10.9.09

Making the Most of Effective Blog Design

Blogging has become an excellent method of drawing more and more traffic and interested parties toward your site. With the introduction of business blogging, more people have found that their business has not only increased, but they have a stronger understanding of what their clientele is seeking and are more able to deliver the needs and wants of their clientele.

Making full use of a blog includes the design factors that play a role in how attractive and user friendly the blog may be. Using templated material is one option, but often bloggers are looking for more than just the basics.

Product reviews that hit the blog give the consumer an interesting perspective. Since blogging is generally considered to be an outlet of expression no matter what the actual company might be, users feel that they are getting someone's genuine experience. It may or may not affect their decisions about using that company's products, but the user reviews play a vital role in adding credibility to your site.

Bloggers will be attracted to a site that offers them more than just content. While content is also extremely important, the design factors are also important. Give consideration to whether or not you are going to encourage external links and trade links with other blogs, as this gives the user a feeling of complete participation and avenues to finding more information. Give consideration to the basic layout and design factor. When using color, be wary of using any color combination that might be difficult for the eyes to adjust to if the user is colorblind, or if the user's computer screen doesn't filter color in the normal fashion. Make sure that you receive ample varying honest opinions if you are going to go bold and grab some color. What you might think is attractive and will pull users in might actually turn quite a few users off instead.

The use of customized banners is a good idea. It allows you to stand out a little, and it also gives you a visual effect of having complete ownership of the blog. Allowing the blogging company's banner to stay visual creates the attitude that the blog is just tossed up there and this can be a turn off. People who participate want to feel as though their participation matters. Thus feeling like the blog is personal to someone out there on the internet creates the feeling that their participation is wanted and valued.

Adding photos is a great way to personalize, but keep the photos professional. Nobody wants to see photographs of your kids or your pets on a blog that focuses on serious issues. Save those for your personal blog and give more consideration to your business blog photos. Of course, you are proud of your kids and your pets, but when you are handling business affairs, there are plenty of people who find that it has no relevance. The use of artistic and tasteful photographs is generally more appropriate for business related affairs.

Bordering your photographs presents a more professional look. Choosing simple and creatively tasteful borders for your photographs keeps the professional look while adding something a little personal and meaningful to you.

Use your own skills to grab from a wide variety of easily downloadable templates that can add to your blog. If you grab one template from here and a skin from there and use textures from another site you can personalize and create a totally unique blog site. It is actually rather simple to do and it gives you the power to craft a totally individual blog site. Use your imagination while keeping it professional. Don't be afraid to do something different. Don't be afraid to gather opinions on the blog site before launching. Asking people to evaluate what you put together allows you a little insight into what users might think of your blog. Remember that you are trying to attract as many users as possible. That means you want to appeal to a wide variety of users. What is attractive to one might not be attractive to another. But you can usually find a sweet middle ground of you spend the time and energy to gather opinions and create something totally unique.

Keep you users involved through the use of RSS feeds. These are simple to add and are useful in keeping those who visit you once coming back over and over again. The more information you are able to hand over, the more you are able to motivate people to come back, the more you are going to have complete participation. Remember that most people have a limited amount of time for daily blogging. RSS feeds make it easier for them to choose where and how to spend their time.

Adding audio is becoming more and more popular. Audio doesn't have to be terribly intricate, but it can seriously enhance your blog. The use of background audio or the use of sound effect audio can create an environment that brings bloggers back and keeps them there longer. Often it is the simple things that make a total and complete difference.

Go for the Google Adsense additions. Make sure that they are easily located by your readers but that nothing hinders your users from being able to fully read and participate. Your blog can be a valuable asset, make sure you check things out from every angle.

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