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Blog Design – Does it Matter?

Posted By Darren Rowse 26th of April 2008 Blog Design 0 Comments

Speed-Posting@mattpacker asks – how important is the design of your blog and how hard a decision do you think it would be to develop a new theme for it?

There will probably be a little debate over this one in the comments on this post because every time I see someone write about design there are two opposing arguments.

On the one side are some blogger who argue that design is secondary and not that important as that it’s content that is what draws people to a blog and keeps them there. This camp often argues that with a lot of people reading blogs these days through RSS that design is less important as people rarely see it.

On the flip side we have the argument that design is very important because it creates a first impression in the mind of potential readers and that it’s around this first impression that many readers base their decision about whether they will subscribe.

My own theory fits more with the second argument – although it’s not absolutely everything in my mind. There are some fairly standard (and even ugly) looking blogs (and many with default/free templates) going around that have big readership so it is possible to ‘make it’ without a custom design.

Lastly – in terms of how hard a decision is it to change design. I personally find it a difficult process. While I appreciate good design I’m not a designer at heart so finding someone that I connect with to do it for me takes time, then deciding what direction to take can be a bit of a heart wrenching process, as can it be to convince your loyal readers that it’s the right thing to do when you launch the change.

Further Reading:

So what do you think? Does Blog Design Matter?

About Darren Rowse
Darren Rowse is the founder and editor of ProBlogger Blog Tips and Digital Photography School. Learn more about him here and connect with him on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Comments
  1. I thinks design is in second place but, we only have few seconds to catch someone :), and a good design maybe can catch a little bit

  2. Yes, I feel blog design does, in fact, matter. This could be because I was a Web Designer before I was a blogger. I love to be visually stimulated as well as mentally. So, for me blog design matters. :)

    Shana

  3. I agree with first impressions being important, but I also go to sites that aren’t always pleasing to my eye for content. Eventually I just turn a blind eye to the visuals and focus on the words. What I really hate is crowded-looking pages, and yet I can deal with them if the info I want from a site is easy to search for and find.

  4. Honestly, I think it only matters to people who really care about design. Yes, a great design makes a good first impressions, but if you content is readable and worthy people are going to read it no matter how it looks.

    I also think it really depends on WHAT your blogging about. If you are blogging about design/art/etc than you definitely SHOULD have a fantastic design.

    But if you’re blogging about dogs, and say your readership is mostly mainstream dog owners who only care about reading your tips and articles, than I think the design part falls to second place – as long as the design isn’t bad enough to distract from the content. But at the same time I do think having a kickass design might draw more people to your site to begin with – but converting them to regular readers/visitors is what your content does.

  5. Why don’t we just say it’s fifty-fifty. The design makes the reader stay on your blog in the first few seconds. After that, the content matters

  6. Do the clothes you wear matter?

    Essentially, that’s the question being asked. If you have brilliant ideas, but are dressed rather like a homeless person, will people generally stop to listen to your ideas? If you’re sick, are you more likely to listen to the doctor in the white coat or the one wearing a clown suit?
    I think it’s important that the design of a blog fit the content. If it’s a funny blog, then the design should be light and, perhaps, even whimsical. If it’s a serious blog, like, for instance, this one, then a simple, professional look is more appropriate. In many ways, with blogging, the medium is the message, at least to an extent.

    Can a blog with mediocre design still attract lots of visitors? Sure, if the content is good enough. But, that’s the catch. The content has to be so good on a poorly designed blog that it makes up for the bad design.

    In short, I think the design matters only in the sense that it shouldn’t get in the way of the message, whatever that may be.

  7. I think theme is most important since people see the theme before they start reading.

  8. In spite of the fact that a growing number of folks are using RSS feed readers to view your content – and so overall site design takes a backseat to the formatting of the posts – I still consider site design to be critical. If your article interests a reader enough to post a comment or explore more of your blog, they’ll come knocking on your website (or blog) front door.

    One of my pet peeves is blog sites that seem to value widgets, gadgets, ads, and other stuff more than the actual content, so their design often features the posts crammed into narrow columns that make the writing difficult or less-comfortable to read.

  9. As a design, I say design matters. I really don’t like badly designed sites, and am less likely to look as thoroughly through a badly-designed blog vs. one with a really cool design.

  10. I think that site design is one of the most important factors to attract loyal visitors. We (peoples :]) usually like when they see good, attractive and simple design elements.

  11. Um…why can’t it be both? I think content and design are equally important and for different reasons. Doesn’t the design and overall “look” of a site draw new readers in? And isn’t it the quality of content that keeps them there reading? I don’t know…I guess I’m just surprised that folks discuss these ideas as mutually exclusive entities.

    And yes SpaceAge, I really hate crowded-looking pages too…but I’m also a bit on the ADHD side and can’t turn a blind eye. I’ve given up on some sites because I keep sentence-hopping as a result of a visual overload. Ooo…is that coffee?

  12. In the case of this argument, I would like to side on the second option.

    I am of the belief at we are an extremely visual society, on some levels subconsciously.

    This applies to just about every scenario known to man, except for the blind. As for the blind, I don’t know if in their minds there is quite a vivid picture of what we consider to be the world around us.

    However being online is like being in a group of salmon swimming upstream. If, as a blogger, you want to stand out, isn’t it logical to reason that a visual stimulation might grab the attention of an online surfer far more quickly than trying to pick which of the millions of blue salmon is the best one.

  13. I tend to ride the fence on this one as well, Darren. There are some awfully good blogs with strong content and crappy designs that have built up an impressive readership over the years. However, I think the best of the best combine strong content with a good, clean design.

    I believe it is better to have a mediocre design (at a minimum) and strong content, than produce mediocre content and have a beautiful design. Sure, you may make a nice first impression, but even the prettiest lipstick on a pig doesn’t change the fact it is a pig! Eventually, poor content shines through even the best looking templates.

  14. “…so finding someone that I connect with to do it for me takes time, then deciding what direction to take can be a bit of a heart wrenching process, as can it be to convince your loyal readers that it’s the right thing to do when you launch the change.”

    As a web designer/developer by trade, that right there is the number one thing I run into – it is difficult for someone to find the right designer, and then make the direction change and have it be what is “wanted” as well as “needed.”

    Then, to get the audience to agree – I have seen several sites lose traffic, visitors and readership because of a design change – and the change was not poorly done or wrong, but generally, people are resistant to change.

  15. People barely see it because of RSS?

    Are there blogs where the majority of readers are RSS?

  16. Hell yeah blog design matters!

    A good blog design helps carry the content of a blog much better.

    A bad blog design will hinder the reader from being able to read your content.

    A unique and good blog design will make your blog memorable and support your content that much better.

  17. I use a “Free” Blogger Template with customized graphics. It’s an otherwise simple design that serves me well by providing a sample of my work without cluttering the environment of the page further, which (as an artist) is useful to me.

    Regardless of what you choose, custom title graphics are a MUST in my book. A good title / logo design is as much a part of the user experience as anything else.

  18. StationStops, yes, I do think that there could be blogs that are predominantly read via their RSS feed.

    I have over 150 blogs in my Google Reader subscription list. There are a number of those that I rarely visit directly. As often as time permits – and where I feel I have something meaningful to contribute – I do go to blogs and post comments, but I can’t hit ’em all.

    Regardless, your site’s design is still a significant factor and well worth taking the time to really think about. Default themes are a good starting point, but they need to be refined and tweaked to best suit your blog’s purpose and your style. Your blog is the closest representation many (most?) people will have of YOU – make it count!

  19. Blog design is very important since, as you say, it is the first impression one gets when they first visit your site.

    Besides the aspect (design) of the blog, I think that navigation is very important too. Helping users find information will make them return to your site afterwards (of course, if the content is there).

  20. Design does matter! When clicking through random blogs at blog catalog and other services, Ill hit the back button if the blog is not visually appealing to me. Yes, I may be missing out on some good content and writing.

    A lot of new bloggers don’t have the HTML and design skills as us web designers and graphic artists, so It is very unfortunate for them that readers will just click off.

    and that just gave me an idea for a new blog!

    Previous link on name was not correct. Thanks D.

  21. Design Does Matter! I will leave a website if the site has a bad design. To me that means you don’t really care about your website and won’t take the time or spend the money for a proper design.

  22. I think design does matter, but less so the visual design and more so the navigational design. Most standard templates are visually passable (though they do look like standard templates) but blogs, particularly my own on blogger, has frustratingly poor navigation. Result is that very few users get beyond the front page. Bit sad in my own case as much of my content is timeless. I guess I really ought to design my own site and give up on this blogging thing.

    Best

    Nik Peachey

  23. I think design and content are both important. In studying web usability, the layout and design of a site are extremely important.

    Make it as simple as possible for people to navigate your site and find what they are looking for.

  24. John F. says: 04/26/2008 at 3:40 am

    Unless the design is so bad that it is literally a barrier to the user (usability), it can be probably inversely bad to how good your content is and still suffice.

    To put it another way, if you really have great content that people want, they will probably slog through anything to get at it. If your content isn’t so hot, your site better be.

    The stock templates for most blogging systems however are more than adequate enough to not interfere with the users needs, and provide a baseline aesthetic well above the average person (the average blog reader?).

    Does design do all the wonderful things design can do? Build a brand, first or lasting impression, make the site look more professional, etc.. Yes, of course. But Bad Design has to be really really bad to have the opposite effect.

    Also, you have to take in to account your audience. No one is going to take a design blog seriously if it’s badly designed. A financial blog? A pet blog?

  25. I think design plays an important role in reducing the blog bounce rate. If the design is attractive and your good posts are highlighted in the correct manner, then the reader is likely to move to the next page on your blog rather than just going away in 5 or 6 seconds.

  26. Speaking for the newbies, I’d say that design matters. I’ve only had my blog for a month and I’ve got a fairly large readership (larger than I was expecting, anyway) and most of them have pitched in with a request or two for a design change. I think having a quality design also makes a huge difference in whether you can have ads on your blog in a non-invasive, pleasing-to-the-eye sort of way. Most templates aren’t as good at the ad problem, whereas most custom designs make their ads look more like recommended materials or sites, and that difference is usually why I wind up clicking.

  27. Rajaie says: 04/26/2008 at 4:05 am

    Surely you have to balance between the two. But there are many sites out there that use a free theme and yet they have hundreds of thousands visitors a day. I think that when you first begin your blog, you should focus on content more than design, and when you’re blog grows more popular, then that’s when I recommend branding your blog with a custom theme and logo.

  28. As a NON-designer, I say design is fairly important, but it does not have to be perfect. If I can navigate your site and find what I’m looking for, that is a good first step. If I feel good when I’m there, even better. If I can’t move around and I absolutely hate how I feel when I’m there (this will be subjective but you can appeal to the masses), I won’t stay very long, I won’t come back and I certainly won’t subscribe. So, as long as it isn’t “hard” to be at your site, you have a good-enough design and you might not have to improve it. As we speak/type I have a designer (www.idesignstudios.com) working on my website because mine won’t “just” be a blog and I do think professionalism, in my case, will bring the clients…hopefully. I can’t wait for the launch on May 1st!

  29. I agree with you. If I’m checking out a new blog, I am turned off right away if the page is too crowded or just plain uninteresting. It takes THAT MUCH MORE interesting content for me to subscribe to a blog like that than one that looks cool when I first arrive.

    Blogs with good design have a greater chance of my subscribing, even if I feel uncertain that the content is consistently interesting.

  30. I don’t even have to read this post in order to comment on if blog design matter…

    I’ve been working for many years in the branding business and design is a part of this. Aside from this I’ve been doing online projects for businesses and entrepreneurs on the web since basically the start of e commerce and internet business.

    I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again : I’ve seen good products fail because of bad web design, and I’ve seen mediocre products succeed because of good web design …

    Good design opens up the possibilities to effectively execute several other things such as branding, marketing and much more …

    The same goes for a serious blogger (your blog is your product), who’d like to be successful at what they do …

  31. I’m sure design matters. It matters in terms of usability, aesthetics, and immediate impressions. It also plays a significant role in whether you’ll be able to monetize your blog or not.

    A well-designed blog signals to a visitor that the blogger is creative, conscientious, and considerate of the reading experience. Design and stickiness go hand in hand; effective design is easy to navigate and tempts new readers to keep clicking through.

    Two weeks ago, I unveiled a major redesign based on Justin Tadlock’s Options theme. I don’t mind saying that it took me months to get right but now when visitors come to my site, they know what we’re about and how much we have to offer!

  32. I totally need to redesign my site so peope can *find* things easier. :)

    So yeah – design really matters.

  33. There are only a couple of things I look for in a site design:

    1) does it load quickly. If I’m still waiting for content to load because you have a billion stupid little ads loading first, I don’t care how good your content is, I’m not coming back.

    2) How easy is it to comment, especiallly if I’m coming from an RSS reader. I hate blogger for this reason. It requires a 2nd window to open for comments. It annoys me no end. If I’m on the page for your post I want to see the comments right there and be able to enter my comment from there. And if you make me sign into blogger to comment (or register any other way), I’m most likely leaving. Your content will have to be *really* good to draw me back.

    3) Don’t hide the *expletive deleted* RSS feed button. Put it right up top so I can find it. I do most of my reading by RSS. If I can’t find it or you don’t have it enabled, I’m not coming back. Since discovering RSS feeds, I haven’t been to a single one of my old blogs that don’t have feeds. I don’t have time to click on every blog I want to read and wait for it to load.

    4) Put at least one full post on the front page. Let me read at least one thing fully before I have to go clicking links and waiting for load times to keep reading. Honestly, I’ll probably give up before I even discover that you have content I want to read.

    Other than that, I’m not a very visual person, so site design isn’t a huge issue for me. I honestly don’t notice it that much unless it’s really, really, really ugly.

    Darren, honey, I love your stuff and am a religious reader, but I have to say I hate your design *laughs*. I thought it was so ugly the first time I saw it. Of course, since then, I’ve seen some that are so ugly they hurt my eyes. However, your blog is easy to navigate and I can find whatever I want quickly and easily. And for me, that’s what’s important. Not visuals, but ease of navigation and being able to find what I want.

  34. The bigger question is what does a “good” design cost? What is the return on that investment? If it were free, of course, everyone would like a nice design. I recently inquired about the cost of re-designing my blog, and I received a quote for $1000. I don’t know if that’s high or low, but I do know that if I spent a $1000 on design, I would need to be more certain than an educated guess that it was a solid investment.

  35. Design does matter. If I click on a site and I get confused because of the design, I leave.

    Of course design doesn’t matter for SEO, but you need a good design to keep them there. A good design tempts readers to explore the site. When a reader is done reading a post they need to easily find somewhere else to go on the site, if not they leave.

  36. Megan says: 04/26/2008 at 5:00 am

    Interesting topic as I am in the middle of redesigning my blog and have been paying special attention to the look of some of my favorites. Design definitely matters as far as navigation and consistency… I will immediately click off a blog if i can’t easily find what i’m looking for or if the colors or images are too flashy or make it difficult to read…

    I’m interested to see if anyone knows of a current website or article promoting innovate blog designs… I’m always finding ‘best blog lists’ based on content, category, etc but never based on design alone… ???

  37. I switched designs already three times in less than a month. But as a starter I don’t think that’s a bad thing. It just takes some time to find out if a template is right for you and gives you the right feeling for your blog.

    I’m not happy yet with tha current design of my blog. It’s ok for now, but I think I’ll switch again the coming months…

  38. Absolutely. A good design should ideally be intuitive, user-friendly and not piss off first time readers.

    To keep in mind:

    1. It doesn’t have to be amazing, but it shouldn’t be horrendous to look at.

    2. Less is more. Minimize clutter, widgets, and ads depending on your goals.

    3. Don’t get too hung up on design – your time would be better spent networking or creating content.

    So yes, design matters, but you can accomplish most of what you need with a simple free theme, making small changes as you go.

  39. Seth Godin’s blog proves content is king!

  40. I’m an old school “content is king” kind of a gal. That’s based in part because my design skills aren’t top shelf by ANY definition. With that said, I WISH design wasn’t important. But I know from personal experience that design is EVERYTHING!

    While your readers may only see your content via RSS, they saw your original blog “in person” and I’d guarantee you that the design played a part in their decision to subscribe!

    Design = presentation. Of course when a lady is presented with a diamond ring, her impression of the ring’s quality is totally influenced by the packaging. While a high quality diamond ring presented in a brown paper bag has the same value in the jeweler’s eye…the recipient won’t be wowed without the appraisal if the ring is not presented in the padded velvet box with the famous name embossed in gold or silver on the top.

    Great content will get overlooked in a so-so wrapper every time!

  41. I agree with the first comment from Shana.

    A long time ago in galaxy far far away…I too used to be a graphic designer (back in the day we were called desktop publishers) and design is the first thing I take note on subconsciously on a blog even before having a chance to read content.

    I think most readers subconsciously do the same…

  42. Before you read the first word of content, the design tells the site visitor a little bit about you and what to expect from the blog.

    Is it going to be professional? Off the wall? Creative? A rant against society?

    If you are just blogging to get your views out there, design probably doesn’t matter that much as long as the site can be navigated.

    If you are blogging to craft a company presence or promote a service, then the design is important.

    If you want to have credibility online, your site shouldn’t look like your 8th grader designed it for you.

  43. Just a wild card question: Would you consider coming to Norway to visit and give a presentation for The Norwegian Computer Society?

  44. Ok let me present my ideas. Yes Design is an important factor in a blog. Why? Sometimes the content you have is useless if you don’t have a SEO Friendly Design. While the design needs to look nice to attract the first time users, but you can’t do that if you don’t have a SEO Friendly design. Without a well coded design you won’t rank high for your search engine ranking terms so you can even forget about anyone seeing your content.

    Next thing is if they don’t see your content they atleast need to see a decent design to stay on your blog..

    I posted an article long ago about Role of Design in SEO and Indexing … those who think design doesn’t matter shoud look here

    http://www.balkhis.com/webmaster-world/should-design-matter-at-all-in-seo-and-increasing-the-indexing-rate/

  45. Yes, blog design matters a ton! Immediately after my new blog design went live (click my name above to see). I noticed my traffic doubled and my RSS subscription jumped up a fair amount as well.

    This was all without any changes to the current way I blog.

    Pay for the custom design even if you don’t have the money. If you’re going to get one eventually why not just have it now?

  46. Blog design is quintessential for several reasons. Your blog design is your front door, it’s your shop window – it’s the first thing that people see and you will be judged by it whether you like it or not.

    Free themes are not recommended as they drive people away. From personal experience I do not recommend having a free theme, when I bump into a free theme, it does not matter how good the content is, I typically close the particular tab. I really don’t enjoy going to sites with free themes, because although their content may be good – it makes them look like the rest of the crowd. As a blogger you NEED to STAND OUT from the CROWD as much as possible.

    A custom blog theme/design is essential for branding. Branding is a quintessential part of any business model, if you don’t have a uniquely identifiable logo and blog design – your message will get lost…

    Think about it, if a site decided to be the next Amazon.com – but their site looked very similar to Amazon’s (but it did not look as good as Amazon’s) and they had a logo and a name – which also did not look as good as Amazon’s…what would happen? They would very quickly shut down their business. Why? The answer is simple, an original is always worth more than a copy and using a free theme to try and compete with a site like ProBlogger, DoshDosh or JohnChow is hopeless. Give yourself a fighting chance and start with a unique theme that differentiates your site from the rest – don’t allow your message to get lost.

    A theme gives you the ability to look professional, I say this because people will give you a chance if they see you have taken the time to create a good looking theme and you have some worthwhile content. They will give you more of a chance than if you had a free theme that looked like several others – people are like this, I’m the evidence.

    You will be respected if you have a theme that is functional and works well. When people come to your site, they will be interested in your theme, some of them might even want to buy it (I’ve had a couple of offers asking for my theme to be released to the general public…I refused). You will be respected because they see that you can do more than just blog and it shows that you care about how your shop window looks (metaphorically speaking of course).

    All in all, blog design is quintessential. It doesn’t matter if some blogs have succeeded to make it big with a free theme (maybe it was a less used one or a modified one). You can become BIGGER with a unique theme that brands you and sets you apart from the rest. JohnCow made a bad turn when he decided to release his theme to the community, I actually don’t go as much now because the uniqueness of the brand was lost the moment the theme was made available for a price.

  47. I think design matters. And I think the usability is as important as the look and feel. If you can navigate to where you want to go, fast … if you can smile at a picture and easily read the articles without getting eye strain… if you actually want to spend more time clicking around and add to reader or bookmark url to come back for more…
    then you have a blog design that works.

    Good content is the value but its so much better when its easy to use and attractive. Plain Jane can rarely compete with Elle, its a fact of life.

  48. I wrote an article (in French) about blogs and webdesign.

    According to top US blogs, we can say that design doesn’t matter at all…
    Just take a look at Robert Scoble’s blog: No design, and so much readers! And it’s the same for a lot of other famous blogs, such as gizmodo, lifehacker, engadget, etc.!

    While you keep in mind that your content is original and good, you don’t really need to have a good design.

  49. Well it also depends on who you are..So if you are a famous designer..you do need to a nice design for your blog to represent you.

  50. You definitely need a good design. Its the first impression on potential readers. It is also what keeps people on your website for a few extra page views.

    I just upgraded and improved the design on my blog about 3 weeks ago and have noticed a significant increase in the number of page views per visit (lower bounce rate as well). People are more likely to read a few extra pages and read a little longer on my site which definitely helps grow my readership.

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