For a blog design, no matter how unique your design is, it’s always not recommended that you forget the basic. Lately, I have come across a few blogs that have great logos and headers only to have bad basic design. Use these six tips and mistakes to make the most out of your blog.

1. The user must know what the site is about in seconds – Attention is one the most valuable currencies on the Internet. If a visitor can not figure what your site is about in a couple of seconds, he will probably just go somewhere else. Your site must communicate why I should spend my time there, and FAST!

2. Avoid complex URL structures – A simple, keyword-based URL structure will not only improve your search engine rankings, but it will also make it easier for the reader to identify the content of your pages before visiting them.

3. Make sure your website is cross-browser compatible – Not all browsers are created equal, and not all of them interpret CSS and other languages on the same way. Like it or not, you will need to make your website compatible with the most used browsers on the market, else you will lose readers over the long term.

4. Use complimentary colors – Be judicious in choosing your color scheme; too many colors, or colors that are too bright, can turn off readers and cause them to click away sooner than they might otherwise.

5. Do a usability check – Borrow a trick from the pros and do a usability check by enlisting several friends or colleagues to poke around your blog. This is most effective if you’re sitting beside them, listening to their feedback with a notebook in hand. You might be surprised what valuable information you receive when you ask for it.

6. Make sure to include anchor text on links – I confess I used to do that mistake until some time ago. It is easier to tell people to “click here”. But this is not efficient. Make sure to include a relevant anchor text on your links. It will ensure that the reader knows where he is going to if he clicks the link, and it will also create SEO benefits for the external site where the link is pointing.

Although I won’t deny that most blogs can get away with bad design as long as they provide good content, it’s always a good thing to provide good user experience to your user.

Nik Imran is the author of IMakeABlog, a blog that provides guide on how to make a blog, your step-by-step guide to setup blog.

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