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How To Make Your Blog Ready For 2012

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Make Your Blog Ready

The blog you set up some time ago may well be looking a bit dated, so you need to consider how to make your blog look good by today’s standards.

What do you need to do to make sure your blog looks up-to-date, fresh and modern?

The appearance of your blog is arguably the thing that is most important to get right. Content is king but appearance is the king’s mother – if the appearance has a big problem then nobody will discover the king has been born.

The appearance should not put visitors off. Neither should it be the reason they come to visit (that’s the contents job). The best appearance is one that the visitor does not really notice – it is an essential ingredient of a successful blog but should always remain in the background.

Here are five rules to follow to ensure a great appearance.

1. No Clutter

Avoid the “can’t see the wood for the trees” syndrome.

Too much content makes it hard for the surfer to find what they want. The impression of being cluttered can also come from using too many colors, fonts and sizes. Think of the standard ransom note in TV cop shows made up from newspaper clippings – yes, it can be read easily but would anyone want to read a whole article made that way?

2. No Distractions

A visitor coming to your blog to read something that interests them would more than likely prefer to read without having a whole load of moving objects all around the screen. You wouldn’t dream of using a reading lamp with a flashing light, so why expect your visitors to tolerate something similar?

3. Advertising

If you are carrying advertising, you may have no control over what is displayed. If your advertising provider uses animated ads consider putting these only at the tops or sides of your pages so that the visitor can scroll the annoyance out of sight.

4. Focused Content

If a visitor arriving at your blog is immediately presented with a load of links instead of some content, then there is a good chance that your blog has grown out of control. Consider breaking your blog into different sections. The best blogs are in focused sections, will have interesting content on the home page, and provide easy navigation to their sections.

5. Arouse Interest

It can be difficult to get this right, but it is very important. You need to present enough content to get the visitor interested while at the same time not overwhelming them with a mass of text. Condense information into fluff-free key points or good opening paragraphs that serve as appetizers. Long content should always be broken into smaller chunks. Ensure you use sub-headings to break up the text.

Now you know how to make a blog look good but you also want to make it look modern.

All of the appearance rules above were just as valid 10 years ago as they are today, and you can make your blog look modern by availing of the latest technological advances without breaking the rules.

Display size

Modern computer screens can display much more than their predecessors, but it is not good practice to fill the entire screen. This is because there is no longer a ‘standard’ screen size, so you want to aim at a happy medium. Modern practice is to leave margins of about 10%-30% on the left and right.

Backgrounds

It’s good to leave a margin but make sure you control the full background, preferably with a subtle, neutral color.

Layout

Most modern blogs use a two or three column structured layout. There is often a main column with text that flows around an image and one or two narrower columns with images or more text. Modern blog layout is very similar to a magazine layout where the blog’s smaller columns emulate the magazine’s sidebars.

Latest Themes

check frequently to make sure you are using the latest themes and plug-ins. This is a great way to keep up to date. If you are not using the latest themes then seriously consider moving to them. There will be a bit of a learning curve and a time overhead in changing themes but it will be well worth it.

Interactivity

It’s always good to allow surfers to take part in your blog either by publishing their content or allowing them to comment…easily. (If I have to login to comment…I don’t!)

Promptly moderate and reply to all comments. Long time gaps between comments and replies imply the blog owner is not interested, so you need to stay on top of this.

Social Networks

There are ever-increasing ways to allow visitors to spread the word about your blog at the click of a mouse and you should make sure your blog incorporates the most popular social media plugins. Right now, your blog should include at least Facebook, Twitter and Google +1 buttons.

You can help to keep your blog looking good by frequently visiting the most popular blogs to stay aware of modern trends. Leading newspapers, magazines and online companies invest a lot of time and thought in their blogs and provide a good way of staying in touch with what’s new.

We have had a look at best practices, but remember to bear in mind that judgements on your blog (or anyone else’s), whether by yourself or third parties, will always be subjective – what is pleasing to one person may appear grotesque to another.

As the blog owner, you need to strike a happy medium that will make your blog appeal to as many as possible of the type of visitors you are trying to attract. You will never achieve a 100% satisfaction rate so do not waste time trying to appeal to all.

You also need to keep in mind that the subject matter of your blog is what should determine its overall appearance. If your blog is about graffiti or heavy metal bands, then the surfer will probably expect to see a blaze of color, whereas a blog about prayer probably needs to be a lot less in your face.

When surfers arrive at your blog for the first time, for them it is like opening a door into a room or peeking through a curtain – they will have an instant first impression. If the reaction is one of revulsion (“yuck!!”), they are almost certainly going to move on immediately and won’t even see that you are offering free entry to a million dollar draw. No matter how interesting your content is, if people are too dazzled or confused by your blog’s appearance they are going to shut their eyes (and minds) and back out real quick.

What’s your view? How do you keep your blog fresh looking?

Please share your views in the comments below.

Andrew is a full-time Internet Marketing Specialist and blogger from the UK. At his blog he shares all his knowledge and experience on how to make a blog.

About

Andrew is a full-time Internet Marketing Specialist and blogger from the UK. At his blog he shares all his knowledge and experience on how to make a blog .

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{ 36 Responses }

  1. Daniel says:
    Commenting as an interactivity feature goes without saying. I think today bloggers should be looking for more community input beyond just comments. A way for the readers to suggest post topics perhaps. In terms of commenting, more integration with social networks such as Livefyre's ability to tag facebook friends in the comment. The comment then appears in both Facebook and the post. Any additional comments from Facebook are then added to the post. I've just written a short lesson on the minimum 5 features a website should have. See below.
    • Andrew says:
      Daniel Getting yo first few comments is hard. But once you start geting comments, they do keep coming. The next stage is to get commenters responding to other commenters. Do you think Livefyre could help with that? Andrew
      • Daniel says:
        It sort of depends on the user. On our blog people don't see the 'reply' button which means the person might not be notified. But that is just a styling issue. Livefyre allows users to log in using any social profile which means a lower barrier to entry to comment as well as anonymous comments. It also has the 'last post' features of commentluv. For us, the social integration is more important so that people can have the conversation off-site.
        • Andrew says:
          Daniel I have known a few non-technical people get put off by Livefyre. The fact that they have to 'login' to comment can be confusing. Andrew
  2. Andreas Pazer says:
    2011 - how have you done? If you subscribe to the good habit of setting yourself goals for the year, how have you done so far? If you did set yourself some goals - did you write them down? Did you put them somewhere that you could see them every day? I hope you are pleased with your progress. Where ever you have got to - you will have come to some realisations about yourself, and the goals you set. You will certainly have learned plenty. One of the presuppositions of NLP is that there is no failure, only feedback. So as you look back over your year what feedback do you get? Be very honest with yourself so that you can use the feedback to clearly help you with your next steps - which can be 'what can I do now to make the last 6 weeks weeks to be really proud of. '
  3. Dennis says:
    Andrew I just got my blog setup to where I feel it's ready for 2012... I was struggling with my old theme because i just hated the fact that it didn't have a good footer. I like a good footer in my theme.. Along with that, i had no control over the width. I eventually decided it was time to make a change. I now use a theme that allows me to control my overall width, the sidebar width and it has a very nice footer. Along with that, for my IM side, i can create sales pages and squeeze pages on the fly... I wanted to widen up my theme because I noticed that all the big name blogs (including this one) do that. Didn't know why but if they're doing it, then so do I. Glad to say I'm officially ready.. Bring it 2012!!
    • Andrew says:
      Dennis Sounds like you are ready for 2012 and you cannot wait! I wish you all the best. What theme are you now using - sounds fab! Andew
  4. Jeevan Jacob John says:
    Hey Andrew, When I was using Blogger instead of WP, I used to switch my theme/template every now and then. Same thing was true for Wordpress until I bought a Headway theme framework license :D I love Headway because you can design your own themes with it. And you don't have to spend any more on new themes. But, recently I switched from Headway to another Wordpress theme (Which I thought is better). But, I will be switching back to Headway as soon as the next version is out (With child themes). Back to your post, all of the points that you wrote are important to a blog's design and its effectiveness in capturing its target audience. This post is a great reminder for me as I have just switched to a new blog. Thank you for the informative post Andrew, Jeevan Jacob John
    • Andrew says:
      Jeevan I personally use Headway for myself and the vast majority of my clients. I love it. What theme are you using now? Andrew
      • Jeevan Jacob John says:
        I am using BlogolifePRO by Wplook (http://wplook.com/). It is really a great theme. But, as I mentioned earlier, I would like to get back to Headway with the new version (since I really like the framework a lot :D)
  5. Chris says:
    I can't stand visiting a blog or website which is covered in clutter. Annoying ads everywhere and full of share buttons for every social bookmarking site that ever existed haha. It's ugly and slows the page down. Nice post mate, keep it up! :)
    • Andrew says:
      Chris, I agree. I think blog sites need to keep the ads down to a minimum. Andrew
  6. Jamie Northrup says:
    Make sure the focus is content, and make the ads blend in, those are always my first two pieces of advice. You want the ads to blend in because you don't want it to look busy, cluttered or horrible and also people are more likely to click them.
    • Andrew says:
      Jamie What's your best advice to make the ads blend in? Andrew
      • Jamie Northrup says:
        Andrew, Make sure they are relevant to your niche / readers, and if they are text based links (i.e. Google Adsense), make sure the colors of the borders, and text match your theme. Some people go as far as tricking people into thinking they are part of the content, but I wouldn't recommend that unless you're just looking for a quick buck, and don't value your reputation.
        • Andrew says:
          Jamie Thanks for coming back and sharing your thoughts. I do think Adsense can make sites look unprofessional and I agree they have to blend in. I've never used Adsense on my main site - I feel it could cheapen it and I want people to come and read my content. Andrew
  7. Tushar says:
    I have decided there will be no more ''advertise here'' blocks on my blog. I believe they are never a very good ROI. I, myself, do not click on any ads so how will I expect my readers to click on ads on my blog? Thanks for this wonderful post Andrew
    • Andrew says:
      Tushar I must admit you do need a huge amount of traffic to make 'displaying ads' work. Most visitors are blind to them. Are you adding anything else to fill the space / replace them? Andrew
  8. Ryan Biddulph says:
    Hi Andrew, Spot on ;) Content, presentation. Provide something usable and do so in an unobnoxious way. Keep readers focused on your offerings, on your 1 or 2 clear and direct calls to action, and you proper. Move away from these basics, and suffer. Happened to me again and again. Now I know. Keep it really simple. I use a plain Jane theme but I do OK with it. Because I keep it clear. I want readers to read my stuff, find use of it, and join my list, so they get more useful stuff....so I include 1 or 2 calls, and cut away all the other extra BS that makes your choices more difficult. 1 to 2 calls. Release all the other stuff. Like obsession with social proof. Or other attachments. Add value, make it easy to digest the value, become valuable. So simple and clear, but many lack the faith to believe that simple is powerful, simple works best. Release the clutter and an awesome thing happens: people do what you tell them to do! Really, your call becomes more effective when it is 1 of 2 options, not 1 of 20. How can you decide what to do, with too many options? Like going to get ice cream at Baskin Robbins; way too many choices, and the decision is delayed unless you have serious contrast, and few have this level of contrast. Thanks for sharing Andrew. Great to see you!! RB
    • Andrew says:
      Ryan Minimalistic is the way to go but so many of us think the more we have on our blog the better. It can be a matter of testing as different niches has different types of visitors. As I say you never reach 100% satisfaction. Whatever you do...you will annoy / turn off 10, 20, 30% of your visitors. Andrew P.S. I love the ice cream analogy - I can see a good blog post being made from that!
  9. doug_eike says:
    I find the articles loaded with links to be particularly distracting and irritating. Thanks for the tips!
    • Andrew says:
      Doug, Loaded - yes, I agree. How many do you think is acceptable? I try and add one or two links to other internal blog posts. Andrew
  10. Kelvin Entrepreneurs says:
    Thanks Andrew for sharing this... I have been thinking of improving my blog and making it fit for 2012. I'm thinking of even changing the theme entirely and giving my blog a fresh look. I really have to work on "interactivity" on my blog. Thanks Kelvin Igbinigie
    • Andrew says:
      Kelvin, What theme are you thinking of changing to? And what plans for you have for “interactivity”? Andrew
      • Kelvin Entrepreneurs says:
        Andrew, I'm thinking of changing my theme to Websource theme from Themeforest. While plans for interactivity are posting their contents, getting them to comment and replying to comment early enough. Thanks for this post again.
      • Kelvin Entrepreneurs says:
        Any advice will be welcomed whole heartedly... Thanks
        • Andrew says:
          Kelvin, I do find free themes restrictive. Quite often they are free because they stop you doing certain things or have not so good seo set-up of they have in-built links back to the owners sites. I cannot specifically comment on Websource theme from Themeforest as I have never used it but it might be worth checking out the seo side of the theme. Andrew
  11. Dave Lucas says:
    I just updated my blog after two years of agonizing over whether or not I should. The results were incredible! Traffic is up - tripled in the three weeks since the update! I've employed many of the techniques you've mentioned --- it's all come together quite well! I would encourage anyone who has been thinkng about updating to use your article as a guide and 'just do it' --- BLOG ON!
    • Andrew says:
      Dave, That's great to hear. What specific changes did you make? We would all like to triple our traffic! Andrew
      • Dave Lucas says:
        Andrew, I switched from a "classic blogger" template which I had been using since 2006, to the newer "layout" format offered by Google/Blog*spot - I went with a version that is hosted on and fully supported by Google, as opposed to an indie (because if the creator of that "free" template ever stop spaying his or her image hosting bill, you and your blog are dead in the water, and for most bloggers, not enough knowledge of code to restore what gets lost). Along the way I LOST 180+ people who had "joined" my blog with Google Connect - instead I have 20 followers, none of whom were in the original 180 - I'm thinking of dropping that widget. Because of coding issues, I no longer carry a "webring" that I once had. I also shed a lot of "ghost code" from dead widgets, like MyBlogLog and a few other now defunct services. I just looked at the numbers again - my traffic was good before, but since a few days after the template change, I'm averaging a 200-per cent increase in traffic - and that is consistent! Part of that is due to the fact that Internet Explorer was never able to display my blog properly, until now. I'm thinking I must have lost a lot of readers who couldn't see anything when IE either stopped loading the page or messaged the reader that it "could not" do do! (I saw that message with my own eyes trying to access my blog from a friend's lappie via IE) In the migration process I also shed the following: - facebook "like" button - no great loss - there's a blog*spot widget in its place - LinkWithin - I think it was slowing pageload time - "You Might Also Like" - also slowing links to my previous posts BUT with an added URL redirect that may have been robbing me of traffic - The Wibiya Tool Bar - another slow-loader I also added a blogger widget that allows readers to follow the blog via email... I am really surprised that so far more than 20 readers have done so through that widget! Who knew!
        • Andrew says:
          Dave Thanks for sharing everything. Many of us add numerous plugins / software not realizing the impact it has on loading speed and visitors. Sounds like you have been testing a lot of things and that's what we have to do...test...test...and test some more. Andrew
  12. Patricia says:
    Hi Andrew and Hesham What a nice surprise to see you here Andrew. And this is very on topic for me. Just done big update of my lavender blog (with help of techie friend) and also set up another new site. Very pleased with the result and just asked a couple of marketers to input for even more updating. Cos it's important for me to include my product reviews, offers etc where my customers have easy access to read about and purchase them. Thanks for sharing with us Andrew. Very informative post. Much appreciated Patricia Perth Australia
    • Andrew says:
      Patricia It's great to hear you are using 'friends' for input. And it's even better to hear that you are open to feedback, act on it and make changes. So many of us don't do that. We take feedback as a criticism. But sometimes we are too close to what we have created / built and getting someone else’s perspective is of huge importance. Kudos to you! Andrew P.S. What's your second site about?
      • Patricia says:
        Hi again Andrew My second site is about psoriasis and other skin conditions. I have seborrheic dermatitis and with a nursing background and interest in holistic health; after doing the usual keyword research etc, decided to set up my second site. Completely different to my blog and just launched so plenty more to write about and build on. If you want to check it out, I have written a post on changes at lavenderuses.com and give the URL there. Patricia Perth Australia
        • Andrew says:
          Patricia Sounds like your second site will be a winner. How you going to find the time to give both your best? Andrew
          • Patricia says:
            The need to pay my rent and eat occasionally is motivation enough Andrew lol It also helps I chose topics I genuinely am interested in ... and should in time prove profitable :-) Patricia Perth Australia