Design | Why You Don't Want To Buy An Etsy Blog Design

It's happened to me more than once: A potential client contacts me about re-branding their blog and I head on over to take a look and offer a free consultation. And there it is: An Etsy Pre-made design. 

While there is nothing wrong with buying from a designer on Etsy, I've decided to compile a list of reasons why you really don't want to make the mistake of purchasing a premade template or layout - no matter how customized you can make it. Want to see the list? You know what to do! Click-Click!

1 | It's Cheap

Yes, I know, this should be a good thing. But the problem with a cheap $10-$15 theme or template is that once you install it you will get no customer support, instructions on getting it installed are usually unclear and your options for changing things around are slim to none. Yes, you only paid a hundredth of what you may have paid for a fully customized design but in the end, it's better to go ahead and save that money and just wait.

2 | It's Unclear

By this I mean that it is unclear exactly what you can do with this theme or design. Overall, you should be able to go to your dashboard and layout and change, tweak, add and remove. When you by these premade themes, they come coded in a way that limits how much you can and cannot do with the overall flow.

3 | You WILL Grow

And when you do you are going to outgrow that premade design. I don't just mean that your focus, niche or overall posting ability will evolve, but you are going to attract more readers and even start monetizing as you grow. When you do there will likely be no way to DIY your sponsors into your sidebar or to add affiliate buttons. This means you'll end up going back and paying the designer of the premade template you purchased to adjust it for you. Which can cost up to $20 per new element you need to have added. Why would you want to do THAT?

4 | Everyone Has the SAME Look

Sure, you can choose some different colors and add your own blog name but do you really want to have the same cooking spoons that every other newbie blogger has bought? Probably one of the most important things about being a blogger and building your brand is that you have all custom elements. This means that when you buy something premade, other than your name, tagline and possibly color scheme, you will have the same design purchased by many others. 

5 | You Look Amateurish

Which will seriously decrease your serious affiliate and sponsor options. Because blogging is basically an industry you should want to appear professional from the get go. Making sure your blogs overall look and feel is probably the most important aspect of being a pro blogger and by purchasing a premade template (see #4), you won't be able to come across as someone who knows her stuff and is serious about blogging. 

In the end the rule of thumb with design is that you should invest in your blog. Invest in your brand. It does take money to make money and those $15 templates and themes are only going to hold you back in the time that you spend growing. 

You may think "I'll just rebrand later after I have grown and started earning", and that's fine for a lot of thing. But you would not go in for a job interview for your dream job in jeans. You buy a suit. You carry a briefcase. You want to appear to be the best candidate for the job in the way you appear and speak to the interviewer. Your blog is the same thing. Your dream brands won't even look for you much less at you if you don't dress your blog in the perfect business suit. 

Start the Discussion:

What design mistakes did you make when you first started blogging? 

What would you recommend to a new blogger regarding overall brand design?

Happy Blogging & Have a great weekend!