5 Ways to Improve Your Blog Design

5 ways to Improve Your Blog Design

Your blog content may be spectacular, but if your blog design is lacking, then I’m not going to keep reading. I’ll be honest: ever since I started my graphic design major, I’ve gotten way snobbier about strong vs weak design. (Sorry ’bout it.) But you don’t have to have a degree in design to have a strong website! Here are five ways to improve your blog design for the better.

5 ways to Improve Your Blog Design

Make sure your text is readable.

I know writing in lowercase is cute, but it’s hard to read and your audience will click away from your website fast. Similarly, your text should be left-aligned. It makes your blog just look that much more professional. Along with that, your font needs to be pretty plain. That’ll make your design look a lot cleaner.

A cohesive color scheme is key.

It’s tempting to change color schemes based on what’s trendy or the seasons changing. However, it becomes something to keep up with when your blog design is constantly changing and your audience will get confused when they see a new website every time they click. I created a color palette in my branding graphic that I made for myself, and I use those colors all throughout my blog design, without fail.

Limit your categories.

Eight categories should be the maximum amount that you have on your blog. If I see too many categories on the sidebar, it’s incredibly overwhelming and probably not necessary. Categories are only meant to help direct your reader to related posts and help drive traffic to your blog.

Chill with the fonts.

Only select two-three fonts to focus on. You should have a serif font, a sans serif font and a decorative font. A serif font has the little ‘tails’ off the end of each letter and is good for big blocks of text. A sans serif font is good for standing out and for titles (though these can be alternated if done right). A decorative font is optional, but can be used for titles and emphasizing certain words in a graphic. Definitely don’t use a decorative font for text longer than five-ish words though!

Simplicity is stronger.

This is the number one rule of blog design! I can’t stand seeing a blog with a tiled picture in the background, distracting me from the writing immediately. Your content needs to be the main focus, so stick to a white background (or shades of white/cream). Make sure your logo doesn’t have an overwhelming amount of little images or text pieces as well.

These tips are simple but easy changes to make that can make your design look so much better!

xo, Hannah

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25 Comments

  1. Simplicity is seriously the best!There are some blogs that are just too much for me to read unless it’s in an email! These are all helpful tips, I quick looked at my blog to see if I checked all of these off!
    xoxo

  2. Hi Hannah,

    These are great tips and I have to admit I am a little bit snobby too!! I blame my education in fashion and studying at FIT. Being surrounded by some of the most creative graphic designs students will do that to you! My favorite tip was the layout tip. I agree 100%. It’s why I chose a minimalist layout for my blog and keep the whole thing pretty black and white. Xo

  3. I have more than 8 categories on my blog but I think they way I have them listed, under four main categories, is very helpful for my readers. I also love centering the writing in my posts. We all have our own ideas about what makes blog design great.

    1. having subheaders is good! You could always try changing to left-centered text for a couple posts–I think you’d be surprised at what a difference it makes!

  4. Yes I love this! It’s so important to have a blog that focuses on the actual content and doesn’t distract a potential reader as soon as they click to your post!

    Kayla | kaylablogs.com

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