Posted on November 26th, 2010While every website owner strives to develop an aesthetic and appealing site or blog, unfortunately not everyone succeeds. With the ease and convenience that content management systems such as WordPress brings to design, the need for experience in web design is no longer a requirement to build a functioning site or blog.
Novice bloggers using WordPress typically fall into one of the following design traps: abhorrent themes, obsessive advertisements, runaway spam, ancient postings and left-field posts. While each of these impending design casualties can easily be prevented, understanding good design is the first step in avoiding a design faux pas when using WordPress.
Abhorrent Themes
Abhorrent may be a strong word to describe unattractive WordPress blogs, but the truth is there are some sites that are simply hideous to behold. Unless you have a poor eye for design, there’s really no excuse for committing this faux pas with the thousands available free WordPress themes. Consider referring to color theme charts or visiting top rated blogs to hone in on your design instincts.
Obsessive Advertisements
Granted advertisements on a blog are a necessity to generate revenue, however, only in moderation. Visitors quickly become annoyed battling with distracting ads while trying to read the content of the blog. Nothing says “I am unprofessional” like a site overflowing with advertisements. Also, too many ads cut into the potential revenue. As a general rule, place 1-3 ads per page on your site for a good balance. Rotate the placement of the ads for optimal revenue.
Runaway Spam
WordPress blogs offer visitors the quick and easy ability to post comments. Although the convenient posting feature is overall a good feature, however, it turns into a spam fest when spanners and bots wreck havoc on your blog. A downside to using a WordPress blog is that they usually don’t require visitors to register before posting, which in turn invites spam. Again, keep in mind that nothing screams unprofessional than a blog full of spam postings.
Ancient Postings
With the demand for fresh and current information, it’s imperative that your blog offer readers what they want; especially to accommodate RSS feed subscribers. This means you must be consistent in posting daily or weekly updates to your blog. If you lack the ability to keep your site updated, then don’t be surprised if you see a significant decrease in your subscriber list. To keep on track, consider a posting schedule whether it’s once a day or once a month.
Left-Field Posts
Even though tangents are often common in the blogosphere, be conscious in knowing the difference between a tangent and a completely irrelevant post. Stick with writing about well-versed and informative topics.
When developing your blog, keep in mind these tips on how to prevent it from becoming a statistic of poor design!