Blog Design Tips for Writers

Design is an important element to any blog's success. But how can you improve your blog's design if you're not a designer? (Note: If you are a designer, you probably don't need to read this post.)

I'm just an editor with an English Lit degree and no formal training in design. However, I've worked in media for more than a decade now and can share some very fundamental and easy tricks to improve the design of your blog.

Here are my 7 blog design tips for writers:

1. Use lists. Whether they're numbered or bullet points, use lists when possible. Lists break up the text and make it easy for readers to follow what you're blogging.
2. Bold main points in lists. Again, this helps break up the text while also highlighting the important points of your post.
3. Use headings. If your posts are longer than 300 words and you don't use lists, then please break up the text with a heading. (Check out this post to see just how basic headings can be.)
4. Use a readable font. Avoid using fonts that are too large or too small. Avoid using cursive or weird fonts. Times New Roman or Arial works, but if you want to get "creative," use something similar to those.
5. Left align. English-speaking readers are trained to read left to right. If you want to make your blog easier to read, avoid centering or right aligning your text (unless you're purposefully calling out the text).
6. Use small paragraphs. A good rule of thumb is to try and avoid paragraphs that drone on longer than five sentences. I usually try to keep paragraphs to around three sentences myself.
7. Add relevant images. If you've read my blog for any period of time, you've probably noticed that I shy away from using too many images. My reason is that I only like to use them if they're relevant. Images are very powerful on blogs, so please use them--just make sure they're relevant to your blog post.

If you're already doing everything on my list, keep it up! If you're not, then you might want to re-think your design strategy on your blog. Simply adding a header here and a list there can easily improve the design of a blog post.

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Follow me on Twitter @robertleebrewer

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Here are a few other posts related to blogging:

• Best Blogs for Writers to Follow post
• Blogging Tips for Writers post
• SEO Tips for Writers (How to Optimize Your Site/Blog Without Getting Technical)

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Want to take your blogging to the next level?
Check out ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income, by Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett. Put together by one of the bloggers on my best blogs list, this book may or may not help you get to a six-figure income, but it will provide several ideas to try monetizing your own blog.