This is a guest contribution by Tara Nair. Read more about her in the author bio below the post.
Hello, readers! I am glad to be here to make you aware of some of the facts that we usually neglect while starting on with a blog. I know you become so enthusiastic in the beginning, that what all matters to you is a head-start on the content and run. But hold… take a pause… you sure don’t want to be the only one, present in your blog right? You also want lots & lots of readers to go through your blog and subscribe to it.
Now to make that happen, you also need to give your blog… good-looks, value and your personality. Honestly, as soon as someone hits your page the first impression is the upper fold of your blog i.e. the face of the blog is the one that doesn’t include scrolling down. So let’s get into the depth of the designing part of your blog… what all you need is…
Great header
There are few elements that will attract the readers and make them more curious about the blog. They are the header tabs and the about column (author in brief). Out of which header is the one that will be sending a loud voice out, about the look and feel of the blog. So make sure that the header sends a clear message to the reader about what does it contains by adding the name and also a tagline that defines the niche of the blog.
The Background
I have seen few of the blogs having starry skies, or a lot of beautiful patterns behind the content. Honestly, though that looks good, but at the same time, it may not give the same feeling to all readers. The background is suggested to be either plain black or plain white… for me it is better to have plain white because it then gives a chance to write with black ink that looks far better than the letters in white. Why plain colours, because it will help the images from content to pop-out and majorly because it makes the content rule the page (prime motto) not the background prints.
Your Face
There are a lot of blogs out there; that doesn’t have the face of the blogger in their widget section. Not even in the about page. That is a big drawback since people won’t be able to connect with the blogger. Also, his/her thoughts or knowledge that is shared in the blog will not win the trust and will signal the brain with a flag of fake. If that blog is your identity, then sure you must have your face pictured on it too. Am sure some of those blogs are getting a lot of hits indeed, but then your personality will remain hidden till you show your face.
Width of Picture v/s Width of Content
Though it is not at all necessary that your blog post must contain a lot of pictures, at least one good-quality photo at the beginning of the story will be of great help to the readers. Why? Because an image or a video has the power to drag the complete attention of the reader and make them glued to your content. Also, I have been through so many blogs that have the pictures that don’t match the width of the content. It looks pretty unorganized and clumsy. If you are a serious blogger and want to earn from your blog n all, then better it would be to take the shot appropriately or do the graphic picture according to the width of the content.
The Power of Font
Yes, this means exactly the same as it sounds. The fonts have the power to make the show go bright n shine, or it will be a complete flop. I went across few of the blogs that have coloured fonts, that means… my friend… I will be out of there within seconds, and the same feeling is what the crowd gets.
If you want a particular word or sentence to stand out in the content, then go for bold, not even italics. Also, better to use not more than three different fonts. One for the topic, other for the content and the third shall be for a disclaimer or a tip or anything that comes at the bottom of the content with star marks.
Even though these are pretty strong points that a lot of internationally known bloggers stick with, but as they say, there are no rules to creativity and rules are made to be broken. So well, if you have something that is far better to come up with, other than the ones that have been shared here, then please do try them out and ask your readers about their views on it. Trial n Error must go on. I hope this post helps you in a lot many terms, still… if there’s anything in your mind with regards to this, then please do reach out to me in the comments. By the way, what are your thoughts on the strength of having a good-looking blog? Please do let me know. Thanks for having me here. Enjoy!!
Author Bio : Tara Nair is a decor blogger at crimsonapril.com. She is also a Calligrapher and a creative energy magnet. She is very much into learning new artsy skills, which she then further implements into interiors to add personality to a home.
Image source: Pixabay
©2015Digitaldimensions4u.com The content is copyrighted to Reji Stephenson and may not be reproduced on other websites.
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View Comments
Hi Reji and Tara
What a joy to meet yet another Pravasi (Keralite) in the ocean of blogging! :-)
Good to meet Tara Nair here, thanks for introducing her to your readers.
She brought out some vital points/tips from the world of blogging!
Though these tips seem simple and basic in blogging, but many do not care
to follow it properly and ultimately their pages looks like clumsy and cluttered.
As you said about “Your Face’ is indeed an important thing to make note and follow.
If you are having a blog page you need to show your original identity! There is not doubt about it. I gives lot of advantages to the visitors and readers. Of course it gives a clear identity of the person behind and am sure it will pull the visitors to us, instead if you are posting a flower, tree or any quote of any famous personality it will not give or show your real identity. If you are having a WordPress page, it is no doubt this is a must. Because the volume of comments we receive in our inbox many are spam without showing any head or face of the writer, suppose if you write an amazing comment without your avatar picture it will soon find a place in the spam folder. So one must have a permanent avatar. Some people often change this, that also will lead to a mistaken identity.
Coming to the point of fonts and colors, it is also an important point to note of. A page with black background with white fonts, as the writer said soon the visitor will jump to the other page. It surely spoil the reader’s eyes. And of course the size of the fonts too are an important thing here.
Tara, Thanks for sharing or reminding us these important basic things.
Keep sharing.
May you both have a great week ahead
Best Regards
~Philip
Hello Mr. Verghese! I feel equally grateful to have my article here at Reji's blog. Your comments are elaborative and amazing. Sharing such a deep insight is hardly seen, because it ensures, that you have really well read the article.
I went through your blog and it is filled of great knowledge and wisdom, I really liked it a lot.
I am super happy to know, that such article from my side is helping/reminding bloggers about something useful for their respective blogs. This is such a great feeling.
Thank you very much indeed :)
Tara Nair
Hi Brother Phil,
Glad to see you here and thank you very much for your valuable comment. For a moment I thought some one else posted a guest post here as your comments are always very lengthy.
Good to see that you agree with some of the points mentioned by Tara, especially about the Avatar image. I came across so many occasions where I am unable to approve a comment as I am unsure about the proper identity behind that.
Also, happy to note that this post lead me to know about one more blogger, Bimal Nair. I did see his blog today and will get back to it time and again as photography is an essential part of blogging whatever niche we do the blogging. Hoping to have more interactions with Bimal Nair in future.
Keep sharing your valuable knowledge.
Have a great blogging journey.
Reji Stephenson
Hello Tara ..great tips ..will think about patterns ... Please share any seo tips ?
Regards Cyril
Hi Cyril,
Thank you very much for visiting this website again and again. I appreciate that.
Regards and have a great time.
Reji Stephenson
Hi Cyril!
I am into decor and fun part of blogging, though I have gone through the coding for designing the website properly before, but I hardly know anything related to SEO. I believe Reji is the right person to approach for this concern. All I know regarding SEO, is to post the articles frequently and select a catching post-title for the article, that is generally typed in Google search (by people) to find answers.
Thank you so much for your comment here :)
Tara Nair
Hi Reji and Tara,
Great ideas for a new blog design. There are so many ideas for the looks of blog. I agree with your overall suggestions but I do think there are some blog that can get away with having some color and a little bit more creativeness depending on the niche. But again you can't please everyone, all of the time.
Thanks so much for sharing your ideas.
I so agree with what you have mentioned Monna. I saw the background of your blog, it is very subtle and that defines that you like to prioritise on showing your personality in your blog visually as well as compared to abide the rules, which is very good. Blogging is an art and when an art takes a shape for money, then only the rules comes in. If you keep it as an art... then you will receive genuine people who connects well with you and your blog. I hope this clarifies my thoughts towards the topic.
Thank you so much for your kind words and support Monna.
Hi Monna,
I am glad to see your presence again. I agree with your point that we can't please every one all the time.
Even though, the five points that Tara pointed out here looks like basic things, there are so many bloggers who forget about those basic things at times. So I would say that this post is equally useful for a newbie blogger as well as few experienced ones.
Hoping to see your comments and more interactions in future too.
Keep sharing your precious thoughts.
Have a great time.
Cheers
Reji Stephenson
Hi Tara,
Great tips for a new blog. A blog which is not good looking, professional will not help you to attract the visitors. This post will help the newbies blogger.
Romjan Dhayan
I am touched by such a comment Romjan :) Thank you so much for sharing your opinion here
Hi Romjan,
I hope you are visiting this site for the very first time. I appreciate your encouragement. Hoping to see you again.
Have a great time.
Reji Stephenson
Good post sir. Helpful too.
What do you think about my blog? Is my blog's design ok? Or it need improvements? Will be waiting for your tips in PM. Thanks in advance.
I love your blog. Will be recommending it to everyone. Thanks!
Happy Blogging!
Naman Kumar
http://www.namanboard.com
Hi Naman! I am glad that you have found my article worth to trust onto. I have gone through your post and it seems perfect :) Though the tagline of your blog doesn't help the reader with info. about the genre of your blog, but then your 'about' (widget) clarifies the part. You have maintained it really well, especially on selecting the colours to draw the eyes towards the essential part of your blog.
Thank you so much for approaching with demanding suggestions. Good luck to you!
Hi Naman,
I had seen your blog once and I think I left a comment on one of those posts in your blog. Like you mentioned, I will get back to you Naman.
Have a great blogging journey.
Regards
Reji Stephenson
Thanks for the amazing advice sir. Happy to see you there on my blog and more happy to be here again. Will be reading your latest posts and sharing them with my circle.
Happy Blogging!
Hi Regi and thank you for having Tara here.
Tara, you are spot on with your suggestions. I do prefer a plain white background with black letters on a blog. It makes it easy to read. But if there must be color, have it subtle and easy on the eye.
Oh and please please please...have your picture and your full name there! One of my pet peeves! How can I syndicate someone after reading a blog post without recognizing them?
Great tips!
-Donna
Hi Donna,
Good so see your much valuable comments here and thank you for your encouraging words about Tara's post.
Regarding the post, I too agree with you that a white background with black letters is the best combination. Also, it allows the images to be highlighted in a white background.
Hoping to see your comments again.
Have a great time.
Reji Stephenson
Hi Donna! Thank you so much for such a genuine comment. I have gone through your blog and they look really good & professional. I am on the same page regarding displaying the photo and a full name, that indeed is so necessary. Your kind comment relieves me with the fact that, what I have posted here can be complied by many bloggers. I am so happy to guide. Thanks a lot again :)
Hi Reji, I agree with all the points made here. Thank you to Tara. Although there are so many wonderful themes around a modern trend is not to have a full size header, only a small logo. Unless the theme has extra widget areas it's not so easy to create a brand identity with your image, a tagline and details of what your site's about.
Hi Sue,
Thank you very much for your visit and the valuable comment. I agree with you that many of the recent blogs and websites tend to have a small logo.
Looking forward to have your valuable opinions in future too.
Have a great time.
Reji Stephenson
I strongly agree with you on that Sue. I have seen few of the blogs where there are no widgets, but they have strategically maintained every level of information via tabs. I am glad to have you on the same page :) Thank you.
Hi Reji, Hi Tara
Thanks for sharing so many ideas for a new design. These tips will surely help a new blogger like me. what I feel is that to attract more visitors the blog should be a clean and professional one. I personally believe in simplicity.
Have a nice day!
Hi Sonal,
Happy to see you here for the very first time and thank you for your comment. I had seen your blog a few times but unable to make some comments. I will definitely keep coming back to it again and again as I find your blog contains lot of useful information that is helpful for anyone.
Have a great blogging journey.
Reji Stephenson
I too abide with the simplicity factor. The best thing you can do to project your personality onto your blog is by keeping it simple and 'you'. This sounds so good. Happy to have you here Sonal :)