Written on April 26th, 2006 at 12:04 am by Darren Rowse
Blog Credibility and Blog Design
This post is part of a series of posts on building blog credibility
I know that there is a variety of opinions on the value of blog design within ProBlogger’s readership so this might generate some interesting discussion but in my opinion blog design does matter. It is not the only or even best way to establish credibility as a blogger but it can definitely help.
First impressions count and in a world where there are millions of people pitching themselves on virtually any topic you can think of you need to seriously consider how you’ll stand out from the crowd and present yourself in a way that will draw readers into your blog.
Experience, Expertise, Longevity (and every other principle that I’ll talk about in this series) are great at building credibility once a reader makes a decision to actually explore your blog but there are a few crucial seconds that happen before this decision is made and blog design can play a big part and communicate a lot.
Ask yourself:
- What does my blog communicate about me?
- Do the messages I’m trying to convey get lost in the clutter or are they just not there at all?
- Can people tell within a second or two what my blog is about at a first glance?
- Does my design fit with the message that I want to convey?
I am not saying that every blog needs a professional design or that we should all spend loads of money and/or time getting our blogs looking right (in fact some bloggers get terribly distracted from the core business of writing quality content by constantly ‘tweaking’ their design) - all I’m arguing is that whether you like it or not people are making judgments about you and your blog every day based on many levels simply based upon how it looks.
15 Responses to “Blog Credibility and Blog Design”
Rob Elam
April 26th, 2006 12:30 am
Darren,
I’m looking for a blog web designer with a reasonable price for my blog elamb.org. I’ve tried to do this myself with my limited skills the result are that its a bit ametuer looking IMO, and anytime I spend on the design takes away from my marketing (money making) time.
I’m also thinking of going to a more robust CMS or blogware such as Drupal or Expression Engine. I are there any professionals who are equal to or less that $500 that can give me something unique and professional?
Jesse
April 26th, 2006 12:44 am
Rob, there are tons of designers out there that work cheaply. if you want to email me at jesse a t resiny d o t org I can help you find someone
Kelly
April 26th, 2006 12:45 am
Rob, I use EE on all of my blogs and just had my personal one redesigned by a professional. I’m now in line to have Ginkgo Dreams undergo the same treatment.
I’ve spent too many hours trying to do the work on my own, and it will be worth every penny I spend.
E-mail if you want details about what I paid and the whole design process.
Beta Alfa 2.0 » Skriver du blogg?
April 26th, 2006 4:10 am
[…] ProBlogger: Blog Credibility and Blog Design […]
Maribel Hernandez
April 26th, 2006 5:12 am
I posted a trackback to this post called
“Under the Microscope” but, it didn’t show up as trackbacks so I reposted it manually here.
chase
April 26th, 2006 6:09 am
I agree, it took me a really long time, but I have finally found a template that works for my blog. But it is important because readers don’t like messy pages unless that is the type of blog you are doing.
John Mayan
April 26th, 2006 6:28 am
Do the messages I’m trying to convey get lost in the clutter or are they just not there at all?
Clutter is a problem that especially affects blogs. I see a large number of blogs that have all sorts of distractions. You can find blogrolls, social bookmarking buttons, feeds buttons, surveys, flickr photos, maps, and tens of other “features”. And they are all on the side bar! For me, less is more. You should have navigational aids, but the rest is useless.
La percepción de tu blog. » BlogMundi
May 28th, 2006 10:34 am
[…] Como dice Darren Rowse en Problogger: […]
My Hot Image
November 5th, 2006 1:52 am
I agree on the term “Less is more”
cluttering side bars with useless stuff distracts readers from focusing on the content itself
Pronet Advertising
November 14th, 2006 2:30 am
My 50 favorite blogging resources…
There are thousands of blogging related resources on the Internet which can create an overwhelming experience for anyone looking to get into blogging. Because of this I created a list of blogging resources that I use on a regular basis. Here is a list …
Promote Your Websites » Blog Archive » Blogging resources
February 5th, 2007 12:01 am
[…] Weblog Usability - Top 10 blog design mistakes. Blog Tutorial - Tips for blog templates & blog design in Photoshop. Blog Interface Design 2.0 WordPress Theme Browser - Free WordPress themes for your blog. Comprehensive list of 980+ Free WordPress 1.5 and 2.0 Themes / Templates available for download Blog Layout Styles - List of free blog designs for Blogger, TypePad, WordPress, and MySpce. Blog Credibility and Blog Design - How the design of a blog affects credibility. […]
thepaperbull.com » Blog Archive » giving your blog an identity through its chosen theme
March 8th, 2007 9:06 pm
[…] problogger.net touched upon this subject earlier: Blog Credibility and Blog Design. I am not saying that every blog needs a professional design or that we should all spend loads of money and/or time getting our blogs looking right (in fact some bloggers get terribly distracted from the core business of writing quality content by constantly ‘tweaking’ their design) - all I’m arguing is that whether you like it or not people are making judgments about you and your blog every day based on many levels simply based upon how it looks. […]
How to Build a Credible Blog
October 24th, 2007 12:09 am
[…] last year wrote a six part series on the topic which looked at Longevity, Experience, Expertise, Blog Design and 7 other factors that build blog […]
Yong Kiong
October 24th, 2007 2:52 pm
Anyone can tell me if my blog is too cluttered?
Blog Design - Does it Matter?
April 26th, 2008 12:19 am
[…] Blog Credibility and Blog Design […]
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