Branding

Have You Updated Your Blog Design Recently?

Typically, I leave my blog design alone—until something stops working.

Lately, I’ve been learning more about SSL and how to market my site effectively. As part of this process, I’ve started adding Featured Images to my posts. Since I’m not a graphic artist, I’ve turned to ChatGPT for help. My typical prompt includes:

• Blog Name: Heartland Genealogy
• Symbol: Sunflower
• Topic: Specific to the featured image

After using ChatGPT for a couple of months, I’ve noticed improvements—especially in spelling. However, I often need to provide a second prompt to add missing elements or correct text. Below are images from a recent conversation.

Challenges with Featured Images

Since I’ve been incorporating these AI-generated images, I’ve encountered a few issues:

1. Images missing from Feedly (an RSS feed)
2. Images being cut off on my homepage

Finding Solutions

Fixing the missing RSS feed image was straightforward—I installed a WordPress plugin, and the problem was solved.

However, figuring out why images were getting cut off required more investigation. That’s when I discovered that Neve, my WordPress theme, recommends a 930×630 size for Featured Images. Since the AI-generated images were 1024×1024, they were getting cropped.

Optimizing Featured Images with Canva

To fix this, I turned to Canva and followed these steps:

1. Created a custom 930×630 image
2. Uploaded the ChatGPT-generated image and centered it
3. Edited the image by:
   • Adding a shadow
   • Applying a filter
   • Enlarging the ChatGPT image to fill the height while keeping it centered
   • Changing the background to a recommended color
4. Saved and downloaded the new image

The Final Results

• The new image appeared correctly as a Featured Image in my blog posts.

• On my homepage, WordPress still displayed a squared version.

• On Feedly, the image was cut off at the top and bottom.

While I’ve improved the appearance of my Featured Images, I’m still working on ensuring they display correctly across different platforms. Have you faced similar challenges with your blog’s design?