How To Keep Your Blog Appealing

The beautiful thing about blogs is that each one can have it’s own style and flair. From sassy to chic to simple to flamboyant, each blog tells the reader a bit about it’s author simply from the way it looks.

In order to find the perfect blog fit, think about what you want to convey to your readers. Remember, in the first few seconds they are on your site, they will either be turned on or turned off. What do you want to tell them in those few seconds?

1. Are my pages easily navigated?

2. Can the reader find out about me and how to contact me quickly?

3. Is my blog too busy?

Question number 3 is actually our focus today. Now, I know we all want to display every blog button and have the biggest blog rolls this side of the Mississippi, but if your page takes longer than 5 seconds to load when someone visits your site, you have too much going on. i’mjustsayin‘

So how can you simplify? Easy!

1. Music - If you are using music on your home page, I would suggest you have it in the ‘off’ position and give your readers the option of turning it on themselves. Music causes blogs to download very slowly and some browsers will just simply freeze. Not.good.

2. Let’s get organized! - Think about combining. Do you have a bazillion blog buttons displayed? Maybe you could display some of them in a new “page” or rotate them in and out every month. Also, if you have a separate widget (in blogger especially) for each button, you seriously need to combine those up. You can put numerous HTML codes into one widget, separated by a <br> code. This saves download time as well.

3. Keep it simple, please. – Simple designs are key as well. Too much activity on the page is just plain ol‘ distracting and some readers will “bounce” because of it (that means they simply open your blog, look and leave). If you’re a ‘bold’ color person, go for it – but keep the patterns and bling to a minimum. If you’re a ‘soft’ palette person, go for it – but maybe liven it up a bit with a pattern or graphic that says “This is me!”

If you have any questions, comments or feedback, I’d love to hear from you! I think our blogs should be a place that we, the blog owners, feel at home. If you’re not comfortable there, chances are your readers won’t be either.