 |
| source |
How important is blog design? This wasn’t something that really crossed my mind when I first started blogging. I wanted my blog to look cute and that was all I really cared about. I worried more about whether or not I liked my blog rather than whether or not readers liked my blog. Today I realize my mistake there and I also realize how important blog design really is.
Blog design can gain you readers or lose you readers. It really can. The most important thing to think of is whether your blog is easy to read. A black background with a colored font is the worst thing you can possibly do. Personally, I won’t even attempt to read blogs with designs like that. It strains your eyes and after a while it does cause your eyes to hurt. It is not a nice thing to try and get your readers to read that. Use a white background with a dark font such as black or navy blue. It does not bother your eyes and it actually looks better, in my opinion. However that is not to say that you can’t have a black design, just make sure the text area is white or some other light color.
A custom blog design is something I think any serious blogger should have. You don’t have to pay a ton of money to get one made (mine cost $40) but I know the money factor does turn off some people. If you think you are going to have your blog for a good amount of time, the money you put into it really is nothing. A custom design helps readers and publishers identify your blog. If you ever plan on going to a conference, get business cards made that match your blog. People may not remember the name of your blog but when they see the design they might recognize it. Also, you don’t want to stumble upon another blog that has the same design as yours. It’s like going to the prom and seeing someone in the same dress. It sucks. (PS: When I changed my blog design I started getting a ton more traffic. My blog just looks more professional now.)
Sidebars play a big part in your blog. Whether you have one large sidebar, two on one side, or one on each side, you need to be careful what you put in your sidebars. First, if your sidebars are super cluttered it can slow down the load time of your blog. Second, it looks bad if you have a ton of widgets and random things in your sidebar. Pick things that really matter to your blog and only leave those things in your sidebars. A few things that are good to have in your sidebars, in my opinion, are a currently reading section, a current giveaway section, a list of blogs you love, follower/subscription widget, search bar, and a list of tags that you have on your blog. These things help your readers and they usually don’t slow down the load time of your blog.
I also want to mention ads on blogs since this is something that is becoming more popular and something I actually just started to do as well. Ads take up quite a bit of sidebar space and they can slow things down. If you want to start hosting ads on your site I would recommend taking some other things off your sidebars. If you don’t have to have them on your sidebar get rid of buttons, widgets, etc. It will open up space for your new ads and it really won’t change anything about your blog. Also, don’t accept ads that have nothing to do with your blog. If people are going to see ads on your blog make sure it is for something they might actually be interested in.
As you can see I have some strong opinions on blog design. I think it’s something very important for book bloggers both from the perspective of a blog reader and for a publisher. I know I’ve probably missed a few things but I hope this helps out both new and old bloggers.
How do you guys feel about blog design?
I really want a great blog design but I’m hosted by WordPress.com and designs for those are often really expensive or not very good. If I could find a great designer, I would! For now, I’m just looking! Great post with thoughtful points!
-Grace
I definitely agree with you, Katie, especially as I am a blog designer myself. 🙂
About the money issue: some sites, such as my own, offer designs in exchange for a certain number of books or ARCs. So if you’ve got any extra books sitting around, they definitely do come in handy. 🙂
Overall, I think what you said about making your blog unique and professional is definitely right and important. I know my own blog traffic increased since I re-designed my blog and I do definitely urge others to try their hand at a professional or personally-fitted design.
Ack, I mistyped. My blog design site is actually here, LOL. 😛
Blog design is IMPORTANT. I agree with you. It’s like a commercial. It’s gotta let people in and be (in its own way) colorful. It doesn’t need to have EVERYTHING or even A LOT. Money problems, but important. -Sudha
Ever since I have had my blog designed I have seen an increase in followers so I agree with you in all the points that you brought across
I definitely agree with you! When I had my blog redesigned by someone who knew what they were doing I got over 200 followers that next week! It was amazing how big a difference it made!
Great tips Katie 🙂
I agree with you. Good Blog designs can be very helpful and important.
I agree with you, blog design is important. Especially being easy to read. Great post!
Yes, blog designs are important. I just want to learn how to design them on my own and not pay because I have a specific sort of them in my mind..
Fantastic post Katie, i can tell a lot of thought has gone into it, I think these are fantastic tips for pepple getting into blogging- i am still fairly new and some of these tips have given me something to consider 🙂 I knew a lot of designs/layouts to try and avoid from what i disliked when reading blogs prior to making my own xx
Completely agree with all of your points, Katie! A custom design makes a blog look so much more professional. And I HATE dark backgrounds with light fonts – I just don’t get why you would want to torture your readers like that!! Great post 🙂
I completely agree about a good blog design really helping your blog. Just like I’m more inclined to read a book with a cover I love, I’m more inclined to read a blog if I like the way it looks. Cluttered sidebars and white text on black backgrounds are both turn-offs for me as well. I don’t think you absolutely HAVE to have a professional design, though. They can help, but there are a lot of sites that offer free headers and backgrounds that you can use to create a nice site on your own.
I would love a custom design!! I can’t believe your’s was only $40. I must need to do more searching because the cheapest I found for a full custom design was $150.
I completely agree with you – blog designs are a huge part of which blogs I read. I’m always so impressed with the people that design their own and they look good! I was lucky enough to have a good friend who was willing to trade a blog design for borrowing books whenever she wanted them. 🙂 I agree so so so much on your comment about widgets – sometimes blogs have all these random things on the sidebars, or the ones when there are like two columns to one sidebar? I go kind of insane. Lovely post, Katie! xx-Willa
When I started my blog 4 months ago, I was lost when it came to blog design. I used, and still do for now, just a basic design from blogger. I am still learning how to do things on the blog, but I tend to be slower on figuring things out. Really, it is amazing I have figured out any html at all. lol But that’s why mine is so simple. After the first couple months I realized how much I wanted to stand out and have my design say more about me. I do have someone working on a design now and I cannot be happier about it. I hope it will be more attractive to my readers when it ia all done.
I totally agree about the sidebars. There have been many blogs I have clicked to open but then close down before I can read because it is just too slow to open. That’s my biggest pet-peeve, as a reader.
Thank you for this discussion and your thoughts. 🙂
I agree that a blog design is important, but I’m still not planning on spending money on my design. I never saw it before on the web and I’ve adjusted it until I liked it, so it’s still pretty unique 🙂 One thing I really hate is bad contrast, like you said: a dark background and neon letters are a total turn off for me. I also hate busy sidebars. They always distract me from the real content.
Great discussion, Katie! I would love to know someone who could help me with my blog … though, I’m kind of happy with the design, even if it’s a freebie layout. I think one thing bloggers should have is a custom header — even if the background isn’t custom. I try to do all of my stuff on my blog — the headers, buttons, etc. It’s fun for me and it makes my blog stand out!
I agree with various things you pointed out. When I go to a blog two things that drive me crazy are Dark Backgrounds with lime green or any bright colored font and OVERLOADED sidebars… especially if it’s music lol. I believe that if you are going to invest a lot of time into your blog that you should invest in a custom design to set yourself apart from everyone else. I didn’t pay a lot of money to have my blog designed and I am very satisfied with it. This is such a great discussion, I wish I would have had something like this to read when I first started blogging because I didn’t know the FIRST thing about blog design lol!
Also, my blog reflects me so I tried to incorporate as much of my personality into my design as possible. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts 🙂
Great post 🙂 I agree I just got a much more professional design for my blog and I really love it 🙂 I think that the most important thing when making a blog design is something that you love but at the same time screams “You” too. You don’t want your blog not to reflect yourself, right? I’m not the best at blog design but there are so many great options out there for you to choose from 🙂
I agree! I was really unhappy with my blog design and it was causing me not to even want to post. I felt like I didn’t like it so why would my readers. I JUST got a new one and it screams me all the way around. I am just so freaking excited about it and it makes me want to post on it more. I look at it like a million times a day now lol. But it’s definitely made a change in followers in the short times it’s been up. I use a dark background because I actually prefer them, but it’s not black it’s more of a navy blue. It works for me, and so far it works for my readers. Design is definitely important if you plan on sticking around! Well worth what you put into it, especially if you find someone who can put your vision into a visual masterpiece! Great post. 🙂
The blog design is always important to me when I check out new blogs – I love distinctive designs, and nothing too dark or bright. I think it’s great that you highlighted this aspect of blogging this week!
As somebody who doesn’t use a Reader – I manually go to each blog I like; I have them bookmarked – a layout is a BIG deal for me, because I see it every day. If it’s messy and just unpleasant to look at I can’t read the blog.
Great tips! I totally agree with you!
Another thing that bothers me about designs is huge headers. I have a netbook and I can’t stand when a header takes up my entire screen just about.
I think it’s really important too. Some people I know their blog design, but not their name like you said. I wanted to send someone a tweet the other day, but couldn’t remember their name so I searched for their icon with their blog button picture lol. I think it’s really important to put the following buttons somewhere obvious. I hate when I want to follow a blog and have to go searching for the twitter button. And I totally agree with the font thing. If its a dark background with light font or script font I close out of it immediately. Hurts my eyes too much. Great post as always!
Totally agree with you on making sure the sidebars aren’t cluttered. Not only for the loading time, which sucks when it’s too long, but also because if a reader wants to subscriber or follow, it’s hard to find.