After a short networking break, we’re moving on!
This post is a “live blog” of the What You Really Need to Know About Blog Design session at Bloggy Boot Camp Dallas. Please excuse all typos and format issues. We’re live!
Presenter: Cynthia Wheeler @NapWarden http://nwdesignsit.com
Theory: “If you look good, you do better.” If your site looks good, people are more likely to come back.
REAL ESTATE – The most important piece of real estate is the items “above the fold”. Headers should not be taller than 250pixels because otherwise you’re wasting that real estate. If it is bigger, then you need to incorporate other features into your header, like social sharing or navigation.
It’s ok to be a personal blogger and make your header reflect that.
NAVIGATION – Keep it simple, and use it. It should be easy to see and use. PioneerWoman.com is a good example.
Your left side bar is where readers start, so put content that makes money there.
Highlight different areas of your blog on your main page. Ask yourself an important question: “do I need it on my front page?” Keep your front page simple so it doesn’t affect your load time. If your load time is slow, it may be because of too many links.
The FOOTER is the second most important place to the header. It’s a secondary navigation place. Where do you want readers to go next? Link to other parts of your blog. Make it a treat for the readers that got all the way to the bottom of your post. Also, repeat the main navigation and subscription tools down there. Use widgets to keep content dynamic (featured posts, recent posts, featured images, etc…)
GRAPHICS – no graphics are better than bad graphics. Cyn says buy stock and then change them to make them custom to your site. Play with line and stroke to make things different.
PHOTOS – so much more important now because of Pinterest. Pay attention to how photos are telling your story. Make sure you tag your photos with your blog name/URL. Group photos before you use them. Marketing people are looking more at how you tell your story with photos than they are paying attention to your words. Set your dpi resolution at 72 dpi. Computers can’t display more than that anyway, and it’ll make your image load faster.
FONTS – Use 3 or less fonts per site. If you have a logo font, Cyn says she likes to NOT use it elsewhere on the blog. Make sure your fonts are readable. Free fonts from dafont.com. Fonts set a mood.
COLOR – Color is hard to nail down. Make sure that you have white space on your blog. Use color sparingly. Don’t forget that different computers/resolutions/browsers are going to show colors differently. Use Pops of color to draw interest. Adobe Kuler is a free tool to create color schemes based on the colors of things you love. The trick is mixing your color scheme with your graphics for a total design.
TOTAL DESIGN – be consistent across platforms (FB, twitter, youtube, etc). Your color doesn’t have to be your brand. It could be a shape or an image. Spend the $$ on your logo because that’s what people are going to identify you by. Make sure you match who you are online with who you are in person. You have to carry your brand through when you meet people in person.
This session is being blogged to you live by Fawn Rechkemmer, who blogs at Instead of the Dishes. Special thanks to Petit Jean Meats, official ham and bacon for the Dallas Cowboys, for sponsoring Fawn’s attendance at Bloggy Boot Camp.
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