How to Use Your Blog Design to Get More Traffic

Having a great blog design is 70% the reason why your readers stay when they first see your blog. They see the title, your gadgets, that shnazzy background of yours- all of it, just before reading that A+ post that took you 2 hours to write and have already posted it and Pinned it everywhere. So if your title font is unreadable and your colors make it so that you're reading neon green letters on a neon pink background, no matter how awesome of a writer you are, your blog design matters. I bet only 5% of readers stay on a poorly designed blog just because they love what's being written- no offense to those who are having trouble with this. I've got a couple of tips for using those web design skills to get loads of traffic. 

1) First, make sure you have an About page- not as a separate page directed by a tab, but as a gadget, so that people can learn all about you and your blog without leaving the page they are intending to be on. Be sure to include a picture of yourself. If you're using Blogger, go to Layout>Gadget>Text and copy and paste a picture of yourself, then write a little about you and your blog.

2) Be sure to choose a page font that is easy to read and yet unique, but also something that you like. I love the font that I chose for the page and I think it's pretty easy to read. If you disagree, leave a comment and tell me why you disagree. Also, don't be afraid to choose a couple different fonts because it's really good to mix it up a bit. But don't choose more than 3-4 because that makes it a little confusing. 

3) Have all of your social media links out and ready because someone might want more of you. I have one of my Pinterest boards on my blog, which encourages people to check out my Pinterest page and it lets them know what I like. Have your Facebook page link on your either Contact Page or About Page, and give them links to your Twitter and Instagram if you have them. If you have NO social media whatsoever, this is fine, but I advise that you get some because social media is where you get practically 90% of your page views. Have your links ready!

4) An archives page/gadget is uber important because people don't just want to click "Older Posts" a thousand times to get a look at what you wrote back in November. You can get either a drop down tab of archives, like I have, or a whole page with a link to it on your tabs. Make sure you have one!!

5) Hello Bar is probably the best blogging resource I have ever discovered. You know that little pop-up tab in the bottom right corner of this blog? Hello Bar let me do that- for free. And not just a free trial. You can do that and so much more to get tons of traffic for free with Hello Bar, which is compatible with both Blogger and Wordpress blogs, and it's surprisingly NOT at al complicated. 

6) Make sure your pictures are big and high-quality. If your picture is too blurry to even tell what it is, don't post it. If it's teeny-tiny, don't post it. Only use the best pictures if you want your blog to be the best. Try to use only YOUR pictures.

7) This kind of goes along with what I said above- make sure your photos stay within the page, instead of being too big and going outside the lines into your gadgets- this is really ugly and makes the page seem out of place and will drive some people so crazy that they'll never return to your blog. I always check if the photos are the right size in case they seem a bit big, and you should check, too.

8) Be sure that your background isn't too busy so that you cannot read the title of the blog. I have a friend whose blog background clashes with the title, making it sort-of unreadable. Check that the background cooperates with the title/title font/title color. 

That's all I have to say for now about using your blog design to boost your page views. I promise, you'll see a major spike within a few weeks. Thanks for reading! 

xx Savannah