Creating a blog logo is a key part of your branding.
I use my blog’s logo in many different places on the web and I have it saved on my computer for easy access when I need it.
My blog’s logo is primarily displayed in the header of my blog itself, but I also use an icon version of the logo for different purposes.
I use it in my graphic design for my Pinterest pins and I use it as the main image on my blog’s social media network profiles.
A blog logo is very important for brand recognition. It makes your site look trustworthy and professional.
I personally enjoy graphic design so this is something I spend a bit more time on than the average blogger. I also do it myself instead of outsourcing it!
What Should a Blog Logo Look Like?
You can take inspiration from some of the more recognizable logos in the world, or you can browse other blogs for inspiration as you think about what you want your blog logo to look like.
Most logos fall into one of these categories:
- Symbol
- Text
- Symbol + Text
Here are some recognizable blog logos I like:
As you can see, most blog logos do well with a symbol + text combination. I really like this method because I can use the text for larger spaces, and the symbol for smaller ones. You’ll notice on this blog I have a text logo for my header and a symbol logo for my favicon.
Favicon: an icon associated with a website or webpage. It’s the image you see in the tab of your browser and when you save a website as a bookmark.
How to Create a Blog Logo
There are a few ways to create a blog logo:
Get a Free Logo
You can use one of the many online logo generators or design tools to create a blog logo for free. Keep in mind that these won’t be very impressive logos but they will get the job done! These types of services won’t always provide a favicon as well as the text logo. LogoMaker is one such tool.
Hire Someone to Design Your Logo
To save time, you can outsource the visual creative part of your blog by hiring someone else to design your logo for you.
There are many affordable logo designers on Fiverr and Upwork who can design a great logo for you according to your specifications.
Design a Logo Yourself
You can design your logo yourself and make sure it looks the way you want it. Canva is a great place to design a logo for free. You can also try Logo.com which charges $5 to design a logo yourself. Keep in mind these design tips when creating a logo yourself:
- Keep it Simple
- Go with equally sized text, or make the focus word of your blog larger
- Avoid hard-to-read calligraphy fonts
If you design a logo yourself, pay attention to the largest elements of your design. The largest word of your logo should be the word that really defines your brand. Here is an example:
This blog is about Farmhouse decor, yet the blog owners chose a logo that emphasizes the word “faux.” The word “faux” overpowers the word “farmhouse” which doesn’t give new readers a good idea of what the blog is about.
When in doubt, go with a simple equally sized text logo like this:
Avoid calligraphy fonts that are hard to read. They won’t be remembered! If you use calligraphic text, go with a high contrast color and use a word that is less than 5 letters.
Logo Size
The size of your blog logo will largely depend on your WordPress theme. Take a look at your theme documents and figure out the recommended size of the logo in the header.
If you are using the GeneratePress WordPress theme I recommend for beginners, then create a logo that is at least 500px wide, but after you upload it, select 320px as the width. If your logo looks too small, go bigger, and if it’s too large, make it smaller. I have found 320-350px to be a good width for most of my blog logos which are short and wide.
The reason why you want to make your blog logo larger than the space in which it will appear is because retina screens will take large images and downsize them in order to provide a more crisp and clear image on the screen. This is why it’s ideal to upload a logo that will be about twice the size as the space in which it will be displayed.
Favicon Size
You’ll also need to upload a smaller version of your logo to serve as the favicon. WordPress recommends that the favicon should be at least 512 pixels wide and tall. Again, this will be downsized often so don’t include any long texts. My favicon is a small circle with a computer symbol. You can choose an icon from Flaticon to design your favicon or you can use one or two letters in your blog initials to serve as the favicon.
