Instigator Blog - Latest Comments in Does Your Blog Design Matter?

Re: Does Your Blog Design Matter?

Benjamin Yoskovitz — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 12:17:37 -0000

Ha! That's a great comment, and very true. Much appreciated...

Re: Does Your Blog Design Matter?

Ash Menon — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 10:33:24 -0000

I once read on a blog entry similiar to this, about blog design, the following phrase:

"Remember that blogs are like babies. No one thinks yours is as cute as you do."

Re: Does Your Blog Design Matter?

seoblogcentral02 — Wed, 06 May 2009 13:44:31 -0000

vBulletin Blog makes it simple for community members to create their own space within the community. Getting started is as simple as posting the first message (using the same familiar vBulletin editor). There is no lengthy setup process - blog owners are free to personalise their blog at any time by defining a title and a description that will appear at the top of every blog post.

Thanks
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Re: Does Your Blog Design Matter?

Tahera — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 08:19:27 -0000

I have just started a new blogging site, and spent ages researching for the perfect design...i totally agree with this post, first impressions are everything. but alas the perfect design to an amateur like me can also cost mucho.

Re: Does Your Blog Design Matter?

Dan — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 13:57:25 -0000

The blog design really matter. If is ugly you will lose the most important thing you visitors trust.

Re: Does Your Blog Design Matter?

Lokapriya — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 07:06:17 -0000

I totally agree with you.. But since i dont wana 'purchase' any blog design from the market, i'd rather use some free desings left on the net.. Yea i would surely like to know some good blog desings available on the net which look more professional like this one.. I would love to implement on mine too

Re: Does Your Blog Design Matter?

Jermayn Parker — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 22:35:20 -0000

Totally agree. A good design job is like the free air, sport wheels etc with your new car.

It either is a great bonus or it tips you over the edge to buy the car or in this case read/ visit the blog/ website

Re: Does Your Blog Design Matter?

Alister Cameron // Blogologist — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 08:12:09 -0000

To Scott, one of the above commenters:

I think you've done a great job getting a pro to design your site, but there's one minor issue to be resolved: the image of you on the right is a huge file that weighs in at well over 200Kb! It must be resampled and resized... for the love of your visitors who are not on broadband, etc.

Re: Does Your Blog Design Matter?

Ben Yoskovitz — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 12:29:50 -0000

Brian - your comment was caught in spam - so didn't see it until recently. I agree there is a balance between design and content. Better yet, think of it this way -- the design is there to HIGHLIGHT the content, to put the best face it can on the content. That's the purpose of design.

Rob - You definitely want to focus on content first - but if people can't find content, navigate through it, etc. you do want to improve those things otherwise the content will disappear too easily.

Re: Does Your Blog Design Matter?

Rob O. — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 03:47:13 -0000

Even after plugging away feverishly on our site redesign over the past couple of months, I was beginning to wonder how much design does matter now that so many people are converting to RSS feed reading. So I was encouraged by the reminder that design still matters because a person still has to visit the site first and be interested enough to subscribe to the feed.

It can be a little tough to find the balance between spending time to cultivate your site's design & marketability versus applying your time to creating fresh, interesting posts. Certainly, content is key, but I've also been focusing my efforts on trying to ensure that my content is easily navigable.

Re: Does Your Blog Design Matter?

Ben Yoskovitz — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 15:55:20 -0000

David - I think it's always a good idea to ask the community what they think and let them provide feedback.

In fact when I changed WordPress themes and launched this site I wrote a post of things to do when you change themes - I believe the last point was, "Tell people about it." -- you want RSS readers to come back over and take a look.

Re: Does Your Blog Design Matter?

David Airey — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 15:44:20 -0000

Design that works is a challenge. It's one I love and I'd like to type a personal thanks to Dawud for his kind comment.

I've been tweaking my design somewhat lately, thanks to the suggestions of my readers. Asking my readers how to improve my blog proved an excellent idea.

Re: Does Your Blog Design Matter?

Ben Yoskovitz — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 03:23:33 -0000

Lou - don't mistake a plain design for a bad design. Plain or simple designs are often HARDER to pull off well than complicated designs.

RSS readers/aggregators may diminish the importance of design somewhat, but more often than not a person still has to visit the site first and be interested enough to read and then subscribe. They may very rarely visit the site again, but they had to at least once.

I did ask myself that question - and the answer is a resounding YES - otherwise I would have never written this in the first place.

Design wasn't the only reason my blog has become more successful - it's been a natural progression on a number of fronts - but there's absolutely no doubt in my mind that it's helped significantly.

Re: Does Your Blog Design Matter?

Lou — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 03:02:04 -0000

Not true. Awesome content and a plain design will still make a great blog. Design matters very little. Content reigns.

And more still, as more and more people begin using RSS aggregators, design will matter even less.

Ask yourself this, did the blog become more successful (however you measure that) after you redesigned it?

Re: Does Your Blog Design Matter?

Terry Utella — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 19:05:25 -0000

Ultimately we don't know what works better without testing. You have to know what you want visitors to do first off. Do you want them to sign up to your ezine or click on a sales page? You have to track it. Otherwise we're just guessing at what works.

James Brausch has several tools that can help you automate the testing. His blog is worth checking out. The design is original looking too (not to mention fairly clean). See www.JamesBrausch.com.

Re: Does Your Blog Design Matter?

AndyBeard — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 14:56:14 -0000

I keep on reading posts about blog design

andyberd.eu 2.0 is just around the corner and I do have to stop putting it off.

It won't be a major shift, but I need more space for community content.

Re: Does Your Blog Design Matter?

Brian at babybiotechs.com — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 12:29:43 -0000

Yes, but there's got to be a balance between design and content:
Confessions of a wordpress installationaholic

Although your point that it's never to late to go back and changing things is well taken.

Re: Does Your Blog Design Matter?

Dawud Miracle — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 10:58:03 -0000

Absolutely. I couldn't agree more.

Char's comments are right on...if you have any coding skill at all, or if you're simply willing to tinker, make a backup of the WP theme you choose and then play, test, try. Use plugins. If you use an external editor instead of WP's Theme Editor, you have 'undo' capabilities. Just play and have fun. See what happens. And if you screw something up - no worries, you have your back up.

For a business, it's imperative that your site/blog be a true reflection of who you are and what you do. As Ben says here, first impressions mean a lot. It could mean the difference between making sales and not. I often don't even bother looking at sites any longer that are poorly designed.

Good design doesn't have to mean decked out to the hilt, either. Look at Ben's site - pretty straightforward. Or Copyblogger or David Airey - great, simple designs.

What important is that you keep your focus on the message you want to send your audience. While content certianly rules over all else, how you display that content is important.

I could go on and on. Guess I should write a few posts on this topic myself.

Re: Does Your Blog Design Matter?

Sean — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 10:54:47 -0000

I totally agree. Right now with my new blog I'm using a downloaded theme, but have swapped in my own image for the header. I'll be doing more modding as I get more time. I agree with you that design is important. If you look like the 'last guy' no one is even going to start reading.

Re: Does Your Blog Design Matter?

Ben Yoskovitz — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 10:48:26 -0000

Rowan - there are always exceptions to the rule. I don't think design can hide bad content for example, but it certainly can help draw people in further.

Thanks for all the comments!

Re: Does Your Blog Design Matter?

Scott — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 10:20:36 -0000

I consider design to be one of my blog's strongest assets. I had no idea how to design a site, so I hired a pro designer (Mike Cherim)

I get massive Stumbleupon traffic, with a pretty healthy returning visitor rate. Since Stumblers only spend an average of 1-2 seconds checking out a site, I have put a LOT of attention into getting my message across in within that window.

Also, and this is the reason I chose Mike, my site is fully accessible (P2 compliant, "almost" P3). I needed it to be accessible for two reasons: 1) I will have visitors who may have disabilities, and 2) as a "health" blog, accessibility is good to have if in the future I have government agencies linking to my site.
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Re: Does Your Blog Design Matter?

John Wesley — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 08:42:45 -0000

I agree, if a blog is cluttered I don't pay attention to it. Design also affects usability. A bad design makes it hard to find and concentrate on the content. Design is also a large part of the user experience. Beautiful sites make you feel good and eager to come back for more.

Re: Does Your Blog Design Matter?

Rowan Manahan — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 08:28:52 -0000

Having just sent a response to Ben on this topic via email, this post is very timely. For a professional blogger, who wants to be taken seriously at every level, design is a key component.

The difference between something that has been developed by a trained professional designer and something that someone who has a 'bit of an eye' and a 'bit of coding knowhow' is immense.

If you show up to an interview with scuffed shoes in a shiny suit covered in coffee stains, you better be Albert Einstein. Most of us aren't Enistein and, much more to the point, our readers don't have a clue who we are and what our pedigree is when they arrive on our blog. Content is always king and must always grab the reader by the throat, but a look-and-feel that grates on the eye may make a seasoned reader look elsewhere quicker than they would otherwise.

One rule-breaker who never fails to surprise is Seth Godin. Who else could get away with flouting the Law of Maximum Contrast by having yellow text reversed out of white all over his blog?

I'll be talking to my web guy later today ...

Re: Does Your Blog Design Matter?

Char — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 06:57:44 -0000

I agree - design does matter and modifying Wordpress (or Blogger or TypePad) themes is a great way to learn CSS/HTML/PHP.

My recommendation. My back ups of all your originals, then start playing. Make one change at a time though. It is easy to make a change, publish, review and repeat.