Comments on: Open Mike on Blog Design

By: Kevin D. Hendricks

Kevin D. Hendricks — Fri, 22 Apr 2005 01:34:57 +0000

A blog that sticks with the basic template seems unprofessional. It doesn’t mean I won’t read it, but I don’t give it as much credibility. It’s usually the sign of a personal blog, something that’s not entirely serious or committed. If they’re really trying to do something with the blog, they’ll put at least a little thought into the design. You’re not going to stand out if you’ve got the same Blogger template as 100,000 other people.

By: K. W. Musante

K. W. Musante — Sat, 05 Mar 2005 23:30:42 +0000

I just started my blog, Ken vs. The City about a month ago, and I was surprised how good looking Blogger’s default templates are. I chose a bland one because none of them really reflected me or the city I blog about, but I’m slowly modifying it to my tastes.

The biggest problem I have in making my own template is I don’t yet have anywhere to host any images I might need.

I think a blog should both look cool and make things easy to find. I also think that a majority of blog readers are more interested in what you write than your mad design skillz. But I do agree: more cool design = more readers = more hits. Just don’t over do it.

By: Melinama

Melinama — Tue, 01 Mar 2005 15:06:31 +0000

I used a template because it is readable. So very many of the “imaginative” blogs are virtually unreadable in one browser or another. I’ve given up even trying. If one puts design above readability it implies the content is less important than the wrapping.

By: Sonja

Sonja — Sun, 06 Feb 2005 05:15:07 +0000

I don’t consider myself a snob but I do tend to ignore blogs that use default templates. This isn’t because there is anything wrong with the templates but it tells me the blog owner doesn’t put my effort or imagination into the site. Boring beige is boring beige y’know? However if they’re design skills are weak but they tried as much as they could to change it, then it’s effort that counts :)

My favourite blog is http://www.molly.com/. She’s a great writer and amazing web designer.

By: Tom Hanna

Tom Hanna — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Depends on the context how I view it. I certainly don’t find the basic blogger templates (or basic templates period) very appealing in most cases. For a personal blog, I like to see a design that matches the person’s personality, even if it’s just a matter of tweaking the colors and adding ‘flair’. For a business blog, I want ot see a clean design that makes it easy to find the information I want. (This one is right on.)

Big design flaws that I hate – colors with so little contrast that the text is hard to read and text so small I have to zoom in more than once to be able to read it.