Impression counts and if it is the first impression, you should always go for the kill from the very onset. Time and location may be different, but rules are always the same. Take it this way, you have a website and it has every semblance of a great design but still you feel that you are missing out on something. But what haunts you is that you cannot pinpoint where you are getting it wrong. Here we are going to explore some of the characteristics of a great blog design that you cannot give a pass:
Well Researched Content: Try to feature the most vital section of your content in the above the fold section. Visitors do not have enough time to scroll down the entire page to have a quick look if there is anything interesting or not. Do not use extremely large header section since it is irksome for users with smaller screens as they have to scroll sideway to have a full view of the thing. But do not make it too small because it would not serve any useful purpose.
Make It Readable: Just having a cool look is not enough, you need to make sure that people can read the texts without rolling or straining their eyes. Do not use fluorescence colors unless you do not have any plan to make your readers color blind. Please maintain sufficient line-spacing for paragraphs and do not use any fancy fonts because they may play spoilsport in the entire thing. Keep the background as simple as possible and do not allow anything play around with the cursor.
Make It Searchable: You blog may be loaded with loads of interesting stuffs and information, but the thing is that they are not searchable. People may come and would bounce back with a heavy heart as they will not be able to locate the thing that is looking for. Frustrating though it is, you need to add a search button in your website unless website does not have anything worthy to search for. You can give a try at Google Site Search. It is good and easy to use.
Integrate With Social Media Websites: Lets people spread your words. Do not post mindlessly. Post less, promote more is the mantra. Trouble free sharing is the call of the day. Integrate Facebook connect to your blog rather than using the same old and boring comment box. It adds to the style quotient to your blog’s look and feel.
A Header Memorable: Ask yourself what you expect when you visit a website? Great content, obviously but still, we all hope to see a design that makes the encounter a memorable experience. Featuring crucial elements in the above the fold section may help you greatly seizing the attention but it may appear crammed up and mostly ugly.
Great Headline: Great headline does work. It draws attention of people and incites curiosity and thus creates the buzz. Use large fonts but do not overuse it and add some creative flavor in it and please do not add any drivel therein.
Blogging is the most happening thing in the virtual world. It is thriving and bustling with the presence of different bloggers from different countries and thereby making the world feel truly enlarged. Now despite having passion for blogging, you may find it really hard to manage and promote your blog simultaneously. But these things can easily be done by using a desktop blogger editor. It will help you to invest more time and effort on publishing interesting blogs rather than on other trivial issues. Here in this article, we have summed up some of the best desktop blogger editors so that you can spend more time on other fruitful activities:
RocketPost: – It is a great tool and it is powerful enough to make your blogging career a smooth journey. It is packed with easy to use interface and its features are dame easy to get the hang on them. It is one of those few desktop blogging editors that are tailored for serious bloggers. WYSIWYG editing, full blog import, full local editing etc are some of its unique features that one cannot overlook so easily.
Blogo: – This is another powerful and feature rich weblog editor that is known for the ease of use and speed. The most interesting thing about Blogo is that it automatically updates your twitter account whenever you post an article on your blog and thus saving your time and effort. Publishing slideshows, videos, images etc are almost a treat with this weblog editor and its intuitive interface is easy enough to be managed by newbies.
Bleezer: – It is an exciting freeware blogging client application that is compatible with almost all major blogging services. Spell check, creation of custom markup etc are some of the interesting features of this desktop blogger editor.
Post2Blog: – At the very onset it looks like a variant of Windows Live Writer but spend a few moments with it and you will come to know that Post2Blog is a different ball of wax altogether. It comes equipped with tons of fascinating features, rich WYSIWYG editor and with a Microsoft Word extension. Built-in live spell checker is there to make your writing task a smooth job. You are at your liberty to add or not to add tags in the posts and the photos of the author will go live in each post automatically.
BlogJet: – This is mainly a weblog client for windows user and it enables you to update your blog without opening your browser. It is one of those few Windows blog editors that are specifically designed and developed for those who are a bit concerned about the editing and maintenance of their blog.
Zoundry Raven: – It works just like a word processor and it enables users to edit blog on different platforms. Adding links, photos, tags etc are quite easy and browsing your previous posts are quite easy with this desktop blogger editor.
WBEditor: – Working with this desktop blogging editor is a complete fun and it is easy to use. Some of its unique features are converting HTML to XHTML, thumbnail creation, track back ping etc.
Blog is probably the most happening platform in the virtual world since millions of people are using this platform for posting news, articles, pictures and many more interesting stuffs. So, there is no wonder that tons of blog design trends are out there and all of them are trying their level best to grab the attention of the readers. Blogs have definitely graduated from being a mere medium of publishing fresh articles to something highly interesting and engaging. It is fast emerging out as one of the best platforms to promote products and service in a different way. Now, in order to make your blog look unique, fresh and engaging, you need to make sure that you are familiar with four fantastic blog design trends otherwise, your blog may starts loosing the favor of your loyal followers:
Use Different Fonts: - There are many people, who use to judge a website entirely by its fonts and in that case, you need to be a little cautious while using the good old Ariel Font in your blog. Though it is perfectly sane to use Ariel, it may make your blog look almost the same with another blog with the same theme at the first look. To make your blog look impressive and interesting, you need to try out different fonts from your repository until you find the perfect combination. You can two or more fonts, but you need to make sure that it is not going to have any impact on its readability. Use of less common fonts can make your blog look different.
Complex Layouts: – Blog designers are now pushing the boundaries of website design by introducing as many changes in their blogs as possible. To give their blogs a fresh new look, designers are furthering their experiments with the colors, structures and even with the layouts of their blogs. But currently the most dominating trend in blog website design industry is magazine style layout. Magazine layout sports a different flavor and comes with multiple columns that allow a blogger to feature his/her posts in the home page. However, if you are hell bent on posting on a single topic, you can manage with a blog with singular column.
Use of White Space: – The trend of using white space has become a rage among blog designers. Since people use to shy away from clumsy looking blogs, designers are trying to keep a blog as simple and as straightforward as possible. You need to bid adieu to unwanted graphical elements and try to add as much white space in your blog as possible. By adding white space, you can bring more focus on some other important elements.
Adding Some Social Icons and Widgets: Try to add some social icons in your blogs like retweet buttons, facebook like button and other similar icons so that visitors can spread your message far and wide.
Blogs are no longer treated as a simple medium or platform for giving expression to ones thoughts and views. They are now being decorated and designed elegantly for making them look as different and as unique as possible. As website designers are making constant effort to push through the boundaries of website design limitations, blog design is now getting a new momentum that is reviving this trend and giving it a new dimension at the same time. Designers are now getting bold in their approach and they are not shying away from making experiments for adding a difference as far as the structure of a website design blog is concerned.
Here in this article, we are going to analyze different distinctive structures of blogs that can inspire you to strive to make a difference in this sphere:
Decor8blog: This blog deserves to be featured in our collection of inspirational blog design since its structure is something that you cannot ignore so easily. If you are into website design, you know how hard it is to keep divergent elements in perfect order while applying a different topographical technique. The stitching effect is not something new but it certainly looks good and sweet.
Kevadamson: – An ultra-modern and funky look is what makes it different from the rest of other design blogs. From the onset, this blog designer might appear simply crazy and the posts are some of the craziest posts that I have read in my life but it has something in it that will make your visit this blog time and again.
I am Garth: – Those, who believe in leading a simple lifestyle and shunning all luxuries, this blog is probably meant for them. With an utterly simple header that consists of just few texts and a long gradient, this blog really makes a mark. It teaches us how to use simplicity without making people aware of it.
Hugs for Monsters: – I have no clear idea why they are willing to Hug Monsters and I do not even care about it. What I care is its abstract and somewhat absurd design that has a deep meaning that I cannot decipher properly. Check this out if you can.
Morphix: – With a giant background image and umpteen numbers of semi-transparent blocks, this website creates is good enough to create. What we like about this blog is that it resists the temptation of surprising the readers. Its crystal clear look is something that you can hardly notice these days.
Vunkyblog: – Those who have a thing for heavy graphics and imageries, this blog is the best place for them. Well this blog is not unique as far as its structure, design and content are concerned. But it represents the trend that is widely followed by a sizable section of website designers.
Designing an outstanding blog is not something that can be done in a jiffy. It is not just about positioning different website design elements or making a deliberate attempt to copy and paste a blog template. It far more complicated and requires a higher level of authority on different designing tools otherwise, things may take an ugly turn. As you are planning something big with your design blog this time around, you need to make it as magnificent and as elegant as possible. You can draw inspiration from some fabulous designing blogs such as Smashing Magazine, Website Design Depot or Template Monster but you should never follow them blindly. Try to maintain a certain level of balance in the structure of the design and if possible try to feature something without making it look clumsy. Here in this article, we are going to explore some of the unique aspects of designing an outstanding blog. Just keep exploring:
Make It Look Unique: Thousands of design blogs are there and therefore, it is quite clear that you need to do something drastically different if you want to cut a creative ice with the visitor. Use of different color schemes, different structure etc can go a long way to give your blog a different look. Try to keep things in order and in control and if you can manage to do this, you will certainly be able to make a difference in this sphere. You can give it an artistic twist or keep it utterly simple:
Make It Readable: – Since blogging is all about words and readers, you should never compromise with its readability. You may feature great content but unless your website is readable, you are sure to miss this huge opportunity. There are certain issues related to blog design and customization that are closely and intimately associated with its readability.
Short Paragraph: Try to feature your content in short paragraphs since online visitors loathe the very idea of going through a long paragraph. Try to make it interesting, to-the point and informative to arrest the attention of the readers.
Use List: Try to use bullet points or order lists whenever required. This will help your visitors to gather information about a post easily and effectively.
Padding: – Margins or padding helps a visitor to separate content visually and thereby helping him to concentrate more on the content. If you can manage to utilize it properly, you will be able to keep unwanted distractions at bay.
Bold Text: – Use bold texts whenever required to emphasis important parts of the content. However, you need to make sure that you are using bold text judiciously and sparingly. Do not overboard your blog with bold text since it can have detrimental effects as far as the visual appeal of your blog is concerned.
Useful Sidebars: – Sidebars play a vital role in adding a creative touch in your blog. Though they are primarily employed for making navigation easy and effective, they can give you an excellent opportunity to give your blog a brand new look. A good sidebar can encourage visitors to view more pages and to explore more about a website. Here are some of the elements that you would certainly like to feature in your sidebar:
Some common elements in blog sidebars include:
Category links
Date-based archives
Popular posts
Promotion of products/services
Recent posts
Link to RSS feed
Recent comments
Blogroll/friends lists
Advertisements
Make Ads An Integral Part: Do not treat the ads of your website as something out of the box or inferior. They are going to play crucial role in your blog. Choose the location of Ads carefully and try to blend them seamlessly with your blog’s design. Make sure that the color scheme of the ads tallies with the theme of your blog otherwise, it can have serious repercussion later on.
And do not forget to add some images in post. Images are like spices; they will make your blog interesting and engaging.
WebGuru India is pleased to announce that one of its sister websites Flash Design India is offering free blog installation services for anyone who want to explore or exploit the advantages of blogging. This is more or less a bonanza for those who are passionate about blogging and even for those who are getting into blogging lately. Blogging is a bold, beautiful and probably the best platform to promote, exert and to enhance one’s online identity. In fact the ever-increasing popularity of blogging has necessitated its integration in a website for the sake of reaping the unlimited advantages of blogging.
Therefore if you have a thing for blogging just check out some of the salient aspects of Flash Design India’s free blog installation service:
You will not have to shell out a single penny for availing this service.
Flash Design India will offer free blog installation service and in return it will add some links in the footer section of your blog, which should not be removed under any circumstances.
You will have to provide some information regarding the details of domain name and hosting (Cpanel) of your website so that they can start installing blog in your website.
You can avail this service even if you have more than one blog but in return you will have to offer links (that will be added by people of Flash Design India) from each of those blogs.
Besides offering free blog installing service, Flash Design India is also offering a unique chance to customize your blog the very way you like for a minimal charge. So what are you waiting for? Just get ready to join the hoopla of blogging, which will certainly add a fillip to your online identity.
If you still have some questions regarding the free blog installation service or if you are curious to learn more about it, click here.
These days most of the people prefer to maintain their own blogs, where they keep updates of their daily lives. Sometimes, in those diaries blog owners also share their interests with the readers. However nowadays not only common people but also the business firms are seen to be maintaining their blogs for keeping contact with their customers.
Blog is no doubt an effective tool for marketing. In recent times, along with the websites, blogs are also being used for the purpose of promoting goods and services of a company. On the other hand, the young people prefer to have their own blogs for communicating with their friends and colleagues. They can also be treated as the source for the latest news.
In this age of Internet anyone can develop his/her own blog, but only making a blog is not enough, you should also take care of the fact that your blog is getting attention from quality people. For this, it is mandatory to keep your blog updated.
There are several things that need to be kept in mind while blog design and customization. If you want you can swap the links with other websites and blogs. Beside this, you can also advertise it as a pay-per-click search listing in the search engines. But, there is no doubt in the fact that providing interesting and informative content is the most important thing that you should do for popularizing your blog. Continue reading ‘Basic Guidelines for Developing Effective Blog Design’ »
Nowadays blogs have become a very popular medium on Internet to express thoughts and ideas and to share views. There are numerous blog writers as there are blog readers. After this new medium has become popular worldwide, many people have started creating their own blogs.
Beside personal blogs, this medium is also used for promoting the products and services of a company. The readers and prospective buyers can access latest information from these company blogs. But the marketing of a blog is very essential to make it popular and accessible to the target readers. Continue reading ‘Make your Blog More Popular with Proper Marketing’ »
Blog design and customization is the latest happening thing in the online industry, which has flourished due to the interactive and flexible nature of blogs. Blogs are generally maintained by individual, organization or corporate companies to interact with their followers and to bolster their online presence. As the popularity of blog has shoot up dramatically, more and more bloggers are trying to personalize their blogs according to their exact need. If you really want to personalize your blog for attaining a distinct identity you can opt for either blog customization or blog design service. However, in order to customize a blog effectively, certain points have to be kept in mind.
Some of the useful tips, following which an interactive blog could be created, are mentioned below:
Theme of the Blog- It is always better to correspond the theme of the blog with the niche you are intended to blog about. Never incorporate irrelevant symbols, pictures, or other types of visual aids. This is because; placement of such irrelevant staff can only confuse your readers. It should always be remembered that blog theme is a vital component. So, it should be selected carefully.
Introducing Your True Self- Every blog should have a separate section called ‘about me’. In this section mainly the blog writer introduce himself/herself to the readers. Here you may also discuss about your work area, the objective of creating this blog. You may also insert your picture in order to make this section more interactive.
Insertion of Contact Information- Before uploading your blog, do not forget to incorporate your contact details. This information should always be mentioned in such a place, so that the readers can easily see it. This is done in order to establish a friendly relationship between the blog owner and the readers.
Highlighting Your Achievements- You can create separate sections like, ‘greatest literary accomplishments’ or ‘most viewed post’. These are really advantageous for a blog.
Visual Appeal of the Blog- It is always better to use eye-soothing colors in a blog. Too dark colors strain the eyes. So using of those harsh colors should be avoided. Always use lighter color tones.
Font Selection- Other than this font selection should also be done carefully. According to a survey report, Arial, Times New Roman and Georgia fonts are most readable. So, you can select any one of these fonts for your blog.
These are indeed some of the most useful blog design and customization tips that could be followed for creating an effective blog design.
We all know that edu links are more valuable form Search Engine Point of view and earlier we have posted how to get edu links easily. Now we have posted some more edu blogs, from where you can get some edu links through blog commenting. Here is the list of edu blogs: -
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