Blog (Design) Love Q+A

Hi friends! We are SO overwhelmed and excited about the response to our new e-course, Blog (Design) Love. We cannot wait to see the designs you create using the photoshop and html coding skills from the course! We've also received a LOT of questions. I thought it might be helpful to post a quick Q+A and cover some of the questions we've been hearing the most.

Q: How do your e-courses work? Is there a deadline? How long will this be for sale? Do sessions go up on scheduled dates?

A: Unlike many courses that you find online, our e-courses are continually available. What this means is that you can sign up at anytime. We generally leave our e-courses up for sale for at least one year. Anyone who signs up will have permanent access to the course. You will be able to check back to it whenever you want. 

Here's how it works: After payment you will get an automatic e-mail sharing the private blog URL and the login information. You should save this somewhere you can access it in the future. You will then be able to login to the class and view all of the sessions. Our classes are designed to work at your own pace. Because of this it does not matter what time zone you live in. We encourage students to do one session at a time, completing all homework before moving forward. 

Q: I already know Photoshop/HTML. Is this course still worth it? 

A: Both the Photoshop portions of the course and the coding portions are written for beginners. You don't need any experience at all to begin learning. Because of this, the course is best suited for students who want to learn one or both of these skills from a beginners level.

Q: I don't have Photoshop CS5, I have another version. Will I still understand the instructions? 

A: Yes. Over the years I have used many versions of Photoshop Elements and Photoshop CS. Although features vary and the layout of tools can be slightly different, we feel it is still easy enough to find what you need in ANY version of photoshop (even Elements). The tutorials in our course are for beginners. They use basic tools that come in all the versions. I only chose CS5 to write the tutorials, because it's what I currently have on my computer.

 

Q: How are the wordpress.com instructions different from the other platforms? 

A: Each platform discussed in this class—Typepad, Blogger and Wordpress.com—design their backend differently and (for some lessons) require different types of coding. In the course, we cover all three options. This link provides a great breakdown of what Wordpress.com is and how it differs from Wordpress.org.

Q: Will your class help me with my self hosted wordpress blog?

A: Some lessons, like the graphic design portion and the tips for content and archive pages will apply to any blogging platform. But the Wordpress section of each lesson is written specifically for wordpress.com and may not be exactly applicable for Wordpress.org or self-hosted blogs.

 

Q: Is there a PDF of the lessons?

A: Nope. You can print out the lessons if you choose to do so, but there is no PDF included at this time. 

Q: I am blogging on a PC. Does this make a difference? 

A: Nope. 

Q: Is this information still useful for Tumblr users?

A: Very little of the coding information would be useful for Tumblr users. The design information would still apply. The design skills are basic and could be used to design your own images for pretty much any platform. The sessions are written for Wordpress.com, Typepad and Blogger. We highly recommend that students choose one of these platforms if possible to get the most from the course! 

Q: I have never taken Blog Love, which e-course should I take first? How are they different? 

A: Blog Love is an e-course that I wrote two years ago. It is about developing the content for your blog. If you want to take both, I would probably take Blog Love first, because it has a lot more to do with development. In that course you will learn tips for developing everything from your writing style to photography to the types of articles you post. Blog (Design) Love is only about designing your actual blog layout (or doing your own "blog makeover"). It covers the technical aspects of creating a basic design and creating the custom code needed to add the design elements to your blog. The content of the two courses does not overlap a ton. If you want to take both, you should. If you have already taken one, you will learn new things from the other. 

If you have other questions about the e-course, leave them in the comments section, and we will answer them. Thank you SO much for your support and excitement. We are so excited to see your creative blog designs. PLEASE send us links as you create them. We seriously cannot wait! xo. Elsie + Elise

PS. If you need any technical support, you can contact us here: support AT redvelvetart DOT com

Comments

[Grace]

FIrst comment of the day! Yay! Love your site girls :)

[Hanna Wilson]

Elsie, I have a very important question, although it does not pertain to this topic. I was thinking about purchasing photoshop and totally rad actions, but what version of photoshop would I need for this? Would it work with any photoshop? If you could, could you please get back to me, by email if at all possible? I'm not sure if you can see my e-mail but I hope you can. I'm just super confused and you're the only person I know to ask. Please help!!!
Thank you.
<3

[The Nomad]

Oh, wonderful! I need this course.

[Nienke]

What a beautiful couch! ^-^

[Dip It Black]

Love this!
I'm so stupid with designing, but
I need it for my blog!
Thanks for all the tips!
Just started working with Photoshop a
few weeks ago and it goes quite good :D!

X
http://dipitblack.com

[sarah]

I am SO happy this appeared now! I just started my blog, and while I like the layout I created, it is definitely something I want to tweak and give it a little more shine. I am buying it on friday and cannot wait! My homework for collage can wait, right? ;)

http://owleyevintage.blogspot.com/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/OwlEyeVintage

[Alicia Standridge]

Thanks for the course, I signed up yesterday and am loving it! It's exactly what I needed to get myself started! Thank you, thank you!

[Denisa]

Perfect post. Great course for all. Have a ncie day and I am waiting for next great post.

http://www.fashiondenis.com/

[Naomi]

This is so exciting!! I just took your blog love course and I LOVED it!!! I am having so much fun with my blog, but I am not happy my layout. The design part is a lot harder than I expected! I can't wait to learn some tips!

[alinor]

A class by my 2 favorites bloggers, i couldn't say no! anyway i was wondering if you would open some kind of forum? while doing a makeover, i feel it'd be easier if we could get other people opinion and discover some great blogs on the way.

[Margherita]

Love the course , super helpful!

[Cat {BrideBlu}]

I about flipped when I saw this post over the weekend! I've been wanting to give my blog a little facelift/makeover for forever and this was just the kick in the pants that I needed! I've already gone through the first 8 lessons or so and it is such an amazing tutorial full of step-by-step and easy to execute instructions plus design advice (a rare combo!). I've paid top dollar to have my blog "designed" by others and now I am going to be able to design my blog/ enhance it whenever I want. So, so awesome! Can't wait to dive into the rest of the lessons :)

Thank you so much for putting together such an amazing course!

For those of you who haven't clicked "purchase" yet, I would strongly suggest you do so ... it will be the best $35 bucks you've spent!!!! :)

xxCat

[Lacey @ My Boring Closet]

Thanks for the Q & A! I think I'm gonna sign up :)

[Lindsey]

I just wanted to tell y'all this is my favorite blog I've ever run across. I seriously just adore all the content & it feels like all my tastes & my style have been condensed to these pages. I know the blog isn't geared towards this, but every once in awhile it would be nice to see what artists you are currently listening to or books you are reading. I can't pretend I'm not curious :)

[Hilary]

That's it, I'm taking the plunge!

I need to step it up with my photography blog!

Here I goooooooooooooooo!

[Carly]

Ah, have learning photoshop on my list of 101 things to do in 1001 days so I'll def be purchasing!!

xo
www.carlyonqueue.blogspot.com

PS - this week on my blog, I'm donating $$ to the American Red Cross for each comment! Comment away and share the love!

[Sandra]

I have to tell you that you this is one of the first blogs I really ever dove into when I got into blogging. I love all of your beautiful pictures and creative content, so thank you!

[Mayette]

Thank you for answering our questions! Very helpful.

[Heather]

I'm gonna check it out! Thanks a bunch ladies. Y'all are fabulous.

-Heather
{heatheringheights.com}

[Jennifer]

Thank you for answering these questions! I think you've convinced me ;)

xo Jennifer

http://seekingstyleblog.wordpress.com