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October 13, 2023Even the most fantastic content can be thwarted by an underwhelming blog design. Apparently, you already know how to start a blog considering your organization turns into a blogging machine, it’s not difficult for the content to become your sole point of focus, thus ignoring crucial elements of blog design that would help boost your organization’s traffic and leads.
Of course, the best way to determine the topic and personality of a blog is through its imagery, color palette, style, and logo placement. This allows you to entice users into headlines, encourage reading and interactions, create lasting impressions, and optimize everything for conversions.
The question is: where should you begin? How should everything be organized in order to boost subscribers and conversion rates while maintaining a visually pleasing appearance? What is the best blog design that looks good, boosts your conversions and credibility, and gives your visitors a sense of feeling right at home?
In order to help you learn how to design a blog, we’ve put together a list of the most crucial elements to designing your blog and how each of these elements will help boost your numbers and optimize your blog.
Make Design Decisions That Are Goal-Driven
The primary intention of blog website design is to get your website to adapt towards your purpose of design is to get your website to convert towards your objectives. Everything else falls into second place. How can this be achieved?
This requires having a visual chain of command that will lead towards a call to action. To put it simply, include a headline or series of headlines with a call to action coming at the end. This combination should then be placed in the most viewed parts of your website (i.e. above the homepage or sidebar, below the posts, etc.).
This is perhaps one of the more powerful ways to turn your blog into a lead generation machine with a great design.
The core of your blog is your homepage. Its three main objectives are:
- Attracting and captivating visitors
- Educating visitors on your brand
- Encouraging readers to visit other pages listed on your website
When considering what should be included on your homepage, make sure your desired content fits within these listed objectives. Your homepage is used by visitors as a starting point for getting to know your content, products, and projects, which is why simple navigation is crucial.
Once you realize that your blog’s homepage isn’t limited just to your most recent posts, you open yourself up to so many possibilities for elements that could be included.
Your choice will depend on your organization and the industry you operate, but here are some blog page examples that could be included on your homepage:
- Categories
- Recent posts
- Information about you
- Featured posts
- Navigation
- Social media links
- Most recent YouTube videos
- Instagram feed
- Twitter feed
- Email list sign up
- Digital products
- Resources
This doesn’t mean that every example listed needs to be included. Your homepage is basically a taster of the various types of content offer, but don’t try to include too much content.
Are you looking to create designs that are balanced and quick? Understanding grid layouts is the key to this. Grid layouts are important because they provide your blog design with structure. An absence of a grid leads to mismatched and unorganized content that lacks continuity.
Grid layouts utilize margins, rows, and columns to create a proportional and harmonious design. It acts as an invisible guideline to help you determine where to place elements such as logos, images, text, and even white space.
There are numerous theories regarding grid setup and countless options, so what matters most is that you go for whatever choice functions best for you and your project.
Create your own: Blank documents can be divided mathematically into odd or even numbers of columns. A helpful tip is to take gutters –the space found between columns – into consideration and include them in your grid system.
Utilizing a Blog Card Layout
We all put out a large amount of content. Depending on whether you update your blog twice a day or once a week, you could end your year with more than 600 blog posts.
Since you have a lot of posts, you’re going to have to come up with a blog post layout that enables users to see how varied your content is without overwhelming them with an abundance of information.
A card-based design is one of the most UX friendly blog layouts out there. Your blog cards should remain simple and should include the following elements (the ones in bold are the most important ones to be included):
- Blog Title
- Featured Image
- Blog Excerpt
- Blog Author (and image if there's space)
- Category
- Post Date
- Read More Button
- Social Share Links
Be Familiar With Your Scroll Rate:
Scroll rate refers to the amount of your page seen by users. Users will scroll for as long as they find the content interesting. If the content becomes more and more irrelevant to them as they scroll, they’ll end up aborting their session.
It’s nobody’s wish for their content to die simply because they have a bad blog layout. Designers focusa loton the above the fold area – it’s where visitors get their first impressions of your website and usually keeps them moving and collects purchases.
While that section is important, you shouldn’t neglect everything beneath it – the below the fold section. That’s the area that will keep users scrolling, thus additional posts get viewed, read and shared all over.
Sliders are a feature that will cycle through your posts. Practically every blog design template has sliders built into it. This is despite the fact that statistics prove that sliders shouldn’t be a part of blog design.
Take the University of Notre Dame’s website, for example. During a six-month period, the website pulled in 3.7 million visits, but only 1 % of them viewed ANY of their slider images.
There’s simply no reason to irritate users with a moving feature that’s not easy to follow. Instead, provide them with a single feature to select since most people click on the first item they see.If you use sliders, you’re just asking for the odds to be stacked against you.
If you’ve been blogging for anywhere from 2 to over 6 years, you might discover that certain blog posts will drastically outperform the majority of your content. These blog posts may be ranking well thanks to certain keywords and bringing in a large amount of traffic, their conversion rate might be above average, or they might be shared on other platforms on a regular basis.
Your most popular blog articles should have their own card and be placed either in a sidebar or at the top of the blog home page. There’s a reason why these articles have generated so much traffic. New visitors should have instant access to your finest work. This section can be titled something like “Best of the Blog” or “Most Popular Articles”, with each post being tagged as such.
Avoid Serif Font for Body Text:
Any qualified designer can vouch for the fact that serif fonts (whose letters have small tails on their tops and bottoms) are the most readable option for print text, because it’s easier for the eye to carry between letters. However, they’re not the best option for website texts, but they’re still really popular. Why is that so?
The thing is that computer screen pixels will break up the serifs, so when fonts like Times New Roman and Georgia are at a small, body-text size, they end up looking fuzzy. On the other hand, with sans serifs such as Tahoma and Arial you’ll get a clean and crisp look.
Highlight Blog Authors:
Plenty of us will have a good amount of traffic, but we still struggle to gain our desired amount of conversions or subscribers.
This is where it comes in really handy to make good use of a lead magnet that is enticing and easy on the eye.
A lead magnet is an enticement offered to prospective users in exchange for their contact details such as their name, phone number, email etc. There are various kinds of lead magnets, but they’re mostly content that can be downloaded, e.g. white paper, checklists, eBooks, video series, or any other kind of strategy guide useful to users.
Once you know what your audience responds to the most, you now need to turn it into something visually convincing that will convert visitors into users.
This technique is used in two different ways. The first way is on the blog listing page; as the CTA found halfway across your page. The second way is a popup that will appear on a daily basis to those who have yet to become subscribers.
Other Design Tips
Featured Images: One ofthe most popular trends at the moment is adding large hero images with a non-stocky feel to each inner blog post and blog card. A compelling image should be part of every blog post. Steer clear of stock photos that have a staged or canned look.
Color Usage: Your blog should consist of a primary color, a call to action color, and a shade of grey. The primary color is the first color that should be seen and the last color that should be remembered by users. The call to action color should be used sparsely as it’s the color that users should look for as they’re making their next decision. The shade of grey helps subtly emphasize and de-emphasize particular elements of your design.
Embrace White Space: Cluttered pages are anything but user-friendly, especially when viewed on mobile devices. If your page contains too many elements, users will be distracted. Create the best experience possible for them by using a good amount of white space.
Blog Design Suitable for Mobile Devices: Blog design should be made suitable for mobile devices because that’s the location of most users. Most Google searches originate from mobile devices. This is why mobile-friendly blog designs are of crucial importance.
Having a blog design that’s easy to use and functions well along with quality content is the secret to having a successful blog. Sure, pretty blogs are loved by everyone, but the most popular blogs place for emphasis on usability and functionality than they do on how pretty their blog is. Focus first on the tips listed in this article, and then go and look for a new header image.
FAQ on blog design
What's the best color scheme for a blog?
Ah, color schemes! They're like the outfit of your blog. You want to look good, right? So, when choosing colors, think about your audience and your niche. Soft, neutral tones might work for a wellness blog, while bold, vibrant colors might be better for a tech or fashion site. But hey, always remember: readability is key. Don't let your readers squint!
How important is mobile responsiveness?
Mobile responsiveness? It's like asking how important air is! With so many folks browsing on their phones these days, you'd be missing out big time if your blog isn't mobile-friendly. Think of it this way: if your blog was a store, would you want half your customers unable to enter? Nope!
Should I use a custom or pre-made theme?
Ah, the age-old debate! Custom themes give you, well, customization. You can tailor it to your heart's content. But pre-made themes? They're like those ready-to-wear dresses – quick, easy, and often pretty stylish. If you're just starting out or on a budget, pre-made might be your jam. But if you've got specific needs or branding in mind, custom could be the way to go.
How many widgets and plugins are too many?
Widgets and plugins are like the spices in your kitchen. A little can enhance the flavor, but too much? Overwhelming! Keep it relevant. If a widget or plugin doesn’t add value or improve user experience, maybe give it a miss. And always, always keep an eye on site speed. No one likes a slow-loading page.
How do I choose the right font?
Fonts, my friend, are the voice of your blog. Imagine reading a serious article in Comic Sans. Weird, right? So, pick a font that matches your blog's tone and vibe. And remember, readability is king. Or queen. Or whatever royalty you prefer!
How often should I update my blog's design?
Think of your blog's design like your living room. Every once in a while, you might want to rearrange the furniture or slap on a fresh coat of paint. Maybe every couple of years? Or when you feel it's getting a tad stale. But hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!
What's the ideal blog layout?
Blog layouts are like floor plans. Some people love open spaces, while others prefer cozy nooks. The key? Know your content and audience. A magazine-style layout might work for news-heavy sites, while a single-column layout could be great for personal blogs. Experiment, tweak, and find what feels right.
How crucial are high-quality images?
High-quality images? They're like the cherry on top of your sundae. They can make your content pop and keep readers engaged. But remember, quality over quantity. And always, always respect copyright. No one likes a copycat.
Should I prioritize user experience or aesthetics?
Ah, the classic tug-of-war! Think of it this way: a beautiful car that doesn't run well is just... well, a pretty hunk of metal. User experience is the engine of your blog. Aesthetics are important, sure, but if your readers can't navigate or find what they're looking for, all that beauty's going to waste.
How do I make my blog stand out?
Making your blog stand out is like crafting your own signature style. Be authentic. Be you. Find your voice, your niche, and don't be afraid to experiment. And always, always keep your readers in mind. After all, they're the reason you're here, right?
