Blog design can be complex and daunting if you want to go beyond merely making an on-line journal to share your thoughts. Designing a blog on your own web site that is well optimized for search engines, for example, takes skill and know-how.

Designing a blog with WordPress that is optimized to make money is an even bigger undertaking. I wouldn’t even have the courage to start this project right now if it were not for my business-blogging mentor, Alex Sysoef, who has just released an amazing product called Web 2.0 Wealth. Without Web 2.0 Wealth, this blog would not exist, and my Talk Like a Texan blog would still be a mess.

Web 2.0 Wealth (or as I call it, W2W) is a huge package of ebooks, step-by-step videos, and too many extras to describe here. It leads you step by step from how to choose a profitable niche for your blog through how to build it, optimize and monetize it (set up a bunch of ways to make money with it) and then publicize it to bring in lots of readers.

I learned so much about so many aspects of WordPress blog construction, php scripting, plug-ins, and related topics with W2W! And I had already bought and studied a few other blog-design-and-monetization packages—some of which I liked and will write about in future posts.

Every time I turn around, Alex has added more features. And his support is fast, accurate, and truly helpful. What a refreshing change from some other vendors I could mention! Well, OK, most other vendors I could mention.

If you buy only one package on how to build blogs and make money, buy Web 2.0 Wealth. Then please come back and comment on how you used it. I’d love to see your blogs.

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I decided to start this blog because I keep seeing blogs that are not only unreadable (annoyingly or even painfully difficult to read) but even illegible. What is the point of having a blog that looks pretty or fashionable—that most people won’t bother to read?

With a degree in journalism, a minor in graphic design, and years of experience in book design, publishing, and advertising, I know that the purpose of design is to communicate. When it comes to print advertising or even web design of HTML sites, I know how to do that. Working with PHP scripts is still a challenge.

The right blog design sets the right mood and can lend credibility to your message. (Right now this blog is a case in point, since the design is still primitive. But wait, and you’ll see it improve.)

To see a much simpler blog of mine, go see Talk Like a Texan. That was the first WordPress blog I ever tried. While minimalist (a slight modification of the default theme), it is easy to read and conveys the atmosphere I wanted.

I hope you will come back often and watch Blog Design Journal get better. The design of this blog will continually change as I learn how to control WordPress. Meanwhile, do as I say, not necessarily as I do, while I’m learning to make WordPress do what I want.