A nice* blog design makes people want to stay and read.
Nice (in reference to blog design) adj. “A blog that doesn’t make your eyes bleed when you click over.”
I think that everyone has opinions on what a nice blog design is, some of us think a background design looks really cool, where others think that lots of white space is the cat’s meow. Some people like two sidebars, others prefer three or even four. Since this blog series is about what has worked for me, that’s what I’ll focus on, but also include some links to helpful articles and blog posts I’ve read on the subject.
Today we’re going to cover overall blog design…and yet again I’m giving you the much coveted list.
1. A unique design makes you look more credible than a default template (like those provided by Typepad, Blogger, and WordPress.)
I know that when I switched from one of Blogger’s stock templates to a unique three-column design with custom header, I had an increase in readership. Certainly there are exceptions to this, as two of my favorite blogs, Swistle and Oh, The Joys, simply use the Minima template provided by Blogger and they are doing justfinethankyouverymuch without a fancy pants design.
There are thousands of free templates that you can find simply by googling “free template for blogger/wordpress.” Also, simply adding a unique header, easily made with the assistance of a program like Photoshop Elements can spiff up a basic template. If you happen to use Blogger for your blogging platform, Tips for New Bloggers is a great site that walks you step by step through tweaking and customizing the basic templates.
If you prefer a truly unique design, there are many reasonably priced web designers who can help you. Here are just a few…
Dawn and Coming to a Nursery Near You
Dress My Blog
Temptation Designs (on a brief hiatus due to the birth of her second baby boy!)
Judith Shakes Designs
NW Designs
Oh My Stinkin Heck
Izzy Blog Design and Graphics
Blogs Gone Wild
Splat Creative Designs
Swank Web Style
Jenny at Absolutely Bananas (headers and buttons)
Me! I can help make headers…but that’s about it.
2. Whatever template you choose MUST be fast loading
When people have 1000+ unread in their Google Readers or those who’ve stumbled upon your blog have to wait for your page to load, they simply aren’t going to wait and will click away. Therefore, you are LOSING READERS. Waaa!
I had to take my twitter badge off of my sidebar because it was causing slow loading time. That makes me want to cry, but I did it FOR YOU because I heart you even more than I heart twitter. Other things that slow loading time are cluttered sidebars, coding errors, and flashy ads or backgrounds.
3. Make sure that whatever template you choose for your blog looks nice* in all web browsers.
You can check this by going to browsershots.org.
4. Your blog should be easy to navigate.
a) Is it obvious where to comment on your blog? Also, don’t make people have to register to comment! Adding that step could possibly make people throw up their hands in frustration! Edited to add: I’m not referring to blogs powered by Blogger, but rather blogs that require you to register to even comment.
b) If your header isn’t “clickable”, then you really need to make a button that people can push to send them to your “home” page. This is easily done in your sidebar…for example on my last template, my header wasn’t clickable, I made a “home” button by writing this code:
<a href=”http://playgroupsarenoplaceforchildren.com>HOME</a>
You can also make your header clickable…somehow…if anyone would like to share with the class how to do this, please do so in the comments section.
c) Is your most recent post the first thing at the top of your blog? If it isn’t, people aren’t going to scroll around looking for it and you are LOSING READERS! WAAA!
5. Did I mention before the design should look nice*?
Oh yes, I did! And this is what I mean…
Think about these things…the colors you choose for your background, headers, links, and fonts. Make sure they are easy to read. Stay far, far away from tiny fonts, they’re too hard to read! Beware of really elaborate or flashing backgrounds, as they can distract from your content. If you have ads on your site, make sure they don’t overwhelm your content.
There is also a debate around the blogosphere about music that automatically plays on blogs. I personally don’t mind the music, but there are people who swear that they immediately leave if music starts playing. It’s just something to consider.
Here are a few links to posts that discuss blog design…
Make Your Blog Design Work For You
17 Resources for Creating a Blog Design
Next week I’ll discuss your blog’s sidebars and use of pages. It will be a RIOT.
I’d love to hear what you all have to add about nice* blog designs. Please, please, please, please…make certain your comments don’t sound like “I hate blogs that…” I certainly don’t mind people putting in your opinions about what makes for a good blog design, just please consider the feelings of others. Also, let me know if you’ve seen any results from StumbleUpon this week…I’m so proud of you who have really jumped right it and stumbled your little hearts out!
Previously in this series…Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
Nap Warden
June 23, 2008 at 10:03 pm
Hey, thanks for the mention in the design arena:) I am honored to be included in your post!
Now I’m off to read your Stumbleupon post. I am a member, but I haven’t really figured out what I’m supposed to do:P
Nap Wardens last blog post..Perfect?
Green & Clean Mom
June 24, 2008 at 3:55 pm
I used Judith Shakes after the NYT mention and when I was with blogger. She was amazing and I loved the design. She was too busy to help me move to wordpress so I went with Sharp Wit Design for more edge and workability. I have to say, I contacted dozens of designers and only heard back from maybe two or three. It was disappointing. Great tips. It helps when your site design is catchy, clean and easy to get around.
Green & Clean Moms last blog post..Infertility and Going Green
flickrlovr
June 24, 2008 at 10:38 pm
May I say again that all of these tips and links are SO helpful Jennifer! Thank you! I’m also getting ready to customize (get a domain, hire a blog designer, etc) and knowing what to aim for is great.
And I’ve been trying to figure out StumbleUpon, but am still a little lost. I have the toolbar installed, and I stumble stuff a lot, but I don’t know quite what I’m doing or what I still need to do. Writing reviews also confuses me a bit. *sigh*
Thanks again, and keep these comin’!
flickrlovrs last blog post..I Just Don’t NEED Male Enhancement Pills, Okay?!?!
Devilish Southern Belle
June 25, 2008 at 3:19 am
Wow…I do love a nice-looking blog. And there are so many DIFFERENT types of design that I find appealing. In fact, when I was with blogger, and understood the lay of the land a bit better than I do at Wordpress, I changed my blog design about once a month. I loved it! I eventually decided that less was more for me, and came up with a custom header I liked, and revamped a basic white three-column design I found that fit my needs. (psst…although I don’t do full design for wordpress yet, I still can for blogger – I think! – and I can help with headers, too. I just don’t advertise because I haven’t had a whole lot of free time here lately.)
I think a blogger definitely should find a theme that conveys what their blog is about. You’ve done that with yours; I’ve tried to do that with mine. And gah, I hope my pinks aren’t too hard to read. I figure if I can see them, probably most anyone can! And I also hope my page loads fairly quickly. It does for me, but other than that? I’m not really sure how to tell.
Thanks so much for the heads-up on browsershots. That is awesome! And yay, I won’t have to open up evil IE just to see what my page looks like there!
Devilish Southern Belles last blog post..I can’t believe it’s come to this.
Judith Shakespeare
June 26, 2008 at 11:04 am
Thanks so much for the reference to JudithShakes Designs.
I took a look at your design’s style sheet, and to make the middle section wider, you need to go to your template editor and find #container in the style.css file. Right now, the width is set to 500px, simply change it to your desired size. Now you don’t want things to get too wide, so you may want to all change the widths in .leftbar section and the .sidebar section. To make it flexible, add percentages instead of widths! Hope that helps. 
Judith Shakespeares last blog post..Let’s Talk About Sex, Baby…
Judith Shakespeare
June 26, 2008 at 11:06 am
I’m sorry, I meant “add percentages instead of pixels”. I so need an editor. LOL.
Judith Shakespeares last blog post..Let’s Talk About Sex, Baby…
McMama
Twitter: mcmama
June 27, 2008 at 12:58 pm
I didn’t read all the comments, but my custom header in blogger is clickable to my homepage. And I don’t remember doing anything to make it that way…
You’re doing awesome with this series. Tip for next week? Include information on your blog-fodder (aka family) somewhere in your sidebar (or your about page). When I’m looking at new blogs, I always want to know who is being blogged about and what the blogger is facing on a day-to-day basis!
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Dory
June 29, 2008 at 5:20 pm
I have really enjoyed your Blogging 101 series! Great info!
Dorys last blog post..I think it would be a little leprechaun using my brain stem as a trampoline.
rachel
July 2, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Jennifer,
How do I add a search box to blogger? Can you help me oh goddess guru of how to.
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