User experience. We’ve all heard of it, and we all know it’s important. But how can you, a writer, be expected to influence the experience your readers have when they interact with your blog?
The content of your posts is important – but I’d argue the look and feel of your site is almost just as important. Fair or not, your readers are going to judge you, your writing, and your credibility by their overall experience on your blog. A study from Stanford University revealed that 75% of people judge the credibility of a company based on the design of its website – 75%! While many of you might not think of yourselves or your sites as “companies,” you can bet that statistic still holds true for blogs and brands. So, what’s a blogger to do? Follow these tips to ensure that your readers get the right first impression and come back for more.
1. Keep your blog’s design simple, clean, and generally visually appealing.
Don’t visually assault your readers when they land on your site. Tie-dye backgrounds, flashing banners, and Comic Sans might seem like a good idea, but trust me – skip the Flash animations and kitschy fonts. Your readers will thank you, and in time, you’ll thank them for coming back. If you’re not sure about the quality of your site’s design, look into conducting some user testing. Peek offers a free, five-minute evaluation of any site by a real person. Just enter your URL and they’ll email you a recorded video!
2. Make it easy for readers to read your blog.
This goes hand-in-hand with #1, and it might seem like a “well, duh” statement, but it’s worth keeping in mind. Script and decorative fonts have their place, but it’s not in the body of your blog. If you want to play it safe, use one of these web safe fonts; they’ll load on any browser, so your site will always look consistent. Whatever background color you decide on, make sure the color you use for your text is high enough contrast. Use headers, bulleted lists, and smaller paragraphs to make your content easily digestible. Utilize bold and italics when you want to emphasize something, but don’t underline anything unless it’s a link – people will usually try to click it (see?).
3. Make it easy for readers to find what they’re looking for.
Having a clear navigation along the top or side of your blog can work wonders for reader retention. No one likes to feel confused, and if a user feels confused by a website, he or she will likely just leave. Include a search bar (preferably in the upper right-hand corner) so people can easily look for topics or specific posts.
4. Avoid distractions, and go easy on the ads.
Popups and banners can be really great for sending an important message, but don’t overdo it. Tactics like this should be used in moderation, if at all. If you’d like to encourage people to subscribe to your blog or sign up for your email list, consider including a call-to-action at the end of your post instead of interrupting readers with it. Keep advertisements as non-invasive as possible.
5. Cut down on clutter to make room for faster page load speeds.
According to KISSmetrics, 19% of users will leave a website if the page takes more than five seconds to load. Thirty percent are patient enough to wait between six and ten seconds. If your blog takes longer than ten seconds, you could be missing out on almost half of your potential readers! There are a variety of free tools available to test your site’s load speed, such as Pingdom.
Above all, follow the primary rule of design: K.I.S.S., “keep it simple, stupid!” If you think I missed something, let me know in the comments or connect with me on Twitter.
