You might take it for granted when you visit blogs, but when you operate your own, you soon find out how important a blog design is. Sometimes you’ll find a template you’re okay with, but other times, you’ll be stuck and need to create your own. Below, FindableBlogs.com discusses the ways you can design your own blog with limited graphic design knowledge.
Many of the designers I work with are bloggers themselves, but some are not, so this is intended to be an introduction to what goes into a blog design.
When I refer to blog design on this page, I’m specifically talking about the part of the process that happens in a graphics program like Photoshop or Fireworks. The part that happens after that (where I take the design file and turn it into a working design) is what I refer to as coding—and a lot of designers aren’t interested in that at all (which is fine by me!).
Elements of a blog design
I’m going to start by defining some terms that I use when talking about blog elements.
- The header is the section at the top of the blog that comes before any of the blog’s actual content. It often contains elements like…
- The blog title usually describes the blog. Sometimes this is also simply the name of the main site if the blog is just part of a bigger site.
- The tagline clarifies the purpose of the blog (or sometimes just provides a laugh).
- Many blogs have navigation near the top of the blog to help visitors find their way around.
- The main content in a blog is its posts. Posts usually contain some or most of these items…
- The post title communicates quickly the point of the post. It’s like an email subject line.
- The post content is the “article” that gives the post purpose. It’s like the body of an email.
- Information about the post is called metadata. The following are examples of metadata…
- Most blogs feature the date and/or time the post was written to help readers gain context.
- Categories and/or tags help the reader quickly determine the topic and find more posts on the same topic.
- Blogs that allow comments provide a link to read and write them.
- The name of the post’s author helps readers associate the post with a specific person. This is essential on blogs with more than one author, and helpful even on single-author blogs.
- Most blogs have one or more sidebar. The sidebar is a place for information and tools that go beyond specific posts. The sidebar is made up of…
- Widgets are self-contained chunks of information that the blog owner can add and move around.
- The footer contains more “meta” information, typically about the whole blog rather than just a post. It usually has…
To see the rest of the article click the link below:
Resource: http://www.findableblogs.com/blog-design-basics/
Do you ever wonder who is reading your blog? If not, it might be beneficial for you to find out. It’s become very important to not only find out who is reading your blog, but, to find the correct reading audience for your blog niche. Findableblogs.com has a very in-depth article on ways you can identify your ideal blog reader:
If you’re convinced that you need to create an ideal reader, you’ll be eager to dig into the details. Get a notebook and pen, or use your computer and open up a text editor. Let’s go!
Start with generalities:
- Who is your target audience for your product or service? Does it make sense for your ideal reader to be the same?
- Thinking about your business goals for your blog, who is the target audience that is most likely to help you reach those goals? For instance, if one of your big goals is three leads a week, then your ideal reader is someone who is your ideal customer, but has increased motivation to take action now. If a big goal is to increase credibility and become known as an expert, your ideal reader might be a person who’s considered an expert among his or her peers and has a lot of connections and influence.
- What is your reader’s main motivation to visit your blog? In the first example above, the “ideal customer” is motivated to find a solution to a problem that’s currently causing discomfort or pain. On the other hand, the “connected expert” (in the second example) is more likely looking for interesting information that he can pass on to his circle to enhance their opinion of him and cement his good reputation.
Once you have some general ideas about your ideal reader, start to narrow it down and discover a single person that would read your blog. You might be able to use an existing customer or colleague as your model. Feel free to start writing a bit of a narrative rather than just answering each question individually.
- Is your reader male or female? How old?
- Is your reader tech-savvy?
- Where does your reader currently get the information he/she needs? For instance, talking with people, books, magazines, websites, etc.
- Why will this reader care about your blog?
- What’s significant about where your reader works, lives, shops, and or/plays?
- How knowledgeable is your reader about your topic?
- Is your reader reading for personal enrichment or professional development?
- Is your reader’s need for your knowledge urgent or curiosity-driven?
To see the rest of the article click the link below:
Resource: http://www.findableblogs.com/how-to-identify-your-ideal-reader/
Have you ever heard of the term, “blogger ethics”? If you have, maybe you’re not sure exactly what it means, and if you haven’t, I’m here to break it down for you.
Like anything else in life, there are “laws” or “codes” you have to follow as a blogger, even if they’re not written out all the time. Read through these few short rules, remember them, and you’ll never run into any issues or problems
- Be Honest - One of the biggest, if not the biggest rules in blogging is to always be honest. It’s your duty as a blogger to post honest, fair, and factual information. You never want to plagiarize another blog or bloggers work without giving them the proper credit.
- Give Link Love - If you do borrow a story/information/posting from another blog or blogger, make sure to give them a link in that posting, just as a quick little thank you and recognition of their work. You wouldn’t want somebody stealing your hard work, and they don’t want it done to them.
- Be Accountable - Look, we all make mistakes, and that’s okay. Nobody is ever going to be perfect, so, it’s okay to make mistakes - just make sure you put in the effort to fix them. Try your best to not have any favoritism towards other bloggers or advertisers, and make sure you treat other bloggers like you want to be treated.
- Be Personable - As I mentioned above, it’s only fair to treat other bloggers how you would like to be treated as well. The blogging community is a very social one, and we’re all available to help each other whenever the situation calls for it. Be sensitive to other bloggers needs and desires, as well with sensitive topics and stories.
Follow these simple rules, and you’ll be living in the high life of the blogging community.
