Building a better blog design

You will find more blogs on the Internet than traditional websites today. Blogs are all about pulling attention toward content and providing hubs for all kinds of information. As you browse through the seemingly endless amount of blogs you will find ones you love and others you hate. To promote better designed blogs here are a few things to keep in mind.

Start with the traditional layout structure

When blogs were created they adapted a layout structure different from the traditional one at the time. This new layout bought content to the main focus of all web pages and ensured readers would not be detracted by other elements on the page.

Don’t attempt to reinvent the wheel. Your readers will be familiar with the traditional blog structure. If you’re looking to make your blog unique don’t change the structure but change the imagery within that structure.

Content is always the focus

It doesn’t matter if you create the most appealing website in the world. If you don’t write unique, information-filled content within your niche, readers won’t be coming back. Your design should reflect that ideal by removing any unnecessary elements and bringing the attention toward your content area by effectively using headings and other hooks.

Good readability

Your blog must have a high quality of readability.

Start by using the basic color scheme rules, dark on light or light on dark. Secondly, make sure that you choose a reasonable size font with good line-spacing. Always make use of headings, bold, and other elements to break blocks of content up.

Keep advertisements simple and minimal

Many blogs are powered by the income generated through advertisements.

However, even with that being the case it’s important to place advertisements effectively by not allowing them to take over your content. Try marketing less ad spaces for higher prices, which keeps the focus on content without having to sale out your entire blog.

Lay content high on page

Recent studies have shown today’s Internet users spend 80% of the time above the fold and while they are scrolling, they tend focus attention only on 20% below the fold.

When designing your blog this information is very useful for making your design more effective in having readers actually read content. Keep elements above the content area minimal. This will place your content closer to the top of the web page and more within the fold; making users more likely to read the post.

Keep load times low

We have become inpatient with endless amounts information being readily available on the Internet. You must have your web pages load quickly to avoid readers leaving. Blogs can easily be weighed down by plugins and heavy imagery that really end up hurting your load times and bandwidth.

By keeping your blog clean of unnecessary elements you will improve user experience.

Layout elements depending on importance

Effectively draw attention to important elements on your blog by placing them within the fold, such as popular post, and subscription information. You want to keep your web pages short and on point. Stay away from adding unnecessary widgets and other items in the sidebar. Display only what’s important.

Consistent formatting for post

Try to keep everything uniformed throughout your blog and most importantly within your post. You must spend time on designing your headings and the structure for how you will display content. Focus on typography, imagery, headings, lists, and other elements that will be included inside post. Keep everything very consistent.

Remember that your readers will tend to scan content rather than reading it word-by-word. To keep readers focused try breaking up content by using headings, lists, bolding on important statements (don’t overuse) and most importantly be brief.