What was the most difficult part?
{ 29 comments… read them below or add one }
Hahaha I feel your pain! I decided to redo my site on a whim and ended up with something super ugly, but I couldn’t be bothered to change it back. When I switched to the current design, it took me ages to reconfigure (on a really basic level), but I’m really happy with it now. You can doooo it!!!!
Lindsay recently posted..Favourite Building in Panama City
Thanks! But I think your site looks fab, so clean and sophisticated!
I spent months last winter designing my own website and never had to write HTML code, which might as well be Greek. Thank goodness I had the help of a tech savvy friend. When I started adding plugins and widgets all kinds of strange things would happen. But eventually it came together. And now I’m already thinking of a new look. Good luck with this. You can do it and not talk code.
Gaelyn recently posted..SWF-Perigee Supermoon at Grand Canyon
I know the feeling…I changed my theme on blogger to one that was highly customized a few months back, and I’m still getting the hang of it. You’ll get there! And for what it’s worth, it still looks great!
D.J. – The World of Deej recently posted..Deej’s Picture of the Week
I know that feeling very well… currently overhauling a couple of websites and it gets no smoother even with understanding some coding… Best of luck, it’s always exciting as it nears completion
I know that feeling very well… currently overhauling a couple of websites and it gets no smoother even with understanding some coding… Best of luck, it’s always exciting as it nears completion
Ad-Lib Traveller recently posted..Foodie Festival at Hampton Court, London
Like we discussed yesterday evening, this redesign is so great for your and your site. The new simple looking is kicking the older version’s booty!
It takes time and trust me, when I did my website, I cried at the different codes and the fact that I just don’t get the ‘geeky’ side of these things. If I can do it, you can as well! Hang in there!
Not Just Another Milla recently posted..Milla’s London: Hermès Leather Forever
It is really coming along though! I want to have a more designed site but I think that I might wait and get a friend from uni back home to do it if I can be bothered.
Melissa recently posted..Let the Games Begin
If you knew what I was working on you’d run away screaming. Words of wisdom: take your time and do it in little chunks. If coding isn’t your forte then time and patience is what you need to get through. And you’ll do it. Hey, you’ll be running with the bulls! What’s a little HTML coding?
Tanya recently posted..My Latest Crave: Burger – Holy Chuck Burgers
Believe me when I say that running with the bulls seems a less daunting task at the moment! LOL!
I’m hopeless with it as well! I just had my blog redone but I hired someone because I didn’t even want to attempt it on my own. Even so, I’m still having a bit of trouble getting email subscriptions to work, etc.
Hang in there & good luck with the rest of the changes!
Your blog is gorgeous! Had a poke around!
I am about as tech savvy as you it sounds like, which is why I am currently playing someone to remake my blog
You re changing the current layout!?!
Totally understand! I soft launched my new site as I went through and re-worked all of my links and formatting. Now that I’m settling in to my new site, I think I may re-format my posts again!
It takes time, especially for those of us that aren’t fully versed in HTML! But I’m trying to look at it as an awesome learning experience!
Adina | Gluten Free Travelette recently posted..Things I’m Reading Thursday
I think it s the reformatting that gets me the most! I am too lazy to go back and make them look pretty again, though!
Gah, the first few weeks of getting my site off the ground were a similar nightmare. My philosophy now is to save up and have somebody else do it…that way I can focus on my writing.
Hope you find a design that you like!
Ryan at Travel and Graphs recently posted..10 Longest Rail-Trails (Illustrated Map!)
Wise words, my friend! Wise words!
I am sooo not a techy. I actually just wrote a blogpost about it. Somebody said the word bandwidth to me and I was like huh? I really want my site to work well for visitors, but its just me figuring it out as I go, trying new plugins and stuff. I’d love to really understand wordpress and photoshop but so far I haven’t had the time or patience to sit down and really study and learn.
I read something recently that basically said you aren’t really serious about blogging unless you pay someone to design your page, anything less than that is juvenile and half-hearted. Which really made me sad that people think that way, one of the things I love about blogging is playing with widgets and themes and learning. If i just handed my site over to someone else carte blanch, I would lose all that.
Renee recently posted..Is Bandwidth singular or plural?
As much as I am complaining, I think I kinda do enjoy tinkering around- you get to exercise a maximum of creative control- BUT I have been really frustrated, so now I m not sure! I have someone helping me but I m a pretty impatient person so I tinker anyway lol.
Happy to help you tweak your blog, already did that kind of stuff a few times – give me a shout if you want help
I will definitely be soliciting your help, Andre!!
oki, let me know
I had someone redesign my blog about 6 months ago – I have no skills, although I’m learning some in my current job (I’m learning all kinds of html! It’s pretty crazy).
Change is good. I ended my last blog(www.chizzyd.blogspot.com) last year with no intentions of returning. Well after my international trip last month, i returned….lol
All the best to ya…this will only help your blog grow.
question is this still blogger or wordpress or something else?
Heya!! Just seeing this comment… This is wordpress.org now!! Before I was on blogspot.
i am tech challenged as well. I’ve been trying to pretty up my blog since I started it, but I have no idea how! And I don’t want to pay someone to do it since I don’t even know what i’m going for. Your website look awesome by the way! lovely pic as well
curiouskinks.blogspot.com
Aww thanks!