9 Essential Principles of Blog Design
In recent years, blogs have become a popular way for people to share their interests and lives with others; whether they feel like sharing what they had for lunch or reviewing a movie they just watched, there is sure to be an audience who reads it. But a blog is more than just words. In order to truly be successful, the blog should also practice good design.
Consistency
Consistency is something that cannot be dismissed. If the blogger has chosen to go with a certain font for the text, then they should not change it from entry to entry. Not only does this appear unattractive, but should the blog be for a company, it can show lack of professionalism.
Good Navigation
It should be easy for any visitor to navigate their way through the blog. Although dipping into one’s creativity and imagination is never a bad thing, if nobody can figure out where the links are that spells trouble. Everything should be clear and obvious about their location.
Space
There is little reason to be afraid of white space; this refers to the extra space that is not being used in some way by the blog. It does not need to be filled up with content. In fact, too much content can overwhelm a person, no matter who they are. With pictures and text all over the place, the eye will not know where to go. Keeping everything in one area, while leaving the extra space alone, conveys style, thoughtfulness and professionalism.
Functionality
A blog should be more than something that is pretty to look at. No matter what layout one may go with, it is important to think about why somebody would go there; and with that in mind, it should be easy for them to find what they want. Keeping in mind the previous principle of keeping the blog navigation friendly, it is also essential to understand the habits of the visitors. Where would they want to go first? What might they be looking for? Adding a search engine, if possible, is one solution for the idea.
Avoid Noise
Music should never begin to play as soon as people click on the link to the blog. Not only does it prove to be distracting, but some people visit these sites in public places, and may not appreciate the sudden noise. If music is an absolute must, the blogger should make it so that the blog guest can activate it themselves.
Accessibility
Nobody should be forced to read a message or watch a video before they can truly access the front page of the blog. Unless for an emergency that one does not want people to miss, this is seen as obnoxious and a waste of time for many. If this is done, people will quickly grow impatient and choose to spend their time online somewhere else.
Avoid Distracting Images
Animated images are not something that should be included in the layout of the blog; whether wishing to use one or a dozen, whether they are big or small, these can prove to be distracting and thus are not encouraged.
Interaction
Anyone who comes by should be allowed to comment on blog entries. This may seem like something that should be standard, but some blog owners opt to keep people from sharing their opinions. If one wants to maintain attractive blog design and help others feel included, comment enabling is something to consider.
Reliable Hosting
Finally, a web hosting site that will provide reliable hosting for the blog should be chosen. There are many cheap web hosting sites out there to fit any budget, and there will be little need to worry that the blog will experience a lot of down time.
Author’s Bio:
Rebecca Wright has a knack for details on website hosting and anything about it. She works full time as a Senior Web Copywriter for one of the country’s leading provider of web hosting reviews.
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About The Blog Author
Alex Sysoef is an IT Consultant, Internet Marketer and ProBlogger who shares his passion and knowledge of WordPress, SEO, Social Media and traffic strategies on his blog WordPress Howto Spotter. Connect on Twitter or Facebook
Hi Rebecca,
You’re right on the money with the essentials of blog design. Reliable hosting may be an issue for some people, especially newbies, as they may not know that a company is not reliable until they have problems, which is too late.
We’ve had issues with one major company, who we found out a lot of other people were having issues with too, and continue to do so. But that’s life…
David
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David Walsh recently posted..Has Your Client Got An Irresistible Product Launch Offer
Those are great guidelines that can truly help bloggers. I also want to say about the other websites that has lots of Ads all over their website. IMHO, that doesn’t look good because the site is like a junkyard to look with. So, we may limit the Ads the we put to our site so that it look more professional.
Regina recently posted..LCD TV- Great Addition for Home
The reliable hosting issue can be a huge one…I just dropped a blog out of my RSS reader b/c of all the load errors and 404s.
Jason recently posted..Four Tips to Keep Your Web Design Clients Happy and Coming Back for More
Last year, I tried to create a blogsite out of free hosting. Just to show my work for las vegas web design. I am trying to get a job there and then as I present the blogsite… my god! nothing showed up. It was really embarassing. But I’m thankful that they gave me a second chance.
I agree with your points,keep it simple,easy to navigate and easy on eyes!
Peter Dunin recently posted..Featured Post Of the Week
Very true, simple is key.
Remember with blog design, KISS.
Keep it super simple (or keep it simple stupid!)
Christopher Roberts recently posted..Happy Eid!
As someone who regularly reads blogs, I would have to agree that consistency, good navigation and especially reliable hosting are key.
In terms of images, I am not sure that I can 100% agree. I believe that images can add to an article, and I put them in my posts to liven them up a bit, but I would agree in that distracting images, with not much relevance should be avoided.
Christopher Roberts recently posted..What is God
Not adding a lot of Social Website badges, icons is another great way to keep your visitors. Too much of anything can become annoying.
Icechen1 recently posted..List of best Rainmeter Weather widgets
Yes I totally agree. Simplicity is the key for effective Blog designs.
We don’t really have to be that detailed on its designs what we need to consider is the content.
I like reading blog post with an image inserted on it. I don’t know, I just find it interesting though. Also, you can relate to the writer’s mind on how he/she relates things. Some writers use images to let their readers think more deeper about the topic.
Cole Stan recently posted..Anniversary Gifts For Men – Rock His World With These Romantic Gifts
A great list. I couldn’t agree more about avoiding noise. I hate going to websites which are so cluttered and clearly catering to the “how to make money online” crowd, with their immense number of ads, affiliate links and such.
Dave recently posted..Facebook & Twitter Buttons Without Plugins
Each market has its own minuses
Consider going to news site/blog – their clutter is much worse
The most important principle for me is the interaction to readers. Truly, there are some site owners that don’t permit commenters to leave their thoughts. In this way, they aren’t building a good relationship to their leaders. Maybe, they are too busy on their other sites that’s why they don’t have enough time to monitor their site.
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