ContentRobot

If you have been managing your blog for a while, you might notice that things have been getting cluttered as you’ve added new features, buttons and widgets - it’s time for spring cleaning!

Blog Design

• Even if you feel you haven’t done alot of modifications to your blog’s design, be sure to take the time to validate your home page, blog templates, and CSS files at http://validator.w3.org and reduce all errors.
• Check your blog in multiple browsers and multiple plaforms. Viewing IE 6, Firefox, and Safari on PCs and Macs can help you to iron out the bugs.
• Play with the increase and decrease font features in any browser to see if the design still holds up.
• Turn off stylesheets in your browser. Does the blog’s structure still make sense?
• Turn off images in your browser. Is everything still understandable? Is the text still readable?
• Resizing your screen’s resolution to 800 x 600 pixels and then to 1024 x 768 pixels. How does it look?
• Use the Google Mobilizer to view your blog the way mobile users will see it.

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Design can add tremendous value to a blog, as a compelling design can make a huge impact on your bottom line.

Remember design is not just about making things pretty - it’s about making things work to their best ability. But what is the process a designer goes through to create a great blog look?

1. Have a Great Toolset
What designers should minimally have at their disposal:

• a graphics editor (such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Freehand, etc.)
• some good inspiration
• lots of creative vision

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Don’t underestimate the power of your sidebar - it is among the hottest areas on your blog. Here are some elements that can be helpful to include in it:

Site Search
Allows allows your faithful, long-time visitors easily find information they have seen in the past. It can also function as a link-building aid, bringing back old posts to life.

Site Introduction
This will allow you to personalize your blog up-front, but don’t forget to include an expanded About Us section.

Contact Information
Because blogging is all about building relationships, don’t hide who you are. This also lets visitors know how to easily reach you (consider adding a contact form to make it even easier).

Blog Categories
Blog categories help to relate what your blog is all about. And as more and more articles get created, it can help to establishes credibility.

Popular / Recent Posts and/or Comments
These lists can show off creativity and promote linkabait. They are great, especially for the first time visitor, and help with internal exploring and keeping the conversation going.

RSS Buttons
RSS buttons help visitors to add your blog to their feeds. A steady increase of RSS readers is a good indicator of success.

Other Projects/Blogs
Enntrepreneurs can take advantage of a sidebar to link to other projects, as it can be a good way to quickly promote your secondary or primary businesses.

Fun elements

• Polls
• Newsletter Signup
• Reading Lists
• Store Link

Other Possible Additions
While these have their supporters and detractors, they may help with search engine / site navigation and we list them as ideas.

• Blogrolls
  Not perhaps for corporate blogs, yet they provide a great way for readers visiting related sites. It can serve as an excellent link-building strategy as referred traffic is always encouraged. You can also be liberal with your outward links in your posts and/or have a links page to create a similar effect without a list that may become unwieldy or outdated.
• Archives
  While date based archives are not the best way for visitors to explore your site, they allow search engines to find every page on your blog quickly. You can also achieve a similar effect with a sitemap or with categories.
• Advertising
  Done tastefully, ads in the sidebars can be a nice way to add contextual advertising or affiliate programs here.

Remember to re-evaluate your side bar every few months, if it is cluttering your site - it’s time to cut some elements.

Did you know that there were several types of blogs to create? Maybe one of them can fit into your plans.

• Podcasting – This type of blog provides a web feed of audio files (although, increasingly, people apply this term to any video and other media available for anyone to download). “Blogcasting” “rsscasting,” “webcasting,” and “audio blogging” can also be terms for downloading or streaming audio and video media types. To learn more, check out Adam Curry’s site, as he is considered a founding father of podcasting.

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Most of the basic or free blogging clients (Blogger, for example) provide typical blog navigation by using blog post archives and/or clickable calendars.

But is it the best way of guiding your visitor around your professional blog?

Traditional web sites create main navigation / subnavigation schemes and site maps to help their readers find exactly what they are looking for. (Well-designed sites will employ a 2-click rule where you have to be able to find what you are looking for within two clicks.)

When it comes to blogs, you should also plan your design with navigation in mind. For example, ContentRobot’s main navigation currently reads that reads |Home|Business Blogging |Blog Design & Development| Blogging Tips |FAQ |About|Contact. Think globally about the topics you wish to write about and your main navigation will become clear.

For your subnavigation, consider the main categories you cover. See our “Categories” area in the right hand column. You can see how this, too, can easily help your readers learn more about your expertise.

It’s OK if you don’t get your main navigation correct or your categories are incomplete as you settle into your blog. Most blog clients allow for easy, on-the-fly changes. So, unlike traditional web sites, there is no big deal if you need to “redesign.”

Other navigation ideas include using the columns to list:

• “Hot” or most read topics
• Recent posts
• Tags
• etc.

With this cross-linking between your navigation, categories, and tags you’ll find your blog will get read past your home page posts toward more juicy, relevant content.

Don’t let down your blog readers with poor or non-existent navigation. ContentRobot can help you to professionally design your blog and develop an intuitive information architecture so contact us today!