In this post we are going to quickly talk about how to make your blog look better. I want to warn you though…this can be a pretty slippery slope! I have spent HOURS trying to give my network of blogs a prettier face. And one thing your site analytics will usually tell you is, your readers don’t care. They want great content that helps them achieve their goals, be they make more money, lose weight, become healthier, psychic or whatever it is that you are writing about… That said – here are my two top tips for keeping your blog looking great for the presentational “snobs” that will stop by and check out your stuff!
Invest in a premium template
A premium template is simply a blog design that has a price tag. (There are lots of FREE templates that are of premium quality if you look..:-) But these templates are geared more to the professional blogger, and have a much more CMS oriented look with symmetrical advert spots, a more polished sheen, and simply look better than your typical Wordpress theme. These sorts of sites have become increasingly popular over the past 8 or 9 months, with LOTS of really appealing magazine, news and smooth looking stuff readily available, even to the coding newbie. I personally use premium templates on ALL my sites, and they look FAR better than the hack designs I previously created myself.
Collect Killer Plugins
There are lots of FREE plugins that will simply give your blog a more finished feel if you can’t spring for the 100 bucks for a premium style template. Gravatars for authors and commentators, recently posted plugins with thumbnails, image resizers, popular posts, you name it, you can install it if you are running Wordpress. In my not so humble opinion, a decent looking blog with great flow between your related content will outperform a pretty blog that is dull and drab on the user experience side.
Again, being a good looking guy myself, having an attractive blog is important to me..;-) But – don’t over think it, or spend WAY too much time on this side of the street. as someone who obsesses over analytics can tell you, the way your site “looks” will be far more important to you, than it will be to them. Good content remains, evergreen – king of the hill!
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My name is Franklin Bishop and I'm an expert on Blogging, Social Media, and Internet Marketing. I started this blog to help people looking for information on those subjects.
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I like that last line because I believe it is true as well – we spend far more time obsessing over the look of our blog than any reader will ever do. This has been especially true since I designed my own Wordpress theme for my blog from scratch. Heck, I am still modifying it and obsessing over it. Anyway…I think that for the average blogger a basic free theme with a customized header and a few good plugins is sufficient. Then, if it appears that the blog might really take off, a premium or professional looking theme might just be what it needs to take it to the next level.
I too think that we obsess over the look of our blog more than any reader will ever do. I think James hit it right on the nail. I think using a free Web design is OK as long as you manipulate the code. Just try to make it your own kind of design so it won’t look like anyone else’s.
I would agree that you need to have a nice looking, clean, and easy to navigate template or design. Though, I it seems like to get something like this these days cost a pretty penny. But, I would still agree and really like hearing that it’s still content that is king around the blog world!
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