Everyone always says that for a blog, content is what’s important. I’m going to disagree a little bit here. Yes, you need good content to run a successful blog. But how important is the design of your blog? I think for getting new readers, it is VERY important.

Let’s try to look at a real world example. Your friend told you about this AWESOME cafe down the street that has the BEST coffee so you decide to stop by on your way home from work. You open the door and the first thing you see is there is trash and used cups all over the tables, chairs are moved around and not where you expect them to be, you don’t see anyone behind the counter, but you do see a place to leave a comment…but there isn’t a pen there. So you leave. They may in fact have the best coffee in town, but you won’t ever try it because you were so put off with the appearance of the cafe and the complete lack of concern for it’s appearance.

The exact same thing can happen when someone visits your blog. Someone has found you through google (so there is a good chance you have what they are looking for already) and are going to read your post. When they get to your page however, your design may be a mess, or things aren’t where they should be. You may not provide an easy way for people to contact you. These factors certainly do make a first impression and a first impression is everything!

You need a good design for plenty of reasons:

• So you don’t scare people away immediately - I’m sure you think I’m kidding but I have left sites without even browsing the content because the page was THAT ugly or the layout was completely awful and unfamiliar. People will leave your site if they don’t like the way it looks. It’s a sad fact.
• Set yourself apart from others - There are millions of blogs out there and you do not want to get lost in the sea of them. You need to stand out in the crowd at first site. Your content will keep people there, but you need to make sure you have your own look and feel. Even if you use a free theme you really need to customize it to make it different than all the others.
• It shows you care - Back to that store example, it really didn’t seem like they cared if new customers came in as they never tried to clear the tables to make room for them, and no one was there behind the counter to take their order. They obviously didn’t care if they got another customer or not. Taking the time to set up a good design and layout will show people you really do care and want them to come in and browse around.
• Maintain your identity - For businesses, it is crucial that you maintain your business identity. If you have a website for your business that links to your blog, and your design is different, that will only serve to confuse your customers. They will wonder, “Is it really their blog? Did I just go to someone else’s site?” and you don’t want to confuse your customers. You should ensure that the brand you created flows from your website to your blog as seamlessly as possible.
• Make it easy on your visitors - A good layout (not speaking colors and graphics) will make your user’s visit very natural. People expect a navigation to be a certain spot and if your navigation is at the bottom, then people will just leave rather than hunt and peck for it.

I’d love to hear more reasons on why a blog design is important and hear any stories of people who have left a blog because of how it looked!

This entry was posted on Monday, July 30th, 2007 at 9:57 am and is filed under Blogging Basics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.