5 Best Ways to Improve Your Blog Post Layout
Blogging is one of the best digital marketing tools for small businesses, but it’s challenging to keep your readers on your site for long. Even if you are posting great blog content, site visitors may stop reading and quickly leave your site. Most people tend to focus their efforts on writing great content, but it’s important to remember that when site visitors land on your blog page, the first thing they notice is the blog post layout. Designing a great blog post layout is just as important as writing great blog content.
Actually, I keep testing myself on my blog page and getting to know what works and what doesn’t work.
In this post, I will show you some of the best practices for designing a blog post layout that will keep your audience engaged and increase pageviews on your site.
Why is your blog post layout important?
Have you ever landed on a site where you had to scroll and search for your content among numerous ads, pop-ups, and messy sidebars? There’s a good chance that you’d leave the site.
There are so many blog sites on the internet. When people visit a blog site, the first thing that catches their attention is the visual elements.
If your blog post layout looks outdated, confusing, or cluttered your readers will think it’s unprofessional and it may decrease your credibility even though you may have great blog content. You could potentially lose viewers before they’ve even read a single word of your post.
You have an opportunity to keep readers on your site longer and allow your site visitors to get to know your business better with a simple blog post layout. As a result, you will increase the chances of converting that visitors.
What to include in your blog post layout?
The main goal of your blog post layout is to make it easy for your site visitors to find the content that they’re interested in.
Some of the items that you should consider including are:
User-friendly navigation - helps people to quickly find what they are looking for
Tags and categories - this allows you to sort your posts to make it easier for people to find posts that are most relevant to them
An email subscription button - to help you build your email list and keep your readers up-to-date on further posts
Social sharing buttons - to allow your readers to share the wonderful content you created with their friends and colleagues
Comments section - this encourages your audience to engage with you
All of these items help your reader find the posts that they are interested in and allows them to share that information with others. When your visitors can quickly find the information that is relevant to them, the likelihood of a return visit to your site increases.
Following is a specific listing of items you may wish to add.
BLOG CONTENT:
Eye-catching title (h1)
1-2 high-quality images
Subheaders (h2)
Bullet points (h3)
Related content links
Your short bio
Opt-in form
SIDEBAR:
Your profile picture and a short bio
Blog categories
Links to your service pages
Popular post links or new post links
Opt-in form
5 tips to improve your blog post layout
Writing great blog content takes time and effort. If you are putting in the hard work of writing the posts, you don’t want to lose your readers because of the layout. It’s well worth the time to set your post up for success by making it as user-friendly as possible.
Here are 5 tips you can do to improve your blog post:
1. Use fonts that are easy to read
Fonts that are simple and easy to read work best. You don’t want to use fonts that detract from your content. Make sure that the size is set to medium or large to accommodate people with vision issues.
2. Use colors that are inviting to readers
When deciding on the colors to use for your blog, consider the mood you are trying to convey to your readers. Green, for example, could be used for blogs focused on nature or the environment. Each color creates a different feeling or emotion for the viewer. Once you’ve selected your color, make sure to choose complementary colors that work well together and use them consistently throughout your blog.
3. Use high-quality images
Using a low-quality, pixelated picture can be a quick turn-off for a site visitor. It looks unprofessional and can cause you to lose credibility fast - even before they’ve read a single word of your post! Use only crisp, high-quality images. Don’t let the image be the reason a reader leaves your site.
4. Simple design layout
Using minimalist design concepts, such as generous use of white space, simple geometric shapes, and buttons with clean, crisp edges gives your site a professional feel. Too many ads or a messy sidebar can distract your reader from your content and they may end up leaving (especially if they have to hunt for the content).
5. Include a call to action
A CTA (or call to action) is asking the reader to take a specific action. For example, a CTA may be to subscribe for more updates or to see a related blog post. The key is not to overstep what you’re asking for. Your blog is helping you to build a relationship with your readers and like any good relationship, the trust builds over time.
Conclusion
I hope this article helps to improve your blog post layout. Remember that your blog post layout may be the first impression your site visitors get from you. They will make a quick judgment of your post based on how easy you make it for them to read and find the content they’re looking for. Your efforts to improve the layout will keep your readers on your site longer and keep them coming back to read more of the useful blog content that you create for them.
Please leave a comment with your blog link and share it with my readers.