Is your blog boring? Bring your blog to the next level with the perfect blog design.
Your blog is important. Studies show that small businesses that do blog get 126% more lead growth than small businesses that don’t blog.
You, too, can have an up-to-date blog that looks and functions flawlessly. It’s not too much to ask.
The following blog trends are bound to help you out with your design:
1. A Minimalist Blog Design
Minimalism is trending in the world of blogs and life in general. Less clutter means more space. The same applies to your blog.
A minimalist blog design is not only easier on the eyes, but more functional. Some minimalist blog designs allow little more than the bare bones of your content and website structure. What more could you ask for?
The trick is to have lots of white space on your page. For the record, white space isn’t just “any space that’s white.” It refers to space in general.
Your page elements will look less cramped and more flowing if you have a lot of white space between them.
There’s less to load with a minimalist design. Quicker loading times mean a better SEO ranking.
A delay in load time of a web page can increase your heart rate by 38%. That’s the equivalent of someone watching a horror movie. Scary, huh?
Blogging in and of itself helps SEO and increases traffic. A quick loading time is likely to double that effect.
Minimalist pages are also more likely to load quickly on mobile devices. This brings me to my next point:
2. Mobile-Friendly Designs
With mobile traffic on the incline, it’s important that your blog design accommodates mobile users. Around 80% of internet users own a smartphone.
Around 56% of traffic to the top United States websites is from mobile devices. If you’re not keeping your mobile traffic in mind with your blog design, you could be alienating a lot of people.
Responsive web design (RWD) is an approach to web design and development that revolves around making websites accessible and functional to multiple devices. If used correctly, your blog will be able to accommodate any device.
With the help of RWD, certain CSS elements of a web page are enabled or disabled. It does this depending on the screen size or resolution of a user’s device.
You want to make sure your blog is mobile-friendly in advance. Be sure to take the time to see “test out” your site on various mobile devices.
You want to make sure all of the images look as good on a mobile device as they do on the web. This brings me to my next point:
3. Hero Images
Hero images are a great addition to any blog. They make a statement wherever you put them.
A hero image is a large web banner/image with a prominent place on a web page. They’re generally located in the front and center.
Hero images are basically attractive headers. They add a lot of value to a web page or blog and offer space between content.
The images you use have a great impact on your blog’s traffic. Blog content with visuals is 94% more views than articles without any visual content. They’re also more likely to be shared on social media.
You want to use hero images that look professional, not tacky. For the best results, use hero images that were taken and edited by professional photographers.
Pay attention to the predominant colors that are in your photos. They could be making or breaking your traffic.
4. Vibrant or Duotone Color Schemes
Many blogs and websites are adopting strong, bold color schemes. Many of these blogs are favoring duotones for the simplistic, contrasting effect.
Duotone color schemes involve using two colors that complement each other. Despite the limited number of colors in play, the results can be compelling.
Your blog’s colors have a direct impact on your readership. Choosing the right colors for your blog can improve readership by 40%. The right color scheme simply makes messages easier to read and more visually appealing.
Vibrant colors attract users’ attention. Red, orange, and blue are likely to attract viewers. Throwing black in there for contrast can also do wonders for looking professional.
Study the psychology of color to find out which colors would be most suitable for your blog.
However, your blog’s color scheme isn’t the only visual effect that matters:
5. Interesting Typography
Typography sets the tone for a blog. You want your typography to evoke emotion, create an appealing personality for your blog, and convey important information.
Good typography can even reinforce or change the meaning of your text.
Device resolutions are getting easier to read and sharper. Still, there’s an increase in the use of custom fonts.
Unique fonts stand out, but you want to make sure people can read the font. A font that’s hard to read will drive your readers away. You want to make sure the letters are easily distinguishable from one another.
Another typography trend involves combining two different yet complementary typefaces in a single design. Use this intermittent font usage for whenever you want to add emphasis to a statement.
More than 25% of news websites use Helvetica for their headlines with Georgia coming in a close second. You want to stand out as much as possible, so try going for a font that’s clear but different.
Fortunately, there’s more you can do to stand out:
6. Particle Backgrounds
Particle backgrounds offer all of the benefits of an animated background with none of the drawbacks. They are lightweight javascript animations that move as part of the background.
Unlike other animated backgrounds, particle backgrounds don’t take too long to load. The ideal particle backgrounds are lightweight in javascript.
Particle backgrounds immediately capture the user’s attention. This allows brands to a memorable impression in only a few seconds.
Particle backgrounds make your blog design look more sophisticated. The animation makes it look like you put forth that much effort to make an impression.
Your Blog is Counting On You
Upgrade your blog design. It’s the best decision you’ll ever make for your traffic.
Not only will you have more traffic, but you’ll have a blog that looks and functions perfectly.
Contact an expert to find out how you can optimize your blog. You won’t be sorry.