We all know that when it comes to blogging, content is king. That makes design the all-important sidekick. Here are three tips for creating a blog design for your small business that lets your ideas shine.
1. Define your focus
You may consider yourself an expert in many areas, but important blog design tips not to overlook include that you should choose one well-defined theme to help your business stand out in a crowded blogosphere. Focus on your most compelling information and make it the center of your design idea. From there you can begin building out a design that’s highly organized and easy to navigate.
2. Share inspiration
Some other blog design tips are that when you develop your creative brief—whether for a 99designs contest or for an individual designer—be sure to describe in detail the look and feel you’d like for your blog. It’s often helpful to create a mood board or collage that shows images and colors related to your blog design theme. This inspiration will get your designer’s creative juices flowing.
3. Practice storytelling
In addition to the mood board, you’ll want to provide your blog designer with at least three sample posts. This will help structure the page and also give you an idea how your content will appear to readers. Once you get rolling, keep going! All too often we see well-intended blogs turn stale after priorities shift. Keep your blog design fresh with unique stories and you’ll continue creating connections.
An early member of 99designs, the worlds largest online graphic design marketplace, Jason has been instrumental in the company's rapid 5 year growth and global expansion. As Chief Operating Officer and Asia Pacific General Manager, he is passionate about product strategy, user experience, internationalisation and creating a high performance product development team.
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Wendy Huang, Full Time Blogger and YouTuber at A Custom Blog in 4 Minutes
I highly agree on the theme. You can waste a lot of time changing your mind after each design iteration if you don't have a clear theme in mind. Once you design on a color palette and design theme, things just seem to unfold much easier :)
Phil Khor, Founder at SavvySME
Great tips, Jason. I stumbled upon a Youtube video the other day about design is the real king. It struck a cord with me because I'm a pretty visual guy, and I'm easily biased about how I feel about the blog just by looking at its design. I'm sure I'm not alone in this regard. Thanks for sharing :)