Vandelay Website Design Blog

What Makes Good Blog Design?

As you surf through the internet you’re bound to come across certain designs that you love and some that you hate. But good blog design has a few unique elements when compared to the design of a traditional website. Here are ten things to keep in mind when designing your blog.

1. Content Should be the Focus.

A blog is nothing without its content. In order to keep your visitors focused on the content, it should be the focal point of the design. Distracting readers with excessive images and extra items can be counterproductive. For this reason, many of the best blog designs are fairly simple. Simplicity is common for blogs that want to emphasize the content.

2. Ease of Navigation.

Readers will come to your blog through search engines, links from other blogs, RSS feeds, social media sites, etc. Only a small percentage of your readers will enter your blog through the front page. This makes navigation even more important. The sidebar typically will include the majority of the navigation with links to categories, recent posts, and sometimes popular posts. Footers are sometimes also used for additional navigation.

3. Loads Quickly

Many of your visitors will have a very short attention span (this is really no different for blogs than traditional websites). In order to immediately catch their attention and avoid having them click off of your site, your pages should load quickly. This is especially important you plan to use social media to generate traffic. Some blogs are weighed down by excessive widgets that really hurt the page load speed. By keeping your blog clean and free of unnecessary items you can really cut down on the time it takes to load.

4. Content Start High on the Page.

This one is more of a personal opinion than a fact, but I believe that more of your visitors will pay attention to your articles if they start higher on the page. Make it as easy as you can for readers to get started with your posts, and then they’ll be more prone to scroll down for the rest. Again, this is especially important for traffic from social media sites. Those visitors will be less likely to scroll and more likely to click off of your blog.

5. Memorable for Visitors.

Most blog readers visit a number of blogs each day, and many of them will feature the same (free) themes. Make it easy for your visitors to remember your blog and standout from all of the free themes by customizing a theme yourself, or by having a blog theme professionally designed.

6. Not Overrun with Ads.

For most blogs making money with advertisements is a necessity. However, even in these cases it’s important to use advertisements effectively by not allowing them to take over the blog. Your readers will feel like they are not a priority to you if advertisements take center stage.

7. Compatibility with Multiple Browsers.

Your visitors will be using a number of different browsers, and if your blog is not functioning well in all of them you could be losing readers. Fortunately, 90% of your visitors will probably be using the leading 3 or 4 browsers. In order to know that you blog is functioning well you’ll need to test it in multiple browsers.

8. Good Use of Color.

The best designs effectively use color to improve the appearance. This can be done any number of ways, and sometimes it’s even a subtle aspect of design. The color combinations don’t have to jump out at readers, in fact, they actually need to make it easy for visitors to read the blog posts. If you’re looking for a good color combination, be sure to check out the resources listed in Find the Perfect Colors for Your Website.

9. Easy to Read.

This is really more about formatting the content of the blog than it is about a theme design. Keep in mind that most readers will be scanning your posts rather than reading them word-for-word. Use headlines, white space, lists, and bold text to make it easy for readers.

10. Important Items Should Be in Prominent Positions.

Effective design will draw the attention of readers to important items, such as subscription information. The most important links, images, etc. should generally go above the fold so that visitors will see them right away. Getting rid of unnecessary items will also help readers to focus on what’s important.

Originally Published October 7th, 2007

117 comments from readers

  • 1 TyCat Oct 7, 2007 at 8:00 pm

    This not only goes for blog design, but web design in general. Great post.

  • 2 Karen Zara Oct 7, 2007 at 9:31 pm

    I’m glad you’ve mentioned that a site should load quickly. Being a dial-up user, I suffer a lot when I visit certain sites.

    I’d love to have a professionaly designed custom theme, if only I could pay for one. :-P Well, someday I’ll be able to afford it. :)
    One issue that might have been addressed by your post is how a good design can make things easier for visitors with disabilities. Maybe in a future article? ;)

  • 3 pablopabla Oct 7, 2007 at 10:55 pm

    I would like to think that I have all the above in place…but then again, it is subjective and reader’s impression is all that counts at the end of the day.

  • 4 Trip Around the Blogosphere 10-07-2007 | Pajama Professional Oct 8, 2007 at 12:11 am

    […] Vandelay discusses what makes good blog design. […]

  • 5 Karthik Oct 8, 2007 at 4:41 am

    Checking for cross-browser functionality is easily missed - nice post.

  • 6 Fabio Cevasco Oct 8, 2007 at 6:21 am

    Very nice post, I agree on all the points and especially with:

    6. Not Overrun with Ads.

    I think too many blogs and websites in general use a lot of annoying and obtrusive ads nowadays. I try not to (but it is also true that I don’t care that much about ads revenues).

    Regarding speed and cross-compatibility… well, they’re the real challenges I think.

  • 7 John Lampard Oct 8, 2007 at 8:13 am

    “7. Compatibility with Multiple Browsers.” One way to bring this about is to work with W3C (www.w3.org) web standards. Most modern browsers offer a good degree of support for these standards meaning websites should render in very much the same in different browsers.

  • 8 Vandelay Design Oct 8, 2007 at 8:42 am

    Thanks everyone for your comments.

    Karen,
    You’re right. A lot of people forget about the dial-up users now. According to Google Analytics dial-up users make up a pretty small % of my visitors, so I am more prone to include images than I would otherwise, but I still try to keep things simple.

    Pablopabla,
    You’re absolutely right, it is subjective. That’s what makes it difficult.

    Fabio,
    Yes, ads are becoming more common everyday. I don’t mind them as long as they don’t interfere or slow things down. They’re a necessary evil in most cases.

  • 9 WarriorBlog Oct 8, 2007 at 11:16 am

    As long as I think it look good, I am ok. I also tweak all the free theme that I use to make it look better :-)

  • 10 Vandelay Design Oct 8, 2007 at 12:10 pm

    WarriorBlog,
    I think making some changes to free themes is really necessary to standout.

  • 11 How To Create Good Blog Design | The How To Do Things Blog Oct 8, 2007 at 12:12 pm

    […] Read more in this blog post. […]

  • 12 Karthik Oct 8, 2007 at 1:33 pm

    @John
    Unfortunately, W3C standards only mean that the site would look “ok” under all browsers - it doesn’t necessarily render the same way you meant it to. I’ve had it happen on one of my sites - looks good on FF, but not so good on IE - and yes, its validated :)

  • 13 Karthik Oct 8, 2007 at 1:47 pm

    @WarriorBlog
    Do you use a custom theme? I didn’t notice a credits link, so I guess it is - it looks pretty simple and pleasing on the eyes, nice work!

    @Steven
    I noticed you’ve just changed the way the titles are displayed on the sidebar, they look much better now. :) I remember asking you which plugin you were using to display the popular posts on the sidebar and if it was a template hack or if it was widgetized, unfortunately I don’t remember which post it was in, would you mind repeating it here? (I’m subscribed to this one, so I’ll remember ;) )

    Thanks.

  • 14 Vandelay Design Oct 8, 2007 at 2:29 pm

    Karthik,
    Thanks for noticing the sidebar changes. I didn’t like the old look, but hadn’t taken the time to get it how I wanted it. When I changed the theme a few weeks ago it wasn’t a big priority, but I realized that it really didn’t look good. I also added recent posts in attempt to improve the navigation.

    The popular posts list is actually not using a plugin. I added that list to the sidebar manually, that way I can control what posts are there rather than having a plugin control it based on # of comments or something. For now I like it this way because I can change it whenever I want to.

  • 15 Karthik Oct 8, 2007 at 2:33 pm

    Ok, that’s an idea - I add a couple of them manually on my popular posts page too, funny I didn’t think of adding it directly to the sidebar!

    I didn’t know I’d have company when I added them manually! I guess for some reason, some of the better posts don’t get as much attention!

  • 16 Vandelay Design Oct 8, 2007 at 3:17 pm

    I think for me it just comes down to the fact that I would rather choose what I want to be there than to leave it up to a plugin. Plus, I try to keep plugins to a minimum.

  • 17 Dunder Mifflin Infinity Office Videos Oct 8, 2007 at 5:14 pm

    I wish there was more innovation in blog design..seems like we are getting stuck in the same patterns for new themes.

  • 18 Links Roundup - October 9th 2007 | Blogging Tips Oct 9, 2007 at 5:02 am

    […] What Makes Good Blog Design? - Good summary about the major points of good blog design. […]

  • 19 Acopic - Web Designers Oct 9, 2007 at 6:13 am

    Yeah - I’m a big fan of the less-is-more school of thinking. Sites have to be easy to use. Period.

  • 20 John Lampard Oct 10, 2007 at 8:00 am

    @ Karthik - correct - there will be some variation in appearance cross browser, more so when a particular browser offers poorer support for W3C standards as is the case with IE. Using standards in our work though is a way of encouraging browser manufacturers to offer full standards support :)

  • 21 Felix Ker Oct 10, 2007 at 9:33 am

    I think I have 1 fault - overrun with ads!

  • 22 Miss Lingerie Oct 12, 2007 at 9:47 am

    wonderful…great and focus points….enjoy reading and trying to observe everything that you mention…thx for sharing your experienc e with us

  • 23 Wallace Oct 13, 2007 at 7:16 am

    thinking of creating a personnal blog, i guess this is a goos article i should read, will apply this to my blog. thx for sharing

  • 24 Mike C Oct 13, 2007 at 8:09 pm

    Do you know of any good resources on fixing errors in different browsers. My site struglles in IE6 but does fine in IE7 and firefox. Any suggestions would be great. thanks.

  • 25 Vandelay Design Oct 13, 2007 at 8:19 pm

    Mike,
    I have a post from last month with resources for testing in multiple browsers.

  • 26 --Deb Oct 14, 2007 at 9:20 pm

    Ease of Navigation and Easy to Read . . . amen!

  • 27 depotsq » Blog Archive » What Makes Good Blog Design? Oct 22, 2007 at 2:57 am

    […] You can read more here […]

  • 28 Single Author Blogs I Read at The Shane & Peter Inc. Blog Nov 7, 2007 at 2:02 am

    […] What Makes Good Blog Design? Guide To Promoting Your Blog Through Guest Posts 99 Ways To Promote Your Blog For Free How To Set Up A Domino Effect Of Traffic […]

  • 29 Arindam Nov 15, 2007 at 12:57 pm

    Nice post. however I’ve categorized the essential requirements from two perspective-both human and technical. Please check 8 elements of a good blog theme or template. Your feedback will be highly appreciated. :)

  • 30 oyun hileleri Dec 29, 2007 at 1:51 am

    What Makes Good Blog Design? Guide To Promoting Your Blog Through Guest Posts 99 Ways To Promote Your Blog For Free How To Set Up A Domino Effect Of Traffic

  • 31 Sami Jan 28, 2008 at 12:58 am

    Important Items Should Be in Prominent Positions. So why do you have this as #10?

  • 32 Jim Feb 11, 2008 at 9:52 am

    Great article, I definitely agree on #6, if there’s too many ads it destroys the credibility of the site I’m viewing because I feel like they’re just writing for the money and not to make good content.

    Astheria has a good article on the subject as well: http://astheria.com/design/the-user-expectations-of-a-blog

  • 33 Tracey » Blog Archive » the beginning of the transformation Feb 13, 2008 at 12:09 pm

    […] the The Top 10 Desing Mistakes and  the Vandelay Website Design’s blog that has a post on What makes good blog design? So after many hours of looking through the hundreds of WordPress themes, of which you can view […]

  • 34 Rob Feb 14, 2008 at 7:11 am

    I like your Top 10, I definitely agree that content should be high on the page to stand out to the viewer.

    Something I’m tweaking is the positioning and use of adverts. It’s a fine balance to get it right.

  • 35 Kishore Blog Feb 18, 2008 at 5:23 am

    This is must read section for bloggers.
    http://www.kishoreblog.com

  • 36 Todd Daniel Feb 18, 2008 at 9:35 am

    Great synthesis of thoughts on good blog design.

    I find that many blogs not only get overrun with ads but also with too many widgets and other junk that take away from the focus of the blog.

  • 37 Karl Feb 25, 2008 at 10:40 pm

    The worst thing for me when visiting blogs are adwords! I see a link underlined, so I mouseover, and instead of a link to something I’d consider useful, it’s an ad. I’m not sure why this irritates me so much, but it does…

  • 38 varmısın yokmusun Mar 2, 2008 at 10:30 am

    thank you very much this a very helpful article :).I must learn a lot thing about this

  • 39 peri oyunları Mar 9, 2008 at 12:30 am

    i think this article not only cover blogs also cover all sites. if you want to make your web site useble you must follow these steps

  • 40 Offline Sources for Design Inspiration Mar 20, 2008 at 1:24 am

    […] What Makes Good Blog Design? […]

  • 41 ken Apr 2, 2008 at 12:28 am

    Nice post!i love it!web designs are not so important in your blog. The important thing is you should focus in your content because the first thing to when your making a blog, web design is useless if your content is not interesting.

  • 42 ken Apr 2, 2008 at 12:28 am

    Nice post!i love it!very detailed..web designs are not so important in your blog. The important thing is you should focus in your content because the first thing to when your making a blog, web design is useless if your content is not interesting.

  • 43 Создание и продвижение сайтов Уфа Apr 30, 2008 at 12:21 am

    web designs are not so important in your blog

  • 44 minikperi May 6, 2008 at 6:43 am

    the The Top 10 Desing Mistakes and the Vandelay Website Design’s blog that has a post on What makes good blog design? So after many hours of looking through the hundreds of WordPress themes, of which you can view

  • 45 forumonline May 31, 2008 at 1:52 pm

    i think this article not only cover blogs also cover all sites. if you want to make your web site useble you must follow these steps

  • 46 mmorts May 31, 2008 at 5:10 pm

    Thanks for tips…

  • 47 çet Jun 22, 2008 at 8:09 am

    thank you

  • 48 sohbet kanalları Jun 22, 2008 at 8:10 am

    thanks

  • 49 elif dizisi Jun 28, 2008 at 2:40 am

    nice article thank you

  • 50 The Favourite Games Jun 28, 2008 at 3:23 am

    thanks.

  • 51 oyun Jun 28, 2008 at 3:24 am

    nice thanks.

  • 52 Komik Videolar Jun 28, 2008 at 4:00 am

    Thanks

  • 53 Spaksu Jun 28, 2008 at 4:08 am

    Nice Resource.. Thanks.

  • 54 son çıkan albümler Jun 28, 2008 at 5:25 am

    Thanks

  • 55 Halil İbrahim Doğan Jun 28, 2008 at 5:45 am

    Thanks

    http://www.kayseridostlaremlak.com

  • 56 holiday places Jun 28, 2008 at 5:56 am

    Great post.Thank you…

  • 57 Balık Avı Jun 28, 2008 at 7:33 am

    Thanks for share :)

  • 58 Kayseri Dostlar Emlak Jun 28, 2008 at 7:36 am

    thanks

  • 59 Kayseri Dostlar Emlak Jun 28, 2008 at 7:43 am

    http://www.kayseridostlaremlak.com

  • 60 gothic Jun 28, 2008 at 7:47 am

    thanks

  • 61 ödev listesi Jun 28, 2008 at 7:48 am

    txh dude

  • 62 uzaktan eğitim Jun 28, 2008 at 11:38 am

    Thanks good article
    http://www.perims.net

  • 63 sbs Jun 28, 2008 at 12:54 pm

    it’s very good. But it is no standart.

  • 64 eser Jun 29, 2008 at 8:22 am

    thxs for the artikel very nice

  • 65 hasan Jun 29, 2008 at 8:23 am

    thanks good article

  • 66 film izle Jun 30, 2008 at 12:19 pm

    thank you

  • 67 xyz Jun 30, 2008 at 8:51 pm

    thank you

  • 68 güzel sözler Jul 3, 2008 at 3:08 am

    thank you

  • 69 Qbert Jul 3, 2008 at 4:24 am

    Thanks… :)

  • 70 recipe Jul 3, 2008 at 6:07 am

    thanks … :)

  • 71 hizli araba resimleri Jul 3, 2008 at 6:09 am

    thnx man

  • 72 Avatar Jul 3, 2008 at 6:22 am

    Thank you nice work.

  • 73 kurutemizleme Jul 3, 2008 at 6:44 am

    kurutemizleme thanks

  • 74 pc topla Jul 3, 2008 at 6:44 am

    pc topla thanks

  • 75 beyaznadideçiçek Jul 3, 2008 at 6:45 am

    beyaznadideçiçek thanks

  • 76 hasarlioto Jul 3, 2008 at 6:45 am

    hasarlioto thanks

  • 77 dogansehirliler Jul 3, 2008 at 6:46 am

    istanbuldaki dogansehirliler derneği thanks

  • 78 partner Jul 3, 2008 at 6:47 am

    partner arkadaşlık portalı thanks

  • 79 porno Jul 3, 2008 at 7:36 am

    great work keep it up! proudly porno

  • 80 forum Jul 3, 2008 at 8:56 am

    Forumanda forum thank you very much.

  • 81 MsnProgramlari.Org Jul 3, 2008 at 9:27 am

    http://feeds.feedburner.com/msnprogramlariorg
    Veryful..

  • 82 Özcan Sarıca İle Kurtlar Vadisi Pusu 3.Sezon 1.Seo Yarışması Jul 4, 2008 at 4:55 am

    thanks ;)

  • 83 Kırşehir Jul 4, 2008 at 6:27 pm

    Kırşehir, Gırşaar Thanks

  • 84 car pictures Jul 5, 2008 at 4:01 pm

    Thank you so much

  • 85 Kurtlar Vadisi Izle Jul 5, 2008 at 4:06 pm

    Thank You Site (:
    http://www.kvizle.tr.cc

  • 86 hello my name's sanane Jul 7, 2008 at 4:52 pm

    http://www.bilalozturk.com free sex video ametur sex free porn

  • 87 Serkan Demir Jul 7, 2008 at 5:46 pm

    Checking for cross-browser functionality is easily missed - nice post. thx for post

  • 88 To Gain Subscribers, Focus on What You Do Best | Traffikd Jul 7, 2008 at 8:03 pm

    […] principles of design. For example, a few successful posts include 21 First Impression Factors, What Makes Good Blog Design?, 11 Ways to Gain Exposure as a Web Designer, and 12 Realities of Pricing Design […]

  • 89 Çizgi Film Jul 8, 2008 at 6:19 am

    thank you very good wonderful swimming

  • 90 Film İzle Jul 8, 2008 at 6:22 am

    very goods thank you wonderful cinema

  • 91 Loto Sayisal loto Loto sonuclari Sayisal loto sonuclari Loto istatistikleri Sayisal Loto istatistikleri Jul 12, 2008 at 9:51 am

    Thank Cinemasters :)

  • 92 kral oyun Jul 14, 2008 at 1:04 am

    thanks for posting

  • 93 aytug akdogan ödüllü 1. seo yarışması ve yurtta barış dünyada barış Jul 14, 2008 at 1:05 am

    great,thanks.

  • 94 botox botoks Jul 16, 2008 at 5:58 am

    Gerçekten yapmış adam darısı başımıza

  • 95 yasamkadin Jul 17, 2008 at 9:07 am

    WERY BEATİEFUL THANK YOU VERY MUNCH

  • 96 esanjor Jul 18, 2008 at 9:29 am

    Good information, many thanks guys.

  • 97 Petrofil Jul 22, 2008 at 2:59 am

    Many thanks for the useful data.

  • 98 Estetik Jul 22, 2008 at 9:29 am

    Good Resource. Thank you

  • 99 Dedektif Jul 23, 2008 at 5:54 am

    Thank you very much

  • 100 sbs Jul 27, 2008 at 7:02 pm

    Effective design will draw the attention of readers to important items, such as subscription information. Yes it’s. But seviye belirleme sınavı ve sbs soruları. it is very important. sbsThe most important links, images, etc. should generally go above the fold so that visitors will see them right away. Getting rid of unnecessary items will also help readers to focus on what’s important.

  • 101 baris Jul 27, 2008 at 7:51 pm

    thank u

  • 102 modifiyeli araba resimleri Jul 27, 2008 at 7:52 pm

    nice subj

  • 103 porno Jul 27, 2008 at 8:21 pm

    thank you

  • 104 sOhbeT Jul 27, 2008 at 10:44 pm

    Hi, I would be the Sara mentioned above :). My question for you is, my full name is Sara Smith which obviously isn’t very unique. In most circles I run and in all of the communities I am involved in, I am known as ses5909. Yes, that is very unique but is it something a person should be known as? I’m open for suggestions

  • 105 sOhbeT Jul 27, 2008 at 10:51 pm

    thank you!

  • 106 Kankiler Jul 28, 2008 at 2:11 pm

    ehuehu

  • 107 Kız Oyunları Jul 29, 2008 at 12:50 pm

    of other voices in the discussion. I reserve the right to edit or delete comments at my discretion.

  • 108 Kral Oyun Jul 29, 2008 at 12:50 pm

    thanxxxx

  • 109 tuning Aug 2, 2008 at 9:08 am

    thanks

  • 110 hako Aug 9, 2008 at 5:42 am

    thank you good blog design

    http://www.kadinsak.com

  • 111 Sadece Bir Blog Aug 16, 2008 at 10:00 am

    Up to me the best importand thing is navigation.

  • 112 İyi Bir Blog Dizaynı | adtech ile reklam 2.0 dönemi başlıyor ve Trkycmhrytllbtpydrklcktr r10.net seo yarışması Aug 17, 2008 at 4:37 pm

    […] : Harun BASIRLI Kaynak : VandelayDesign Sitesinden Derlenmiştir Konuya Yorum […]

  • 113 Blogger temalar Ve Blogger Destek Ve Blogger sag tus engelleme Aug 18, 2008 at 11:07 am

    thank you

  • 114 Recipes Aug 18, 2008 at 3:17 pm

    good man thanx

  • 115 Futbol Kulupleri Aug 18, 2008 at 3:18 pm

    güzel olmuş güzel ;)

  • 116 Oyunlar Oyun Aug 18, 2008 at 3:19 pm

    good article man i love that

  • 117 SohbeT Aug 19, 2008 at 2:31 pm

    Thanks Good Admin