Once you’ve chosen the platform for your business blog, it’s time to customize the design. This is a very important task because it is the first step in getting visitors interested in reading your content.
Let’s see some tips to get your site more visitors and make them stay:
1. Align the elements
In general, the basic format of a blog is divided into header, menu, content area, sidebar, and footer. Look:
- Header: This usually includes the title of the blog and an image that coordinates the entire layout.
- Menu: contains the links to the internal pages ( ‘Who we are’, ‘Contact’, etc.) and the categories of the publications.
- The content area: is the section in which the posts and the comment and sharing plugins are displayed.
- Sidebar: it is the space for the author’s profile, banners, and any other extra resources, such as search boxes and social network icons.
- Footer: Generally, it presents the content’s credits and the blog’s design.
Each blog template, however, has its own peculiarities. For example, some designs do not have a menu and have the sidebar on the left or can have up to two different ones.
No matter how many sections you decide to incorporate, the elements’ alignment is essential.
Make sure all the columns are aligned in a straight line. The content of each one, in turn, also has to follow the same orientation.
Imagine the following: the menu is centered, the sidebar has all images positioned to the right, and your content area keeps all text to the left. It would be uncomfortable for the eyes, wouldn’t it?
2. I chose a few fonts
Another important point to avoid visual pollution in your blog design is not to use too many fonts for the content of each section.
Design specialists recommend using a maximum of two or three fonts for specific functions.
The choice of a typeface can also say a lot about the style of your brand. The fonts that imitate calligraphy give a more personal and delicate touch, while the more minimalist ones suggest modernity and serenity.
To select the best option, take into account the image you want to convey to your audience and design your brand logo. Also, use reasonable sizes so that the text is well readable.
3. Define a color palette
It is useless for the elements to be aligned and for you to use good fonts if, at the same time, the design has many colors.
If you use too many shades in your blog, it will generate “excess information” that is very annoying for the eyes of visitors.
We advise you to define a color palette to avoid problems in the future. It can be your logo combination or just your favorite colors, but keep in mind that each color combination will convey a different message.
And remember: less is always more, so you must be judicious and prioritize tones that combine.
4. Standardize the images
It is also important to use images in specific sizes to maintain the harmony of the design. Calculate how many pixels the content area has, for example, and edit the photos or illustrations of the posts so that they are proportional. This helps maintain the alignment we talked about in the first point.
Finally, the proposal of your blog is reinforced if you determine the same style for the images. Will they have softer or more saturated tones? Are you going to use illustrations of any type or only the ones that are minimalist? If you are going to promote what you sell, learn how to take good product photos.
All ready?
Each platform will offer you different customization possibilities, but it is possible to create harmonious and complete designs on all of them. Look at different examples from Blogger, WordPress, and Tumblr.
Do not forget to give priority to responsive options, that is, those that adapt to mobile devices.
If you don’t want to start from scratch, you can check some sites that offer free templates:
- Blogger: My Blogger Themes, Blogger Templates.
- WordPress: FabThemes, Theme Grill, WPExplorer.
- Tumblr: Hifens Themes.
Express your creativity and make your blog have your brand’s identity without forgetting to maintain the aesthetic balance.
