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Introduction
Here comes a very interesting part of your blogging. This is the time to customize your blog. This is the time to be more creative. Give your imagination a fly. Try to think about how to customize the WordPress blog so that it will look attractive and also give the best user experience to your readers.
User experience plays a very important role in the success of your blog. It also helps you to rank better on Google and other search engines.
Google wants to give the best user experience to its users. If your blog is attractive, easy to navigate, and offers a great user experience, you are going to win this game.
So customization of the blog is an extremely important step where you plan your blog’s look and structure and then you go to create the one for you.
Install an SEO Friendly theme
Installing the theme is the first step to customize your blog. It is also a very crucial step because if you choose the wrong theme for your blog, it could make the process difficult for you.
So choose a theme that is user friendly, easy to use, and also SEO optimized.
Most popular themes are:
- Astra
- GeneratePress
- Genesis
- OceanWP
- Thrive Themes
![helps to get idea of wordpress dashboard wordpress dashboard screenshot](https://www.therishabhjain.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/chrome_pYrNCtJ63M-1024x576.png)
![how to install new theme in wordpress](https://www.therishabhjain.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/chrome_PMHS9AD0rr-1.png)
![how to install new theme in wordpress](https://www.therishabhjain.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/chrome_Sy3yRg3jGb.png)
![how to install new theme in wordpress](https://www.therishabhjain.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/chrome_iG0sCRgc65-1.png)
Install Important plugins
Once you have an SEO optimized and schema optimized theme for your blog.
This is the time to install all the important plugins. Plugins help you to do so many things.
Like if you want to add contact form in your blog there is a plugin for it,
if you want to add opt-in forms there is a plugin it,
if you want to add a table of content in your blog there is a plugin for it as well.
Few plugins help you to boost the speed of your blog.
There is a plugin that helps your website to be more mobile-friendly.
So having all the important plugin is like having all the important weapons in your arsenal.
The most important plugins include:
- Yoast SEO Plugin
- Elementor
- WP-Cache Total
- Smush
- Opt-in Forms
- WPTC or Updraft
- Header Footer Code Manager
- WP Touch
- Share Mesh
![how to add new plugin in wordpress](https://www.therishabhjain.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/chrome_6ncKNhjjWq.png)
![how to add new plugin in wordpress](https://www.therishabhjain.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/chrome_bxlhoEhjVh-1024x451.png)
The important setting for your blog
Before going ahead in your journey to customize your blog. You have to do a very important setting. It is super important for the better SEO of your blog.
For this setting go to settings, then go to general. Here you will find the option to set the URL of the homepage of your blog.
Also, change the permalinks setting and change it to the post name.
![permalink settings in wordpress](https://www.therishabhjain.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/chrome_aslANO55uY-1-1024x489.png)
Add A Eye-Catching Logo For Your Blog
So, first thing first. This is the time to add the logo to your blog.
The logo is like the identity of your blog. It’s a very important factor when it comes to branding. So make a very professional looking logo and add it to your website.
If you have no clue about logo designing, then you can also hire any freelancer from Fiverr or upwork.com to make a logo for you.
Otherwise, you can use tools like Canva or The Hoth logo creator tool to design the logo for your blog.
I like the Hoth logo creator very much.
To add logo to your blog, just choose customize option under appearence.
![How to customize wordpress blog](https://www.therishabhjain.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/chrome_PMHS9AD0rr.png)
Now, you will be in the theme customization screen.
Go to Header option in side menu bar.
![How to customize wordpress blog](https://www.therishabhjain.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/chrome_9misaj1vBN.png)
Now you will see and option of logo.
![How to customize wordpress blog](https://www.therishabhjain.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/chrome_sEw63edDJI.png)
Click on the logo option and will get the option to add your logo to your blog.
You are done with logo. Now you have amazing logo on your website.
Create Menus For Your WordPress Blog
Menus play a very important role in a blog as it makes it easy for the reader to navigate your blog. They can access the most important content easily with menus.
So this is the time to create menus for your blog. There are various menus in a blog. Mainly these three menus that we use in a blog.
- Header menu
- Social media menu
- Footer menu
In the header menu, we provide the links of our pillar content and all the important content that we want from our readers to read.
In the social media menu, we provide all the links to our social media links. It will help us to gain followers on our social media profile.
Remember one thing that this menu is not to share the article on social media. This is the menu where the reader can access all our social media profiles.
There is also something we called the footer menu. This menu is mainly to provide few pages of links like privacy policy page, disclaimer page, any other page which is related to policy or terms and condition.
To create menu again go to appearence option and choose menus option.
Now choose create menu and enter the menu name.
Now you can choose the pages and categories you want to add to your menus.
![how to create menus in wordpress](https://www.therishabhjain.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/how-to-add-menu-to-blog-1024x445.png)
Add pages you want to add as a menu and choose click save. Your menu is now visible on your blog or website. Don’t forget to tick mark which menu you are creating in the bottom of the menu creation screen.
Plan Your Homepage Structure
Planning the structure of your home page is extremely crucial. It the page where the user lands first. We all know that the first impression is the last impression.
So you should think and plan the structure of your homepage.
I researched multiple homepages of top bloggers and I found few things common in them.
#1 thing is opt-in forms. You should have an opt-in form on your homepage to gain an email subscriber for your blog. It is a very important part of your homepage.
Opt-in forms also help you to bring the traffic of your blog into your funnel. You can nurture them through emails and even sell affiliate products to them. So must place an opt-in form on your homepage.
Also, have the link of all the top content on your blog.
Have a Small Bio of you on your homepage. It helps the reader to connect better with you.
Provide all the social media links of your blog like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Youtube, Pinterest, etc on your homepage.
There is one more thing that also works really well in blogs. You can choose to update your homepage with recent blog posts.
To do this go to appearances then go to customize. Now choose the option
Design Your Homepage of WordPress Blog
Once clear about the structure of your blog, now go ahead and design your homepage. You can use the Elementor page builder to design an attractive and nice looking homepage. Elementor will also help you to make your homepage more interactive.
Go step by step. Segregate the design into various blocks and start designing it block by block. Don’t try to place everything at
If you don’t want to design your page from scratch then you can choose any per designed template as well. you can simply customize them according to your need.
Publish Blog Post
now, this is the time to write and publish your first blog post. We installed the theme and all-important plugins. We added a logo in our blog. After that, we created menus for the blog.
The homepage is also ready. So this is the time to publish our first blog post.
Congratulations!!!
You have done a fantastic job. Now you are ready to write a blog post and share your knowledge with the world.