How I made a tool to create cover images for my blogs quickly
Do you write blogs? Have you ever struggled to create cover images for your blogs? Well, I did. So I have made a tool that will help you create awesome cover images for your blogs quickly.
π The problem
I started blogging a few months back. It's one of the best decisions I have ever made. But every time I wanted to write a post, I had to create and edit a cover image for it. I mean I love creating creative cover images but sometimes I feel I just spend too much time designing it.
And then I saw these comments on my posts.
I use canva. It's a nice tool. But I thought I need something minimal so that creating those cover images won't be any hassle. Coincidently I just started learning react. I knew some basics and I thought why not implement my knowledge of react and make something out of it. Also, it might help someone else too. And that's how I came up with the idea of this project.
π The process
I started working on this as a fun project. I had an exact visualization of what I wanted to create.
So I first created a design of a cover image that can be used as the template user can edit. I asked my self what things I would like to add or what can I do to make the cover image more appealing. And I started playing with it. It was fun. After spending a lot of time, solving problems and finding solutions, this is what I came up with the first build.
π¦ The final outcome
I shared it on Twitter and Linkedin and I got a really good response from the developer community. I always wanted to contribute to open source. There are multiple ways to contribute and one of which is creating open-source projects. I open-sourced it. This is my first open-source project with react.
And within a few hours, I got my first pull request. Asish Raju made his first open-source contribution by contributing to my project. He added a few more customizable options and refactored the code.
For the first time, I was on the other side of a project. I learned how to manage pull requests, review code, and merged his pull request. Open Source Guides is a great resource to learn.
Features
Then I improved it little by little and added some more features. Here are a few noteworthy features of CoverView.
- π Create awesome cover images for your blogs quickly and easily
- π Choose different colors for background, foreground, border, and text
- β¨ Choose from 15+ different background patterns
- π¨βπ» Add dev icons and author name for personal branding
- Update : I saw a lot of people using it but they weren't using nice colors. So I handpicked some appealing color palettes which go well together and now you can choose random color themes on just one click.
- πΎ Download cover images in
.png
as well as.jpeg
format
I just had a lot of fun making this. You might not be able to create a lot more creative images But having a nice cover is always better than having some random image or no cover image at all.
So check out CoverView
Conclusion
The important lesson I learned while building this is that you don't need to learn a language or framework completely to start making projects. You can start applying while learning it. I feel this way we can learn from our mistakes and understand the importance of one concept over others.
I keep writing about the things I learned and applied. So you can connect with me on Twitter, Github or Linkedin. Also, subscribe to my newsletter and stay up-to-date with my latest blog posts.
β‘ Happy learning!
Freelancer in digital marketing and web dev.
This is going to save me 5 hours per week. I am full time blogger . I dont know how to thank you.
Co-Founder, Hashnode
This is amazing Rutik. I am going to try it out for my next article.
Software Engineer and Indie Hacker
Awesome tool. Saves soo much time getting a good image. Thanks for making it!
Techophile | Ruby on Rails developer | Javascript
I have started posting very recently and this really helps me focus on my content more than designing the cover. I'm definitely going to use this a lot. Thanks Rutik. π
Software Developer | Python-Django | Tech Enthusiast
Hi Rutik, this is a nice tool and I will definitely start using it.
I usually use Canva, but your tool seems easier and less clumsy to use. Thanks for building this.
thanks for this, i am definitely bookmarking this, its going to come in handy for me.
Remote Software Consultant
Rutik Wankhade Timing for this could not be better (for me) I've been experimenting with Canva, but your tool just takes couple of minutes and is extremely cool.
One Feature request : Will you consider feature to use own background image ? (It is cool even if you don't. Tool is already helpful)
Thank you. I am glad you found it useful. And yes, That feature would be great. I am trying to improve it more. Now you can choose appealing random color themes too.
Java Developer | Machine Learning| Tech Blogger
Wow!! I was about to complete my first blog and publish. I have worked for 1.5hrs on creating a cover image. Boom!! then I found this and now I have a cover image in less than 1 minute. This is amazing.π
Wow! Thank you so much. I am glad you find it useful. Looking forward to reading your blog. Good luck!
An enthusiastic programmer
This is an amazing tool bro and solved my problem regarding cover image creation. Many times I didn't share an article due to not having much time to spent on canvas for creating a cover image. But this tool going to help us and I loved the minimal design that you used for the background.
Thank you so much, Ganesh. I am so happy to know that it will help you for sure. Keep writing and sharing your blogs. cheers π
Freelancer in digital marketing and web dev.
Am back again, I have forked (cloned it) from your github, and I intend to edit it and launch it and on my sub domain, I wish to place adsense ads so that I can earn some revenue. I just want to know if this is okay with you or maybe there are things i need to know or do. Your quick reply wil be appreciated.
Why tf I'm checking this amazing article very late.
Desarrollador de Software
Me hiciste mas ligero el trabajo, Β‘Excelente soluciΓ³n!
Very cool. Would be also great to change the style of the border - e.g. make all corners round and not only the bottom ones.
Frontend Web Developerπ
This is an amazing tool. You solved a real problem right here. Thank you.
Software Developer || Data Analyst|| Technical Writer
Very helpful Rutik!! I'm starring it right away
Software Developer. AWS Certified
Nice concept!! Good work.
How did you embed GitHub link like this?
Thank you Rajan Panchal. You can add GitHub repo card using this awesome tool github-readme-stats
I just tested this!!! Awesome work Rutik
Rutik Wankhade yeah! Here's what I did with it. I'm gonna be using it more often!! Thanks again Rutik
A nerd in books, tea, games and software.
What an awesome project! Thanks for sharing the process Rutik!
Great post Rutik! I'm going to give this a try for sure..
Freelance Web Developer
Awesome project! Going to try it. π
Programming. Productivity. Positivity
This is so cool and inspiring! I love the fact that you created this project out of a need that you had and have made it open source to share with the community. I will definitely be checking this out and great article! π
Comments (45)