Hello everyone!
One of my goals for this year is to start doing discussion posts and that’s what I’m going to write right now. I haven’t done something like this before but I’ll try to do my best.
As a first topic I decided to talk about blog design.
Why did I choose this?
Well, when the idea of having a blog came to my mind I did a list of things that I would like to have in this blog. One of my first things was a blog design.
I tried to change my graphic designs a few days ago and I realised that for me it was difficult. Is this too much? Maybe not enough? That were my confused thoughts. Then I thought this was perfect for my first discussion post. I don’t really know nothing about graphic design so I’m talking as a person who tries her best but knows almost nothing.
Why is so important?
So, why this was one of the most important things?
Because when you get into a new blog, the first thing you see it’s not its content. You see its graphics. Has it some theme? Maybe you like it, maybe you don’t. Has this some kind of color palette? Maybe a logo? All these things make your blog look better and professional. Like you care more about that aspect of your blog. Maybe you don’t care about it and you are just good at graphic design. Or maybe you are like me, who tries her best and tries to learn things but they don’t turn out as imagined.
Blog are like a gifts, when they are better wrapped you feel more interest for them. Not the best metaphor but I hope you get it haha 😀
Does better graphic design (look) attract more followers/people in general?
Yes, I beieve it does. As an example, I was with my best friend who knows I have a blog but isn’t at all in these blogosphere. I showed her some blogs with all kind of graphic designs. She had a tendency to be more attracted by blogs that had ‘better’ graphic design. So, I think that having a better ‘look’ in your blog attracts more people.
Does good graphic design mean good content?
No! Of course not! You might be very good at graphic design and not have some amazing content. Or you might have amazing content and not that good graphic design. The best thing is balance. We don’t have to just judge something just because how it looks. That phrase applies in life and here. *moral of this post: checked. Just joking people!*
What is the most important thing about all these?
The most important thing about graphic and blog design is that YOU like it.
You have to type that precious url of your blog press enter and when you see your blog you have to like it. If you do, that’s it. You don’t have to care about what others might think about it (but here everyone is so nice, so don’t worry about people saying awful things ever!).
You might be like ‘hey, you just said it’s important because it attracts more people’. Well, that’s a consequence. You shouldn’t worry about that and worry to make your blog look as you want.
Now, let’s get into my experience!
My experience in this topic…is bad. I mean is not bad. I started with one kind of graphic design and it was okay but I didn’t feel satisfied. And I tried to change it, I mean, how difficult can that be? Well, for me it was difficult. It took me so long and I don’t feel satisfied. However, I think I won’t change it in a while. In the meantime I want to learn things that can help me in the future. I need to find a style that I love and would make people recognise my blog without doubts (because that’s what I want).
In all these, I started to search about graphic design and I found out about color palettes, themes, graphics, backgrounds and many things that just had my head almost exploding.
Welcome Syc!
I asked Syc from The Lit Mermaid to give us her opinion and some advices. Her blog looks so beautiful. It’s just so great! You definitely should check her!
Why is blog design so important?
A great blog design gives a good impression. Most of the time, especially for new visitors, they only spend a few seconds in the blog. Don’t expect that they will read your whole post because not everyone got a time for that. Put that few seconds to use by having a visually appealing blog design.
Does better graphic design (look) attract more followers/people in general?
Yes. I do believe that. Great content given how important it is, is sometimes not enough in the blogosphere. You still got to put the pretty icing on that delicious cake, you know.
Does good graphic design mean good content?
Not necessarily. A good graphic design adds points to this imaginary scoreboard in our head that makes a good post but it’s not an instant giveaway. But one thing good with having great graphics is it attracts attention and people are most likely to check your posts, so even if they did not like what you actually wrote, you still earned a visit. That’s still a win for you.
What is the most important thing about all these?
I believe the most important thing is that you are working your way to achieve your end goal you have for your blog. Along that way, it’s always best to learn to be happy and satisfied because as long as you’re having fun and feel contented, nothing and no one can make you feel otherwise about it.
Tips/Advice:
Clean up your blog. Aim for a clutter-free space.
Give your blog some personality. A bit of customization has its benefits.
Uniformity adds aesthetic points. Try to avoid anything that’s clashing with your theme (if you have one).
Be inspired. Do some blog hopping and you’ll see a vast amount of amazing blog designs from fellow bloggers. Remember just not to exactly copy them.
If you want to be a professional blogger or want to look like one, I suggest you hire a professional designer or just be one. Think of it as an investment. But don’t feel the need to rush on this.
Thank you so much Syc for giving us your opinion and advices! And thank you so much for taking your time to write this for the post! Check her amazing blog! The design and content are just great 🙂
This post turned out to be a bit longer than I expected but…This is all for this first discussion post! I hope you liked it! I hope nobody feels any offense by this, I’m just expressing my thoughts in this topic as well as my little experience (or inexperience 😉 )
Let me know your thoughts about this! Do you invest time in your graphic design? Do you consider it important? Maybe share your experience?
Thank you so much for reading!
PS. My next discussion post will be more book related!
perfectioninbooks 
That’s a great topic! As you may now I started my blog in the beginning of this month. Though it’s fairly new, I do try to put a lot of work in the design. I’m constantly tweaking little aspects of the theme and adding new features in. Before I started my blog, I tried to make a logo that represented the content that I was going to make. I’m happy with it for now, but it can be that I change it in the future. I didn’t use header images from the beginning, but quickly realised that I like how it looks and it gives a more visual representation of what that particular post is about. It draws your attention.
I do feel like WordPress does give you a lot of options for the sidebar and footers, but they don’t allow you to change much about your theme. (If you’re in the free plan, that is)
I think if you give it a little time, you’ll come up with new ideas and new plans to improve your blog. Though as you said, the design doesn’t particularly influence your content. Everyone has a style of his own and if you’re happy about it, so should the others .
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Thanks for your comment!
I think design is a constant work, as you said, you change something here something there, today, tomorrow until you fin THE thing. Maybe that’s what I should do.
I agree with you about what options WordPress gives us, but I have to say that I’m quite happy right now. maybe when I know more and if my blog grows I would like to do some more personalized things but, right now, I’m okay and I think amazing things can be done with a free plan too.
And thanks, I hope I find my own style, but it might take a little time and i need to be more patient sometimes haha 😀
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I often find myself attracted to blogs with a pretty design as well, but I have to admit that the design isn’t half as important as the accessibility of it all. I’ve been to pages with gorgeous graphics, but in the end you couldn’t do a simple search or things were at completely different places than they were supposed to be. That got me so annoyed that I never went back there.
Also, of course the content is important. If I like the look, I’ll check out 1 or 2 posts and they have do it for me as well.
I kind of feel bad for having a really simple and partly messy layout on my blog now hahaha
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Thank you for your comment!
That’s true and something I didn’t mention. I agree with you, blogs must be accessible. Just what you said, if there isn’t that component, it’s difficult to understand the blog and people just don’t want that, or at least I don’t haha
Oh! That’s was not my intention at all! As I said, if you like it, then is perfectly fine. Plus, you have an amazing blog and content, and a great success in your posts (or at least that is what I think) so, you are great! 😉
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No worries! I didn’t mean to make you feel bad about me feeling self conscious! hahaha I just always keep wondering if I should change the theme, but I kind of like it. Thank you so much for saying that though! It made me really happy to hear it!
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I do think that the blog design is important, though not necessarily graphic design. I do value the aesthetics and organizations of a blog as soon as I get to it, and I have to admit that there are a few blogs out there that have good content, but I can’t get past the first sentence due to the clutter and lack of direction in terms of organization.
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Thank you for your comment!
It’s nice to hear other opinion. I understand what you say, and that organization is something important.
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😉
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Nic post. Well, the first impression always counts and graphics are the best way to create that
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Thank you for your comment! And thank you! 😀
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Thanks for inviting me to participate in your first discussion post again! 😀
I think a lot of people will argue that great content is the most important thing in blogging which is true especially if you want to cater the best thing you can provide to your subscribers or maybe for yourself (which is great👍). But personally, I noticed that I give more attention to those blog with great blog designs (including graphics) and I tend to easily remember their urls. Probably it’s because I’m far more of an artist than a writer. Or maybe I appreciate people that put time and effort in their art (without comprising their content).
So for me, both aspects are equally important. It may be not be exactly true to book blogosphere but in other ‘genres’ of blogs, it is. 🙂
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Yes, I think the same. I tend to feel more attracted to blogs with good design and maybe I don’t remember the url but I rememeber how the blog looks like and I think that’s great.
Thank you for your comment! 😀
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I must spend a few hours a week trying to change and improve my blog design…it’s just so difficult for me to feel satisfied with how my blog looks. At the moment I’ve been having issues with my background. Every time I go on other people’s blogs I really appreciate their designs, then I look at mine and just want to change the background or add a logo etc. I don’t see design as that important when I’m looking through other people’s blogs, but when it comes to mine I’m constantly fussing over it, but never actually end up changing it.
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I know how that feels. I don’t like to not feel satisfied with my blog. But for me, knowing nothing about graphics and blog design it’s learn from 0, and it’s taking time. Try and fail, try and fail. But I know one day we’ll look at our blogs and feel satisfied with them, it just might take time 🙂
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Thanks for getting me to check out this post, it’s a really interesting topic that you discussed really well! I think design is quite important (if you want to grow an audience quickly, if not, maybe not so important). Like Syc said, not everyone will stay to read a whole post and will likely hang around for a couple of minutes so visually you have to make your blog appealing. In my experience (we’ve talked about this before) I’m terrible with design and trying to fix/clean my blog design takes so much effort and trial and error. I try to do simplistic things like complimentary colour schemes and a nice header image. I’m not a professional and I like to think that my audience is there mainly for the content but in the end, like you said perfectly, it’s most important that you like it. Otherwise, there’s not much point to it. Great post and thanks again!
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Thank you for reading it and leaving your opinion! I’m glad you liked it! 😀
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