If you’ve got a Web site for your business, or even a personal Web site, it’s easy to think that a blog will be no problem to build – you’ll just copy your Web site. But that’s not the best way to go. With pro bloggers out there, you’ll need to design your blog to stand out in the millions of blogs that make up the blogosphere. Here are some hints that will help your blog get and keep readers:
Do’s
1. Keep it simple. Doesn’t this seem to be repeated in every design article you read? That’s because it’s the first rule of design and it works. The best blogs have two or three column layout, with all the ads and other info, like blog rolls, on one side of the page. No ads or extraneous stuff in the middle of the posts. Keep everything streamlined and your blog will be pleasing to the eye.
2. Position posts high on the page. If people have to scroll down to see your first post, you’re toast. Most people will lose interest if they don’t see a headline and the start of a post right when the page loads.
3. Tweak your template. If you’ve got a WordPress or Blogger or one of many other blogging template sites, you need to change up your colors, your top image, something! Make it different so that it’s memorable. So many blogs look the same that it can be hard to remember whose blog said what.
Don’ts
1. Don’t let your page load slowly. Stay away from widgets or videos that download slowly. People have short attention spans, especially on the Web, and they won’t wait for your page to load before moving on. Keep your blog free from unnecessary items that just look cool – any downloaded items should have some kind of function that every visitor needs.
2. Don’t make navigation hard. Blogs should be scannable. People will scan the headlines, scan the blog roll and scan your posts for the info they’re interested in. If a reader is looking for archives or to read your About page, they’ll give up pretty quickly if they can’t find it easily. Put navigation links where people expect them – across the top or down one of the sides of the page. Remember, simplicity is the first rule of good blog design. You can always jazz up your background or the links themselves.
3. Don’t make it hard to see and post comments. That’s the whole reason for a blog – to encourage communication and conversation. If you bury the comments feature, no one will bother to comment and you won’t meet your blog’s purpose. Whether yours is a business or personal blog, comments are the lifeblood of a blog so design your comments not as an afterthought, but as one of the major design focuses.
Recent Comments