How To Start a Design Blog and Craft Inspiring Aesthetics Online

Once you've narrowed down your options, choose a niche that feels both personal and professional. This balance will keep you motivated and ensure your blog stands out.

We’ve written extensively about niche research for bloggers, but you should look for these qualities in your final choice:

• A mix of big and small competitors. If the niche doesn’t have big sites, there isn’t much money to be made. If there aren’t small sites, you won’t be able to compete.
• Income potential. A healthy mix of affiliate offers, display ads, and original products will allow you to diversify your income.
• Keywords and link-building opportunities. You’ll do more extensive keyword research later, so right now you’re just looking for content gaps. Are there keywords you could realistically rank for and get traffic early?

Popular Design Blog Niches

If you're diving into the world of design blogging, picking a niche can really help you stand out. It's crucial to choose an area that sparks your interest and meets the needs of a specific audience. Here’s a look at some of the most popular design blog niches:

• Interior Design: Focus on home decor trends, DIY interior projects, and before-and-after transformations.
• Graphic Design: Cover topics like typography, branding, and digital design tools.
• Web Design: Discuss UI/UX principles, web development tutorials, and the latest in web technology.
• Fashion Design: Explore seasonal trends, fashion show reviews, and style tips.
• Industrial Design: Dive into product design case studies, innovation in materials, and ergonomic improvements.

Each of these niches has a passionate following and plenty of room for exploration. Whether you’re a seasoned expert or a curious beginner, there’s always something new to discuss and share in the world of design blogs.

Planning Out Your Design Blog

So you've picked a niche for your blog, that's amazing! But don't forget,'failing to plan is planning to fail.'

Before you run off and start posting, let's take a moment to plan out your business strategy.

Set Your Blog Goals

Setting goals for your Design blog is essential to its success. It gives you direction and helps you stay focused on what matters most.

When setting your goals, it's important to consider your audience, your niche, and what you realistically hope to achieve.

This can include things like increasing your readership, building your email list, or monetizing your blog.

By setting clear and achievable goals for your design blog, you'll be able to create content that resonates with your audience, establish yourself as an authority in your niche, and achieve the success you're looking for.

Define Your Target Audience

Defining your target audience is crucial when starting a design blog. It determines the tone, content, and even the design of your blog. Here’s how you can nail it:

Identify your niche: Are you focusing on graphic design, interior design, fashion design, or another area? Pinning down your specific interest helps attract an audience that shares that passion.

Analyze your audience: Consider factors like age, profession, and interests. For instance, are your readers professional designers, design students, or hobbyists looking to learn more about design?

Engagement preferences: How does your target audience prefer to consume content? Do they like detailed tutorials, inspiring images, quick tips, or in-depth articles?

Understanding these elements will guide the content you create, making your design blog relevant and engaging to the right people.

Do Your Keyword Research

Keyword research is an important aspect of creating content for your Food blog. It helps you understand the phrases and questions people use to search for information on the topic you're writing about. That way, you can use those phrases and questions to optimize your content for search engines.

Identify the keywords that are most relevant to your niche. These are your “seed keywords.”

Seed keywords are broad terms used to generate super-specific long-tail keywords.

Hey there! If you're diving into the world of design blogs, here are some broad seed keywords to kick off your brainstorming for more specific topics:

• Interior Design
• Graphic Design
• UX/UI Design
• Fashion Design
• Web Design
• Product Design
• Typography
• Color Theory
• Design Tools
• Design Trends

Start with these, and you'll find tons of avenues to explore for more detailed content. Happy blogging!

Take your seed keywords and feed them into your keyword tool of choice. I like using Ahrefs.

Add them to the report and hit search. Then, go to “Keyword Ideas” and click “Matching Terms.”

This list will contain thousands of possible terms for you to write about. I recommend targeting the lowest-volume keywords possible, no matter the traffic.

When you first start your design blog, it’ll be hard to get traffic. But you can get it by targeting keywords that other site owners ignore.

By doing your keyword research, you can improve your chances of ranking higher in search engine results pages and attracting more traffic to your Food blog.

How to Start a Design Blog | Step-by-Step Guide

Now that you're done with the business plan, let's get to the fun part.

Here's how to start a Design blog:

Step 1. Pick a Blogging Platform

Choosing the right blogging platform is crucial for the success of your Design blog.

I strongly recommend building your blog with WordPress. It’s open-source, so your blog won't be dependent on a private company, and it’s fully customizable.

Some bloggers are intimidated by the number of features WordPress offers, but the best way to learn is just to jump in and start.

Here are some other options to consider:

• Blogger: A free platform owned by Google. Offers simple templates and easy integration with Google AdSense for monetization.
• Squarespace: A premium platform known for its design-centric approach. Offers visually appealing templates and in-depth customization options along with integrated eCommerce solutions for monetization.
• Wix: A free platform with a drag-and-drop website builder and customizable templates. Offers e-commerce options for selling products.

Consider the features, ease of use, and cost when choosing a platform that fits your needs. Each platform has its own strengths and weaknesses, so it's important to do your research before making a decision.

Step 2. Register a Domain Name

Registering a domain name gives your blog a unique online identity. When choosing a domain name for your design blog, there are a few things to keep in mind:

• Make it easy to remember
• Keep it short and sweet
• Include your main keyword
• Avoid using numbers and hyphens

Also, please don’t create an exact-match domain name, like An example of an exact match keyword domain name in the Design blog niche could be "moderninteriordesignideas.com"..

It’s limiting, has terrible branding potential, and just looks amateurish. You can do much better.

Instead, spend some time brainstorming design blog names that have the following:

1. A keyword related to your niche
2. A feeling, emotion, or quality you want your website to communicate
3. Three words or less

So, instead of the example used above, you could use one of these:

• InspireDesignJoy.com
• HappyHuesHome.com
• ChicCreativeSpace.com
• BlissfulPalette.com
• DelightfulDecor.com

All of those are available at the time I’m writing this, and all would be easy to build a brand around (not to mention better for Search Engine Optimization or SEO).

You can also use a domain name generator tool for inspiration.

Once you have a few ideas for a domain name, you can check if they are available using a domain registrar.

Many services can help you register a domain name, but I recommend getting one from your hosting provider. (They usually include a free domain name when you buy hosting.)

When you find the perfect domain name, register it right away before someone else takes it.

Step 3. Secure Reliable Hosting

Once you’ve chosen a domain name, you have to purchase website hosting to make your design blog accessible online. (As I mentioned earlier, you can usually purchase both simultaneously.)

Website hosting is a service that allows your website to be stored on a server and accessed by Internet users.

Here are some popular website hosts for design blogs:

• WP Engine: I host all my sites with WP Engine. It's lightning quick and super easy to use. I've tried almost every shared hosting provider, and WP Engine is by far the best.
• Kinsta: A premium hosting provider known for its high performance and managed WordPress hosting solutions.
• Hostgator: A popular host that offers affordable pricing and easy WordPress integration.

After you’ve chosen and registered your domain (following the instructions from your hosting company), you’re ready to install WordPress and start building your site.

Step 4. Install WordPress

The first step to setting up your design site is to install WordPress.

Any legitimate host these days will offer automated WordPress installation with the click of a button. Follow their instructions, and reach out to their support if you get stuck.

Once you’ve installed WordPress, go to your WordPress Admin Dashboard and start customizing your site.

Step 5. Pick a Theme for Your Design Blog

When choosing a theme for your website, it's essential to consider your niche and target audience. Your theme should reflect your content's style and tone while being visually appealing and easy to navigate.

There are thousands of themes available to choose from, both free and paid. These are the free themes I recommend for new bloggers:

• GeneratePress - GeneratePress is one of the most popular WordPress themes on the market. It's lean, fast, and easy to customize. There's free and paid versions available.
• Kadence - Kadence is an extremely fast and lightweight theme, with a wide range of free customizations, although it does fall behind in updates from time to time.
• Astra - Astra is a simple WordPress theme that makes designing a website easy. It makes it easy to create a stunning niche website without all the fluff.

You could also buy a premium theme, but free themes are fine in the beginning.

Step 6. Install Essential Plugins

A lot of people are afraid of plugins because they think more plugins will slow their site down.

However, any good plugin these days is built for speed, so you shouldn’t worry too much about it.

If you’re still worried about site speed, our Cloudflare review shows how to perfect it.

To install a new plugin, click on “Plugins” in your WordPress dashboard sidebar. Then, click on “Add New” and either upload a plugin ZIP file or search for free plugins in the WordPress Plugin Repository.

Here are a few plugins that I recommend for every new Design blog:

• Lasso Lite - The best way to insert product displays and affiliate links into your content is to use Lasso. Lasso Lite is the free version of Lasso and is great for new sites.
• Cloudflare - I recommend the paid Cloudflare plan, but even the free CDN will do wonders for your site speed.
• Imagify – Big images are the biggest thing that slows down websites, and an image optimization plugin like Imagify fixes them instantly.
• RankMath – RankMath is my favorite SEO plugin, but you could also use Yoast SEO or All-In-One SEO. SEO plugins provide guidelines rather than done-for-you solutions.

Now that you’ve installed and set up WordPress and your plugins, it’s time for some branding.

Step 7. Design Your Site

I’m not a web designer, but here are a few guidelines for beginners to create a professional-looking site:

• Use two colors: You only need two colors for your brand, a primary and an emphasis color. The emphasis color should contrast your primary color and only be used for CTA buttons. I use Coolors to quickly find a color palette that works for me.
• Use one or two fonts: You don’t want to overwhelm your audience. A tried and true technique is to use one font for your headings and one for your body text. It also helps to have one serif font and one sans serif font, so they stand apart. Fontpair is a great tool for this.
• Start with a text logo: Too many marketers get hung up on details like logos. You don’t even know what your site is going to be yet. Give your brand time to develop by starting with a simple text logo.

Don’t worry too much about your site’s design in the early stages. You can change all this stuff later when sales start coming in.

Step 8. Set Up Your Basic Blog Pages

You'll need to create a few key pages before you can start publishing awesome Design content.

The first page is your homepage, which should introduce your blog and give readers an idea of what they can expect to find on your site.

You should also create an "About" page, which provides more information about you and your blog. This is a great place to share your story and give readers a sense of your personality.

Another important page is the "Contact" page, which makes it easy for readers to get in touch with you. You can include a simple contact form or provide your email address and social media links.

You can create these pages by using your blogging platform's built-in categories or by creating custom pages that link to your posts.

By providing readers with clear navigation and easy access to your content, you'll be on your way to building a loyal following.

Step 9. Write Your First Blog Posts

Once you've set up your blog and have a clear idea of what you want to write about, it's time to start publishing your first blog posts.

Here are some tips to get you started:

1. Choose a topic you're passionate about and that your audience will find interesting. Research what's already out there and offer a fresh perspective or unique insights.
2. Plan out your post by creating an outline or mind map. This will help you stay focused and ensure that your post flows logically.
3. Write your post in a conversational tone and avoid using jargon or overly technical language. Use short paragraphs and sentences to make your post easy to read and scan.
4. Include images or other media to break up the text and make your post more visually appealing.
5. Use subheadings and bullet points to organize your content and make it easier to read.
6. Edit your post carefully for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. Read it aloud to ensure it sounds natural and flows well.
7. Once you're happy with your post, hit the publish button! Share it on social media and other channels to get it to as many people as possible.

Get our FREE toolkit and checklist for writing articles that convert.

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How to Write Great Design Blog Posts

Now that you officially have a site, it’s time to fill it with top-notch content.

You won’t get really good at it until you’ve done it for a while, so it’s best to write as much as possible in the early days

Here’s how to publish better design articles from day one.

Brainstorm Ideas

Coming up with great blog post ideas based on your niche and your audience's needs can be very tough.

What I like to do is start by writing word clouds with pen and paper. It helps me quickly move from one topic to the next without thinking about it.

Once I have a good list of topics, I organize the keywords and put them into Ahrefs. Then I prioritize my content production based on what I think I have the best chance of ranking for (and what sounds like the most fun to write about).

Build a Solid Framework

Before I ever write a blog post, I build an outline using Dynalist.

I look at what competitors have published for my keyword, write down my version of the headings, and move the structure around until the flow makes sense.

Not only does this give me a solid foundation to build my article upon, but it helps me pace my article. If I’ve written 300 words under an H3 heading, I need to wrap it up and move on to the next point.

If you establish solid guidelines, your posts will practically write themselves.

Write Without Stopping

Once you have an outline of where you want your article to go, it’s time to just sit down and write.

I like to shut out any distractions and write in silence, or put on very quiet music. It’s insane how quickly you can write when you don’t have anything else to think about.

You shouldn’t even care about quality when writing your first draft. Just get your words down on paper.

Once you’re finished, step away for a bit, then come back and start editing. Correct any grammar mistakes and make sure your ideas make sense (it helps to read the content out loud).

Optimize Your Content for On-Page SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing your content to rank higher in search engine results.

Make sure you do these things when writing your design blog posts:

• Properly structure your headings. Headings are like a map that search engines like Google use to decipher what your content is about. Make sure your headings make sense (nest smaller ideas under larger ideas), and that you’ve included keywords.
• Use your target keyword naturally and often. It’s common knowledge that keyword stuffing doesn’t work anymore, but it’s still important to use your target keyword often. It will help your readers stay on track and help search engines better understand what you’re talking about.
• Add Photos and Videos. Images and videos increase the time readers spend on your page. That signals to Google that your article fits what readers are looking for. They also break up a post and allow your readers to breathe before reading the rest of the article.
• Promote the post immediately after publishing. There’s some disagreement about whether traffic is a ranking factor, but I’ve definitely had faster rankings when I got early traffic to my blog posts. And, if you have a mailing list, your subscribers want to know about your content anyway!

Use AI to Speed Things Up

At the time I'm writing this, AI still isn't able to replace a skilled, knowledgable writer.

But it's getting really close.

As AI tools continue to improve, you're going to find more and more content online that's produced without a human writer. And that content will rank in Google. There's no consolation prize for human-written content.

For the time being, here's my advice; use AI to write the first draft of your content. Then edit it thoroughly before publishing.

To get the best AI content out of the gate, I recommend Copy.AI.

Out of all the AI writing tools I've tested (which is a lot), Copy.AI produces the best, most natural content, and also has the most reasonable pricing.

Promoting Your Design Blog

Once you publish a blog post, you need to promote it.

Seriously, most design bloggers post and pray. If you use even one of these promotional methods, you’re doing more than 99% of the competition.

Make the Most of Social Media

Social media and blogging go hand-in-hand. Social media can be a game changer, especially in the design niche, where readers care about the person behind the blog.

I don’t recommend spending all day on Twitter, but comment on popular threads, respond to outreach and share helpful things.

Also, shout out when you have a new blog post! Your followers want to know when you put out new content.

Build an Email List for Design Enthusiasts

There’s a reason why email marketing is the only form of online marketing that’s barely changed in the past 15 years. It works.

It’s also challenging. Most design blogs ask readers to join their mailing lists, so give them a special reason to sign up for yours.

It could be a workout plan, equipment guide, or anything else that sets you apart from other design bloggers.

Why go through all this headache? Because anyone who signs up for your mailing list is devoted to what you have to say. These people are your congregation.

If you recommend a product to your mailing list, they’ll likely purchase it. At a bare minimum, send your new blog posts to your mailing list to pump up early traffic numbers.

Be ethical, but find things your mailing list will appreciate and sell, sell, sell!

Collaborate with Other Design Bloggers

As website owners, we tend to think of our competitors as enemies, which is a bit silly. When you think about it, they’re just like us, trying their best to hustle and make things work.

Instead of worrying about how other design bloggers will outrank you, reach out and see if you can work together.

If you build a network of small design bloggers who all promote each other’s content, you’ll stand a much better chance of competing with established design authorities.

Engaging in Design Communities

Join online communities related to your niche and engage with other members. This will help you establish yourself as an expert and build relationships with potential readers.

Monetizing Your Design Blog

Ok, so your blog is up and running, and you're gaining a following. How do you monetize a design blog?

Here are the best ways to earn a real income from your new design blog.

Affiliate Marketing

I recommend design bloggers start with affiliate marketing before any other monetization method.

I love affiliate marketing because it’s a low-effort way to monetize your website without ruining your reader’s experience.

To monetize your design blog with affiliate marketing, first, you have to identify products your audience will find helpful. Then, find the affiliate program for those products, and write thorough product reviews.

For beginners, I recommend focusing on the Amazon Associates affiliate program. The conversion rate is incredible, and you can diversify when your site is more successful.

For products that aren’t available on Amazon, just do a Google search for “[Product] affiliate program,” and you’ll find their program’s signup page.

Another way to find affiliate programs is by checking Lasso's database.

To save you some time, here are a few of the best affiliate networks for design bloggers:

1. Adobe

   

   Commission Rate: 8.33% - 85% Per Sale

   Cookie Duration: 30 Days

   Adobe offers a suite of design products, including Photoshop. Get 85% commission on a customer's 1st monthly payment and 8.33% per yearly subscription.

2. Minted

   

   Commission Rate: 0.8% - 8% Per Sale

   Cookie Duration: 120 Days

   Minted is a design marketplace that connects you with independent artists. Get 15% commission as a regular affiliate and 13% as a photography affiliate.

3. Etsy

   

   Commission Rate: 3.2% Per Sale

   Cookie Duration: 30 Days

   Etsy is a marketplace of handtrafted pieces and vintage treasures from sellers around the world. Get 5% commission per sale with 30-day cookies.

Once approved for your chosen affiliate program, add your affiliate link to products and images, and you’re good to go. You’ll earn a commission if a reader clicks on your link and makes a purchase.

If you're still wondering how to earn money with affiliate marketing, check out these affiliate marketing website examples for inspiration.

Earn More Affiliate Income With Lasso

If you want to take your affiliate marketing strategy to the next level, I recommend you sign up for Lasso.

Lasso is a WordPress plugin that helps affiliate marketers manage links and create product displays that convert.

All you need to do is paste the affiliate link in your Lasso dashboard, add some interesting sales copy, and you’re ready to insert that Display into your blog posts.

Your product displays could look like this one:

Best Plugin for Affiliate Marketers

Lasso

$39/mo

Lasso is the best WordPress plugin for affiliate marketing. If you want to earn more affiliate income and grow your niche site, you need Lasso!

Create Displays Like This Learn More

Great Displays Increase Conversions!

If you ever need to change the link, you can change it once in your Lasso dashboard, which will update the link across your entire website.

Lasso will also handle your link cloaking and attributes, so your site will always be optimized and compliant.

That’s not even mentioning things like Tables, Grids, Lists, Link Alerts, and more.

Our Pick		Budget Pick
4.8	4.6	3.7
Starting at $30 a month	Starting at $30 a month	Starting at $2.75 a month
Try WP Engine	Try Kinsta	Try HostGator
Our Review	Our Review	Our Review

Our Pick

4.8

Starting at $30 a month

Try WP Engine

Our Review

4.6

Starting at $30 a month

Try Kinsta

Our Review

Budget Pick

3.7

Starting at $2.75 a month

Try HostGator

Our Review

If you want to monetize your design blog the easy way, sign up for Lasso today.

Display Ads

Another great way to monetize your design blog is with display ads. Display ads use cookies to advertise products your readers will love, so it’s a very individualized experience.

Display ads are also the most passive way to monetize a design blog. You turn them on, configure the settings, and wait for the money to roll in.

The drawback to display ads is that nobody likes them. It’s why so many people install ad blockers in their browsers (which stop you from making money, by the way).

Here are the best ad networks to join based on your site’s page views:

• 50,000+ Visitors per month - Mediavine
• 10,000-50,000 Visitors per month - Ezoic
• <10,000 Visitors per month - Google Adsense / waiting to grow

Digital Products

Selling digital products is the easiest way to transition from advertising other people’s products to selling your own.

That’s a great step to take because it means instead of earning 3-8% of the profit, you’re taking 100% of the profit.

The drawback to selling anything is that you’re responsible for the bulk of the work. You need to provide customer service, handle returns, and find a way to process payments and distribute products.

Hey! So, if you're diving into the design blog niche, here are some top digital products that could really take off:

• Online Courses: From beginner to advanced, craft courses that teach graphic design, UX/UI, or even animation skills.
• E-books: Write comprehensive guides on design principles, trends, or software tutorials.
• Templates: Offer customizable website, social media, or newsletter templates that cater to various aesthetics.
• Toolkits: Compile resources like color palettes, font pairings, or icon sets that designers can use in their projects.
• Webinars: Host live sessions on design topics, providing valuable insights and real-time engagement with your audience.

Each of these products not only helps educate but also provides practical tools or insights that designers can immediately apply. Pretty cool, right?

Once you’ve created a digital product, connect a payment processor like Paypal or Stripe to your site with a plugin like Woocommerce.

Then you can use a tool like ConvertKit to automatically email the lead magnet to customers after they’ve finished checking out.

It’s a lot of work, but the extra profit is well worth it.

Consulting

Design is a perfect area to offer consulting services. If you've been diving deep into the design world like I suggested, you've built up a wealth of knowledge. Now, you can share that expertise with your readers!

What's great is that your audience will guide you on what they need. As more people follow your work, you'll get requests for specific advice or tutorials.

Why not offer an hour of your consulting for $100? The worst they can say is no, but imagine the possibilities if they say yes!

If you find you’re selling a lot of consulting services, you can even create a section of your site dedicated to your services.

FAQs on Starting a Design Blog

How Much Money Do Design Bloggers Make?

The income range for design bloggers is enormous. Many bloggers make no revenue, while some design blogs make over six figures per month. It all depends on traffic and how well you present your offers.

How Can I Monetize a Design Blog?

The best way to monetize a design blog is with affiliate marketing, but you can also use display ads, sell digital downloads, or even sell coaching services.

How Do Design Bloggers Get Paid?

Most design bloggers make money through affiliate commissions and advertising fees. Both of these monetization methods pay out one or two months after the fees have been generated.

Some design bloggers also sell sponsored posts, consulting services, or their own products. In these cases, a payment processor like PayPal or Stripe is necessary.

Is Design Blogging Easy?

Nothing worth doing is truly easy, but that doesn’t mean design blogging isn’t fun.

As a design blogger, you’ll get to go places, try new things, and meet new people. And it will be part of your business! What could be cooler than that?

Is It Worth Starting A Design Blog?

It’s absolutely worth it to start a design blog. Not only can you make a living from it, but you can also build a community and control the conversation.

Once you’re an established authority, people in design-related industries will take you seriously.

Final Thoughts on Starting a Design Blog

That wraps up our guide on starting a design blog!

The journey can be tough; many spend months or even years before seeing a profit. It's possible to face losses in the early stages, but the effort pays off.

Stick to the strategies shared here, keep at it, and create posts you'd love to read yourself. It's hard work but entirely possible.

Remember to post consistently, interact with your audience, and most importantly, enjoy the process!

Why You Should Trust Our Design Blogging Content

You may be thinking, "that's all great, but what does Lasso know about design blogging?"

Quite a lot, actually.

Here's why you can trust our process for building a successful design blog:

We've Built Wildly Successful Blogs

Lasso is built for affiliate marketers, by affiliate marketers. We're not gurus; we've walked the walk.

Our team members have built multiple blogs from the ground up, some of them earning over seven figures in revenue.

We put that experience into every guide we write, so you can trust we're giving you a process that works.

We Talk To Design Bloggers Every Day

Lasso's WordPress plugin is installed on over 8,000 websites, including a lot of design blogs.

Our team supports those bloggers every day as they create awesome content and earn lots of money.

These communications give us a bird's-eye view of what's new in the design industry. We take that information and use it to keep these guides as up-to-date and accurate as possible.

We're Super Nerds

We've put a lot of company focus into learning everything we can about blogging, affiliate marketing, SEO, and anything to do with online entrepreneurship.

We attend conferences, collect high-level contacts, read tons of books, and distill all of that information into our content. We pass information onto you that was previously only available to industry insiders.