To help you land on the right blog layout (that’ll attract and retain
more readers), we’re going to break down the most crucial blog layout best
practices and highlight 12 of the most impressive blog layout examples from
real-life websites, blogs and publications—so that you can take inspiration
from the best when designing your own blog layout.
By now, you’ve probably already started a blog of
your own. You’re here for some inspiration (and advice) on coming up with the
best possible blog layout that’ll create a great experience for your readers.
And while To help you land on the right blog layout
(that’ll attract and retain more readers), we’re going to break down the most
crucial blog layout best practices and highlight 12 of the most impressive blog
layout examples from real-life websites, blogs and publications—so that you can
take inspiration from the best when designing your own blog layout.
By now, you’ve probably already started a blog of your own. You’re here for
some inspiration (and advice) on coming up with the best possible blog layout
that’ll create a great experience for your readers. And while writing great content and driving in traffic are two of the top
considerations for bloggers, one aspect you may not have put as much thought
into (yet) is the overall design and layout of your blog.
Those who’ve already started blogging probably chose a WordPress theme at the beginning
and allowed the general format of that theme determine your blog’s layout…
which is understandable (and what I did for several years here on my blog).
Choosing a great theme is one way to make sure that your blog looks great, but
it shouldn’t be the only factor in determining your blog layout.
Whether you’re just starting a blog—or thinking about redesigning your
site, I’m going to show you several of the best blog layout examples, in
addition to essential blog layout best practices you should follow in designing
your blog. Be sure to check out these blog examples for even more
inspiration too.
12 Blog Layout Examples (and Best Practices to Follow) in 2023
1. Fonts You Can Read
2. Organize
Your Blog Layout for Easier Access
3. Design Your Blog
Posts to Be Easily Scannable
4. Utilize
High-Quality Images (or Graphics)
5. Consider
Page Load Time
6. Include
Compelling CTAs (Calls to Action)
7. The Fine
Line Between Creative and Cluttered
8. Encourage
Engagement
9. Brand Your
Blog Layout
10 .Make
Your Blog Layout Relate to Your Audience
11. Blog
Layout Examples to Learn From When Designing Your Blog
Why Does Your Blog Layout Matter?
Why do so many stress about their blog layout and design? Why does
it really matter what your blog looks like—or how it’s
designed?
If your blog layout looks unprofessional, outdated, confusing, or
unappealing—there’s a good chance they’re going to question your credibility
(or simply leave).
Here are three crucial reasons why you should care about
your blog layout and overall site design.
- High Bounce Rate: A high
bounce rate is when readers come to your blog and leave very
quickly. They don’t spend any real time on your blog, and they don’t click
any of your internal links. While a high bounce rate is not solely
dependent on your blog layout, it’s definitely a factor. Have you ever
come across a blog post that looked like it was from the early 90s? Did
you trust the content? Have you opened a blog post only to discover the
text was almost impossible to read and there was an overwhelming amount of
ads and popups? What do you do with these sites? Chances are, you press
the back button and try to find a better source. You may even wonder why
Google ranked that site well in the first place. This is why your blog
layout matters. You want your blog to be welcoming to your visitors.
- Low Rate of Return Readers: Let’s say someone clicks a
link to your blog post. Your article has good content and answers their
questions. However, they felt that your blog was poorly designed and
difficult to actually consume information on. They probably won’t be
returning to your blog in the future. That’s a problem, because you want
returning visitors. People who come back to your blog will begin to feel a
loyalty to you and your content. This loyal group of followers is more
likely to promote your blog
content to their networks—and sign up for your email newsletter.
This is the most engaged group of people that you can hope to have as a
blogger.
- Trouble Navigating Your Blog: Your blog layout should be
easy to navigate. Your visitors won’t spend a lot of time decoding your
website, just to find out who you are or what your site is all about. They
should be able to easily locate important links and develop a basic
understanding of what your blog has to offer with very little effort.
Now that we’ve defined three compelling reasons why you should create a
very thoughtful blog layout, let’s dive in and break down which blog layout
elements are most important.
10 Blog Layout Best Practices (to Retain More Readers) in 2023
Though you’ll want your own blog to have a unique look within your
niche, there are definitely some common best practices that all great blog
layouts and designs share in common.
Here are ten best practices you can use in creating a winning blog
layout today.
1. Fonts You Can Read
Choosing the right fonts to use across your blog sounds relatively
simple, but it’s very important to your overall blog layout.
Your font choices shouldn’t detract from your content—and needs to be
easy to read for your viewers.
What Font Size Should You Use?
- Font sizes that are too
small will be difficult to read
- Medium to larger font sizes
are preferable for online reading
- This is even more important
for people who have a hard time seeing smaller fonts
Generally, you want to have your body text font size set at a minimum of
16px.
You may be using a font that’s naturally a little bit bigger, and
therefore you don’t need to go larger than 16px. Use your best judgment on this
decision (based on who your readers are), but don’t be afraid to solicit some
feedback from real people in making this decision.
Which Fonts Should You Use?
I recommend sticking to relatively basic fonts, at least for the body
text (which people will be reading most). Simple fonts aren’t as visually
exciting as some, but utilizing a simple font will be infinitely better for
your readers—and will encourage them to keep progressing through your content,
rather than turn around and run for the hills.
A good rule of thumb, is to avoid any font that feels like a novelty.
Try to choose fonts that are easy to read and will age well. Clean, simple and
legible is the goal. Here are some examples of fonts that’d work well for just
about any smart blog layout.
Arial is a very dependable font that won’t steer you wrong. There’s
nothing that really stands out about this font, but that can be an advantage
when it comes to legibility in your blog layout.
EB Garamond is another simple and easy to read font that I’ve used many times.
Josefin Slab is a slightly more stylized alternative to Arial, but still
retains an easy-to-read touch. My blog’s body text now uses a custom font these
days, but it’s most similar to Josefin Slab.
Georgia is one of the most widely used fonts for bloggers.
Helvetica Neue has been around since the early 1980s and comes in almost 100
different styles.
If you go with one of these five font types for your body text, you’ll
be in great shape (and your readers will thank you for it).
Which Fonts Should You Avoid?
Now, to make sure you don’t choose a font that’ll scare your readers,
let’s look at a few examples of fonts you should not use in
your blog layout.
Zapfino might look cool, but it would be very difficult to read as a primary
font.
At one time, Comic Sans MS was a very popular font. In
the 1990s this font was everywhere. If you were to use this font today as your
blog’s text you would definitely risk losing credibility. The hatred for
Comic Sans is so real that people have written entire blog posts specifically talking about why people hate it so much.
Papyrus is another font that gets a bad rep. Like Comic Sans, this font
was a shooting star. It was popular for a time, but would not be considered a
credible blog font today.
While you don’t need to choose one of the three fonts I recommended
above for use in your blog layout, I highly recommend trying to pick a font
that’s legible both for desktop readers and mobile device users—because if
readers can’t actually read your blog posts, they’ll be gone
in no time.
2. Organize Your Blog Layout for Easier Access
If you’ve already spent some time writing useful blog content, then you
may have realized it can be hard to keep everything organized within an
individual article (which is why I always start with a blog post outline), let alone from the macro
perspective of your blog as a whole.
From the broader organizational standpoint, you may have written blog
posts in a variety of different categories—and you need a way to separate them.
Another issue, is that if you’ve written some really great posts in the past,
they’re now naturally sitting at the bottom of your blog feed… where nobody
will ever find them.
Someone visiting your blog for the first time today, may not know the
easiest way to navigate through your posts. And that’s a shame, because you
don’t want readers to miss out on finding your best
content.
There are a lot of different ways to organize your blog
content, but I’m going to give you a few ideas to help you start the process
now. You can mix and match to find the best solution for your blog.
Tip #1: Pick a Defined Niche For Your Blog
One of the first things I recommend to both new and experienced bloggers
alike, is to try and follow a somewhat narrow niche for
your blog. That doesn’t mean that you have to write about the same thing
every day, but there should be an overarching theme that
you’re covering on your blog. An umbrella under which everything nicely sits
within.
Sometimes bloggers want to write about what’s on their mind that day.
And this can work in small doses—or if you’re running a more personal story
that you don’t intend on ever monetizing. But for those who are hoping to make money blogging in a consistent
manner, it’s a good idea to pick a clear focus that your blog can eventually
become known for. Why?
- For one, it’s a lot easier
to rank your content in Google search results when your blog has a clear
direction
- Another reason to pick a
defined niche, is so you can present a clear, consistent message to your
blog readers
- A niche also makes it easier
for people to search your site.
If your site tries to cover too many blog topics at once, it’s difficult to create a
blog layout that connects all the main themes of your content together in any
cohesive manner. Your visitors won’t know what to expect, and you’ll struggle
to come up with a feasible way to direct them where they want to be.
Tip #2: Use a “Start Here” Link
Many bloggers like to use a link in their main navigation menu titled
something like “Start Here.” It’s often similar to writing an About Me page, but it goes into
greater detail and usually offers clear instructions about what readers should
do next. It’s a good way to introduce new visitors to your blog and share what
your content is all about.
Here’s a list of a few things you should consider adding to your “Start
Here” page:
- An introduction about the
blogger (or blog)
- Glossary of common terms used
on the blog
- Links to your best and most
popular content
- Shopping links if your blog
sells digital or physical products
- Call to action like signing
up for your blog’s newsletter
Tip #3: Create a Learning Center
If you’ve already created a decent amount of content, a learning
center—or detailed resource page like my “Everything about blogging” page—is
another way to keep your content organized.
A learning center is a collection of categories arranged in one section
(or drop-down menu). The idea is for readers to be able to quickly find answers
to common questions on your blog. Learning centers are often arranged by media
types like videos, blog posts and podcasts, as well as by general topics.
Smart Passive Income is a
blog run by personal finance blogger, Pat Flynn, for aspiring online entrepreneurs.
They use a very well-designed drop-down menu featuring a learning center for
easier access to common topics they cover on the blog. Some of the topics they
list include:
- Affiliate Marketing
- Business Development
- Digital Marketing
- Podcasting (here are my
picks for the best podcast hosting if
you’re considering starting a podcast)
- Book Publishing (or writing an eBook)
- Online Courses
- Email Marketing
All of these topics fit under the umbrella of online entrepreneurship,
but each one is a bit more specific. You may have landed on their blog to learn
more about affiliate marketing, and
they’ve made it easier for you to access that information.
If you click on the affiliate marketing menu item, it navigates you to a
curated landing page that breaks down all of their top resources on the
subject:
Here you’re able to find a variety of helpful information about
affiliate marketing, including how to go about finding and joining the best affiliate programs for bloggers. Here, they link to their best guides to affiliate marketing,
courses they’ve created, additional articles, tools and podcast, episodes
related to subject. All of this is put on one single page for easy access to
readers.
A learning center is best suited for a blog that already offers a
lot of information, but wants to provide quick, easy access to
specific categories that readers are already coming to your site for. And in
that context, it really adds a lot of value to your blog layout in terms of
creating a more reader-friendly experience.
3. Design Your Blog Posts to be Easily Scannable
Like it or not, writing for the Internet is very different than most
other styles of writing.
It’s very different when compared to verbose academic writing or
published books. When people read on the Internet, they (most often) want blog
posts that are easy to scan and quickly digest the key points they’re searching
for answers about.
That’s not to say people are unwilling to read long blog posts. Most
people will read long-form articles from start to finish if they’re
highly engaged in the subject matter. However, many people want to scan blog headlines to first determine if they want
to read the article (or think they’ll be able to find answers to specific
questions they have)—and often extend that scanning practice into how they read
the content too.
Need Catchy Blog Title Ideas?
how to write a blog post outline,
but here are some quick tips for formatting your blog posts:
- Write short sections
- Avoid big blocks of text
- Break up text with images
and headers
- Organize sections by headers
and sub-headers
- Use bullet points or numbers
to break up long sections of text
Let’s use this blog post right here as an example. Suppose I have a
reader who came to my blog, looking for a very specific answer. Maybe they
wanted to know what size font that I would recommend for their blog layout.
My headers should make it very easy for that reader to scan the blog
post, in order to find the answer quickly—plus there’s a navigational table of
content running along the right side of this article (when viewing on desktop).
For long blog posts, you can make it even easier by making a WordPress
table of contents at the beginning of your blog post layouts
4. Utilize High-Quality Images (or Graphics)
Another mark of a great blog layout and design, is the use of
high-quality images and graphics.
If you’ve visited a site that has low-resolution images, or poorly made
graphics, you know this can be a turn-off (or can lead you not to trust the
site).
If you’re not already convinced of the benefit to using quality images
on your blog, here are some blogging statistics that might persuade
you:
- A blog post with an image
gets 94% more views.
- In an online store, customers think that the quality of a products image
is more important than product-specific information (63%), a long
description (54%) and ratings and reviews (53%). Take for example, my
roundup of Bluehost reviews.
- When people hear
information, they generally remember 10% of the information when asked
three days later. If an image is paired with the same information, people
are able to retain 65% of the information after three days.
- Just 3% of bloggers add 10+
images per article, but they are 2.5x more likely to report “strong
results” than the average blogger. This statistic is a little harder to
decode, but it’s essentially saying that bloggers who post 10+ images per
post see better results than those who include fewer images. It may not be
natural to fit 10 images into a short blog post, but it’s suggesting that
more images make your overall blog layout more appealing.
This isn’t to say that high quality text (written content) is
meaningless… because that’s far from true. Blogging is still
largely about what it’s always been—and that’s still primarily the written
word, because search engines like Google still “read” content through text.
What these statistics do mean however, is that your images matter as
well—and high-quality images & graphics will make your blog layout that
much more appealing, more shareable and more memorable to your readers.
Think of your images and graphics as an integral part of the story that
you’re telling. The higher the quality, the better impression they’ll make on
your blog readers.
5. Consider Page Load Time
Load time is another very important consideration when it comes to your
overall blog layout. That’s where Google PageSpeed optimization comes
into play.
As we just talked about, including visuals in your blog layout is
extremely important. However, if your images, clunky WordPressplugins or other slow-loading content are clogging up your load time,
then that’s a potentially big problem.
The truth is we’re pretty impatient—people won’t wait very long for a
page to load. They may think your site isn’t working properly, or they may just
not care enough to wait more than a couple of seconds. Here are some statistics
that show the real need for fast page load times:
- 53% of your visitors will
leave your site if it takes more than 3 seconds to load
- A one-second page response
delay reduces conversion by 7% (read this guide for more on designing your
website with conversion rates in mind)
- Websites with a 1-3 second
load time have a much lower bounce rate probability than those with a
longer load time
Another good reason to keep your load time in check is your blog’s overall SEO profile.
Load time is one of the key factors that Google uses to determine its search engine results rankings.
The faster load time your blog has, the better chance it has of ranking high in
organic search results. For example, if you’re an eCommerce company and it
takes a lot of time for your page to load, users will leave your site long before
completing a purchase. Consider investing in a headless
eCommerce platform, which can dramatically speed up the load time on
your site.
So how do you make sure that your pages are loading quickly? Here are
some easy ways to help optimize your load time.
Test Your Page Load Speed
The first step in determining which changes need to be made with your
blog layout, is discovering what your current load speed is. You can use a free
testing tool like Google’s
PageSpeed Insights to gather these figures:
After running a test with the Google PageSpeed Insights tool, you’ll get
a list of actionable suggestions on where you can trim down your page load
speed.
Remove Unnecessary Plugins
If you’re using WordPress for your self-hosted blog then you’re probably
familiar with plugins.
Plugins are extremely useful tools that help you do more with your
blog—and there are many plugins I couldn’t live without. The downside of (some)
plugins though, is that they can contribute to slower load times if they inject
a lot of code into your site, in order to perform the additional functionality
you want.
One way to combat this, is to get rid of plugins that are redundant or
no longer useful to the core functions of your blog. You may have installed
several plugins that do the same job without realizing it, too. If there are
plugins that no longer help grow your blog or better
monetize your content, then take some time to consider which plugins you can
get by without.
Choose a Faster Hosting Plan
Your blog’s hosting plan can
make a big difference when it comes to the load time of your pages and posts.
It may be tempting to pick from the absolute cheapest hosting plans when you’re just
getting started on a tight budget—and that’s ok for a little while—but they
often aren’t the best choice as your blog grows in time. You’ll want to upgrade
to something like one of these managed WordPress hosting plans once
your budget permits.
You can learn a lot more about hosting from my guide to shared hosting and in
my Q&A about how much does web hosting cost?—but
when it comes to hosting recommendations, my top three are:
- Dreamhost (and their fast $2.59/mo plan)
- Bluehost (and
their quick $5.45/mo choice plus plan)
- SiteGround (and
their speedy $5.95/mo plan)
All three of these recommendations perform well on independent speed
tests, but Dreamhost usually tests the fastest in terms of average page load
speed (and they’re the most budget-friendly too). Each of these hosting
companies offer affordable plans for bloggers, packed with a lot of features so
you can’t go wrong when signing up with one—and I’ve used all three over the
years.
Choose a More Minimalist Blog Layout (or WordPress Theme)
One of the reasons I keep my own blog layout and design so simple, is to
reduce the page load time it takes for readers to load my content.
You may not want to keep things quite as minimalist as I do here, but you
can help your blog layout a lot in terms of load speed by choosing a WordPress theme that won’t slow your site
down much.
The three WordPress themes I recommend that run very quickly and have
only a light amount of code loading in their default settings include:
- GeneratePress
Pro WordPress Theme: I now use a customized version of this ultra
fast, lightweight theme here on my blog today and they offer a free version to start with.
- Astra WordPress
Theme:
This great (also free) theme is just about as minimalist and quick as
GeneratePress, and also has a Pro version you can eventually upgrade to
once you need additional functionality.
- Elementor Page Builder: If you want a
WordPress theme with a visual page builder (which I used for many years),
the only one worth considering today—from a page load speed perspective—is
Elementor and their Hello Theme which pairs very nicely with it.
Installing the Best WordPress Performance Plugins
Even after choosing a lightweight WordPress theme to power your blog,
you can get a lot of extra speed and optimization gains out of installing the
right performance plugins. Unfortunately, you’ll have to buy a performance
plugin for your blog, as there just aren’t any truly beneficial free options
out there (that don’t have drawbacks outweighing their benefits).
I use both of these performance plugins on my blog today, and they’re
all you’ll need:
- Perfmatters ($24.95/year):
This is by far my favorite performance plugin, because it’s been built
specifically with the overarching goal of being as lightweight, fast and
intuitive as possible. To that end, they’ve done an excellent job. After
installing it here on my blog and using their default configurations, I
saw an immediate speed boost in my page load times—and there’s a lot you
can tinker with to get more gains . Plus, they offer a 30 day money back
guarantee in the event you decide the plugin isn’t impacting your speed as
much as you’d hoped for.
- WP Rocket ($49/year): As a nice complement
to Perfmatters, WP Rocket comes into play as a great caching tool (which
creates much faster load times) and does a fantastic job of optimizing and
reducing the weight of the HTML, CSS and JS files your blog loads each
time a reader hits a page. WP Rocket also offers a no questions asked
money back guarantee—just be sure to reach out within 14 days of your
purchase if things aren’t going according to plan and they’ll refund you.
There are a lot more things you can do to slim down your blog layout’s
page load time (the subject for a later date), but putting these simple best
practices and tools into place—is a great foundation. Keep these kinds of
factors in mind too, if you’re considering buying
a blog that’s already been around the block.
6. Include Compelling CTAs (Calls to Action)
You’ve probably heard it before, but if you’re not totally familiar with
the term, let me take a moment to explain what a call to action really is.
See this big header and form near the top of homepage?
That’s a call to action—and it’s asking readers to join my email list
Here are some potential actions you’ll likely hope your reader will
take:
- Donate money to save the
whales
- Sign up for your newsletter
- Go to other important
articles on your blog for further reading
So how do you drive more readers toward an intended outcome with your
blog layout? To help direct people, you need to frequently employ what’s known
as a “Call to Action.” If you haven’t included a call to action within your
blog post yet, many people will read it, leave your page and give it very
little thought later.
It’s not that readers don’t care about whales, it’s that they weren’t
given anything tangible to do next. You’ve alerted them to a problem, but you
haven’t offered them any solutions.
It’s your job to make it super simple to help whales. Your first step as
a blogger, is to expose an issue and the next is to offer really easy solutions
to help with that problem.
Here’s how you can include CTAs that help further your cause:
- Solution 1: Donate to
organizations that help whales. Include links to several organizations
that you support. Showing people exactly which organizations you recommend
cuts down on their research time. They don’t have to spend additional time
searching for reputable places to donate when you’ve presented them with
organizations right on your page.
- Solution 2: Join your email
list. Tell
your blog’s visitors that they can learn more about helping sea creatures
by signing up for your email newsletter. The more they hear about sea
animals, the more likely they will want to help—plus, you can give more
clear directions on how to support the right organizations over email too.
- Solution 3: Include links to
other blog posts you’ve written. Another way you can use a CTA, is to include
links to other blog posts you’ve written. Maybe one of the things you
mentioned in your article about whales is the danger of plastic pollution.
You can include a link to another article you’ve written about how to
reduce plastic waste.
Here’s how they’ve included CTAs within their top-level menu that’s
loaded across all the pages on their site:
At the top of their pages within their menu, they include several ways
to get involved with the protection of wild lands:
- Key Issues
- News
- Get Involved
- Join
- Donate
These links are easy to access and answer the most fundamental questions
behind their mission. The “join” and “donate” buttons are easy to identify and
understand.
They also include CTAs directly within their blog posts. In the middle
of one blog post, they included a link to an article with more information on a
similar, closely related topic.
At the end of the article, they include links to additional articles
related to caring for wild lands, followed by an easy way to sign up for their
newsletter:
Each one of these CTAs helps further their blogging goals—and makes it much easier for readers
to actually do something with the information they’re reading.
7. The Fine Line Between Creative and Cluttered
Not every blog layout or design needs to be as minimalist as mine. Here,
we’re going to review a few alternative blog layouts that are very diverse in
their design decisions—illustrating that you can be extremely creative without
forfeiting ease of use and functionality.
However, it should be known that there’s a very fine
line between creativity and chaos. If your blog readers can’t find your content
easily (or feel instantly overwhelmed by the amount of things that are going on
with your blog layout), then your site isn’t functioning at its highest
potential.
Here are a few specific elements that can distract your readers from
consuming your content:
Too Many Ads
Having well-placed advertisements on your blog can be a great way
to increase your blog revenue. On the other
hand, a blog that’s lit up with ads blinking in the header, footer, sidebar and
in the middle of your content—can be extremely distracting. I can tell you that
I’ve personally left many blogs without reading a word of
content for this exact reason.
People are coming to your blog primarily to solve a problem they have,
by searching for answers in your content. If there are too many ads muddling up
your articles, you run the risk of looking like a spam site that’s hiding answers
from readers for just long enough to get some extra ad impressions, instead of
being a genuinely useful, reputable source of information.
A Messy Sidebar
There are certainly pros and cons when it comes to using your blog sidebar. Some people recommend not having one at all, while others say that it can be very helpful for navigation and tastefully promoting your blog content.
Try to include only the most vital information that you want readers to
know about and take action on. For everything else, put it in the footer.
No Use of Negative Space
Earlier, we talked about about the ways in which I thoughtfully utilize
white space on my blog layout. Some bloggers feel the need to have text or
images covering every inch of real estate on their blogs. My advice is not to
be afraid of leaving some comfortable spacing throughout your blog layout, as
it can often be more calming to readers than a design that’s jam-packed with
elements.
Negative space also allows people to more easily locate important
information on your blog. It gives you an opportunity to highlight the most
essential features (or articles) on your blog.
Engagement is king when it comes to Internet content. This is true both
on social media and with blogging.
There are tons of guides about achieving greater engagement in order to
better promote your blog, but in this
post we’re examining this from a blog layout perspective. What can you do to
encourage engagement as part of your own blog layout?
Here are a few ideas for ways to make your target audience feel like they’re
interacting with your content (and a part of the journey with you).
Show the Comment Count at the Top of Your Blog Post Layout
One of the best types of content for
engagement as a blogger, is when readers comment on your blog posts. This is a
perfect window into the thoughts your visitors are having, and an easy way to
build a relationship with many of them. Plus, it helps establish more trust
from readers who can also read your genuine replies in the comments section.
A great way to help readers become more interested in commenting, is by
showcasing a comment count at the beginning of your blog posts. The more
comments people have left, the more others will want to read the comments and
potentially submit one themselves.
Display a “Like” Button on Your Post
Another way to increase engagement on your blog posts, is to display a
like button—whether or not it’s actually connected to a social media platform
like Facebook.
This is very reminiscent of social media, and it gives people a quick
way to show that they like what you’ve written.
Include Social Media Share Buttons
Make it easy for your visitors to share your content by including social
media share buttons. readers can lift
specific quotes straight from my blog posts and share them right on their
Twitter profiles (a social network where I discover and connect with lots of my
readers).
Ask Readers if the Content You’re Sharing Has Helped Them
A common way to increase engagement with your readers, is by asking questions
directly in your blog posts. Asking simple questions or opening an opportunity
for them to ask questions is a great way to create conversations with more of
your readers.
You can take this one step further and make it an integral part of your
blog layout, too. A lot of online help centers include a button at the bottom
of their content, asking if an article was helpful.
If you choose the no response, they’ll prompt you to say what wasn’t helpful about the experience:
If you’re creating blog posts specifically designed to help people with
a specific task, or answer a clear question, this could be a very savvy way to
get immediate feedback on your content.
Ultimately, it starts a conversation that allows your readers to tell
you if something is helpful or not. Those that take the time to give you an
answer will show you what may be lacking from your tutorial—and you’ll
(hopefully) receive some praise there too.
9. Brand Your Blog Layout
Your marketing 101 class will tell you that branding is a crucial part
of creating lasting, long-term success. And it’s true, branding can help set
you apart from the competition and makes you more recognizable to your
customers (and prospects) across many mediums and metrics.
As you’re designing your own blog layout, look for opportunities to
brand your site as being somehow unique. Your entire blog should be cohesive,
and each page (or post) should match the look and feel of rest of your blog.
For example, you wouldn’t want your homepage to be bland and then other pages
to be in vibrant technicolor. Stick to a theme that makes sense for you.
Now, let’s go through some of the ways that you can use branding to make
your blog layout that much better.
Define Your Message (and Personality)
You have a distinct personality and so should your blog.
- What parts of you do
you want to come out in your blog layout?
- Are you attracted to bright
colors or monochromatic themes?
- Are you a photographer that
wants to use a lot of images in your design?
- Maybe you’re a designer that
could use your blog layout as an opportunity to showcase your graphics?
- If you’re a writer, take
your layout as a way to highlight your style and tone.
Think about what parts of you need to be included as a
core feature of your blog layout, and carry that idea throughout your site’s
design.
Choose Your Branding Colors
Color is a very tangible way to brand your blog and choose a specific
mood for the site. For my blog, I use a few specific shades of blue here. This
color scheme is carried throughout my blog and in the graphics that I use for
my blog post header images, too.
There are a lot of theories about the use of color and how people
interact with it, but I chose to lean on shares of blue largely out of personal
preference for the color—and the very cool, calm, relatable sense that I feel
it conveys to my readers.
- Some people ascribe feelings
to when they view certain colors.
- Some colors may put people
at ease, while others may make them uncomfortable.
You can even look up color charts to determine what kind of vibe you want
your blog’s brand to exhibit. For example, green is often associated with
growth and prosperity, while red is sometimes linked to energy and passion.
More than the color you choose, the way you implement it, is what
matters most. Choose colors that complement each other and try to maintain a
consistent color scheme throughout your blog layout, as not to confuse your
regular readers. This will help you develop your branding strategy and become
much more memorable over the long-haul.
Ignyte is
a marketing firm based out of San Diego, California. While the core function of
their website is to drive new business (as all smart small business website designs should), they also have
a blog component to their site. They use a shade of purple in a very unique way
throughout their website. The results are pretty visually captivating:
Though it’s an unusual choice on the surface, their use of purple for
text and images is memorable and visually appealing.
Design a Captivating Logo for Your Blog
Logos are a part of our daily life without us even really noticing it.
See mine in the top left corner of my blog menu?
Without looking it up, try to think of the logo for Nike. Now think
about Apple products, Coca Cola and Disney. We all roughly know what these
logos look like, and can imagine them instantly in our minds. Nike can brand a
black t-shirt with nothing more than a tiny swoosh and just about everyone who
sees that shirt will know who made it.
You see the golden arches and you’re already craving french fries and a
burger. Though the me today, would much rather channel that energy
toward one of the best vegan burgers in LA.
That’s why a logo is so helpful as a part of your branding strategy. You
can place your logo across your content and over time, readers will
automatically identify it as yours.
Choose a Typography
We already discussed the importance of legible fonts for your blog, but
once you’ve chosen your typography, use it consistently throughout your blog
layout.
This is another way to ensure that you’re creating a brand and
personality to your blog. There’s also the strategy of pairing fonts that work
well together. If you use different fonts for your navigation menu, you want
them to look good with the typography within the body text of your blog posts.
For an introduction to pairing fonts, you can check out Google’s font page. Every
time you select a font, it shows you all the styles the font comes in—as well
as the fonts it pairs best with. This is what it looks like:
Some of your branding strategies will be influenced by the audience
you’re trying to reach.
And since this is such a big part of your blog layout, I’ve dedicated my
entire next best practice to making your blog layout specifically designed to
appeal well to your target audience.
10. Make Your Blog Layout Relate to Your Audience
My final best practice for designing a winning blog layout, is to make
layout decisions with your audience in mind—because what appeals to one group
of people, may not be as relatable to another.
If you’re asking yourself… do people still read blogs? Well,
the answer is a resounding yes. Now, let’s run through a couple of layout
examples that show how you’d make design decisions based on the distinctly
different audiences you want to attract.
Which Blog Layout Style Should You Use?
If you’re brand new to blogging, you may not be totally familiar with
the likes and dislikes of your audience. You may not even know who your ideal
audience is yet (and that’s ok).
A good way to figure this out, is to check out other blogs within your
niche. Look through a dozen or so sites in your niche and notice what stands
out about their blogs.
- Do they have an exciting
color scheme?
- Do you love their graphics
or imagery?
- Do they have an
exceptionally user-friendly navigation menu?
- Does their blog layout feel
bold or conservative?
To help jump-start your research, we’re going to dive into twelve blog
layout examples below here now—showcasing several of my favorite blogs
that have remarkable designs and clever layouts to give you some real
inspiration. We’re going to walk through some very diverse blog layouts and
styles that’ll show you it’s possible to tailor your blog to any audience.
Remember though… this is not a one-size-fits-all recommendation, because there are many different ways to create a successful blog layout, based on variables like who your audience is and any design statements you personally want to make.
Font Type and Sizing
Choosing a font size and type is relatively easy. The main thing here is
to pick something that’s easy to read. Text that’s too small or hard to
decipher will make your bounce rate higher.
Enticing Descriptions and “Continue Reading” CTA Button
Whether they use a list or grid style to display your blog posts, most
bloggers include a short description of their blog post to be sampled for
readers. Your blog visitors are going to decide whether or not to continue
reading based on the featured image and the description you’ve provided, so
make it good.
Don’t squander this description. Try to write something that’ll entice
them to keep reading, and include a “Continue Reading” call to action button:
Pagination at the Bottom
Another way to get people to continue reading your content is to put
clear pagination at the bottom of your list of blog posts. This shows readers
that you have more content and encourages them to discover more on your site.
This feature also keeps your blog homepage from becoming overloaded with
content that runs on a continuous scroll.
Taking Advantage of the Footer
The final thing I’d like to point out about my blog layout, is the
footer. The footer of your blog can be used for a variety of key links, pages
and calls to action. I take advantage of my footer section both on individual
blog posts and on all the pages across my site, to encourage further engagement
with my readers.
I share additional blog posts people might be interested in, some of my
most popular posts and my most recent posts.
And though this is technically above the actual footer of my blog, I
take full advantage of the end of each blog post by incorporating a clear,
single call to action for my readers to take:
This call to action lives at the bottom of just about every post on my
blog—it’s in large text, asks a question and utilizes a unique button that
readers can click on. The introduction of these elements makes it easier for
people to find more relevant information
At the bottom of each blog post, I also share some information about
myself and my blog (as the author), and I have an easy to locate comment
widget.
Your blog layout may not look anything like mine… and
that’s totally fine!
Diversity is a strength in the blogging world, so it’s better when our
blogs aren’t just copies of each other. Even so, these blog layout and design
best practices will make your own blog stand out.
What Are You Going to Do With Your Own Blog Layout?
Now that we’ve covered all of the most crucial blog layout best
practices, and have analyzed a ton of blog layout examples, how will you
structure the design of your own blog?
Now it’s time for you to take what you’ve learned—and apply it to your
own blog layout and overall site design.
- How are you going to take
these blog layout ideas and tailor them to fit your vision?
- What do you like (and
dislike) about the blog layout examples you’ve seen here?
- Did you find any blog layout
mistakes you’ve made, that you’re now ready to fix?
Remember… nobody should ever create a carbon copy clone of another person’s blog layout. That’s a form of plagiarism. But you can still take a lot of inspiration from the blog layouts you’ve seen here in this guide, because they’ve been intentionally designed to attract (and retain) readers over the course of many years.
And keep in mind that these blog layouts you’ve seen here, follow proven
best practices that are designed to keep your bounce rate low—and encourage
people to return to your blog for more.
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