Most blog platforms come with some
basic blog designs. They may call them
templates or themes or something similar,
and usually they are not bad although
some customisation is pretty common. I
often see some common mistakes, and
hopefully you will be able to avoid them.
1. Include an about page
Make it prominent and make it truly
about you, not some resume-like page.If
people find your blog and like what you
have to say, they are going to want to
know something about you.
2. Have contact information
visible
An email or maybe even a phone
number should be included. Your email
can be displayed as a graphic to
prevent spammers from harvesting it
easily. I would suggest using an address
that has your domain at the end to be
more professional. e.g tyrone @
internetbusinesspath.com, rather than
tyrone @ gmail.com.
Visible contact information will make you
seem more real and although people
may occasionally contact you, it will be
far less often than you might think.
3. Include a picture of yourself
Blogs are personal, even business blogs,
and people who visit yours will want to
know what you look like. It's also easier
to built trust if your picture is visible.
Though, you don't absolutely need a
picture, but it's strongly recommended.
Sometimes people might think you are
hiding something if you don't have one.
4. Show a top posts or articles page
Some of your blog posts are going to be
much more popular than others (you
may be surprised which ones they are). I
call these your pillar articlesDon't bury
your pillar articles, your most popular
blog posts. Highlight them somehow. You
might for example have a top posts
section in the titlebar or sidebar.
I have a most top articles section and I
list my most popular posts based on the
ones that are read the most. Other
people do it slightly differently. For
example, Brian Clark at
copyblogger.com has a "Popular
Articles" in his sidebar and under that he
lists his most popular blog posts. Yaro
Starak, on his blog
Entrepreneurs-Journey, calls his most
popular blog posts "Popular Articles"
and lists them at the very top.Somehow
or another highlight them. You might do
something as simple as create a
category called "most popular" and
include popular blog posts in that
category.
5. Don't have a blog banner that
is too big!
The banner is the top portion of your
blog that goes across the top. It might
have a picture of you there, the name
of the blog, perhaps some graphic —
they vary quite a bit.You don't want your
banner to be big. No one should need to
scroll down to see your content. People
decide really quickly when they first
reach a Web Site, and that includes
blogs, whether to read or to leave.
6. Create a visually appealing
blog
Avoid bright colors. Stick to reasonable
fonts like Times New Roman and Arial.
Have someone with a good eye look at
your blog, preferably a graphic
designer. Everytime I start a blog and
I've started dozens for myself, for friends,
and for clients, I always get a graphic
designer to at least look at it after I am
done.
The problem is that it might look OK to
you or me, probably neither having a
particularly good eye nor appropriate
training, but it still might look really ugly to
others. Having a graphic designer take a
quick look at it is good insurance.
7. Keep it simple silly!
Some blogs are just so busy: they have
one, two, sometimes three sidebars just
crammed full of all kinds of stuff. With
some of it you wonder why is it there.
What purpose does this serve? Now in
my opinion calendars are a prime
offender. What good is a calendar
there? Some people like them, but to me
they serve no purpose.
Empty space in a blog is not only
allowable, but it's a good thing. It helps
focus eyes on what is important, which is
your content and hopefully the few
things you choose to put in your sidebar.
Most blogs start with a basic template
which is then customised over time.
These tips will hopefully help you that
with customisation and help you avoid
common mistakes with blog design.
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