Eye-Catching Blog Design: What Works and What Doesn't?

[Christine Amsden]

So you go to a new blog, and in less than 10 seconds, you've probably decided whether to stay and read or not. What makes you stay? What makes you go? Keep in mind, you haven't had time to read any content -- maybe titles.

[Sugarmoon]

If the words are hard to read due to the color of the text and background I leave immediately. Also I like a paragraph or two with a picture and another paragraph or two. If I see tons of writing I leave immediately. I might read the same amount on another blog if it is broken up with pictures. Don't like music to start blaring either.

[Alison M.]

I like clean designs. It needs to be easy to navigate. I don't want to "hunt" to find something. I really don't like blogs with tons and tons of widgets/gadgets in their sidebars. No bad/clashing colors or fonts. That's an automatic exit and never come back for me.

[Christine Amsden]

I'm hearing a lot of the same things I've always found annoying. I hadn't thought about the pictures as much, but you're right -- pictures to break up text are definitely catchy!

I hate weird fonts more than anything else, even if it's just in the titles.

After that, my biggest dislike is loud backgrounds. Of course, some of that is going to be subjective.

[Jennifer Kitchens]

I look for ease of use.  I hate it when there is a blinding background, weird text or so many buttons that you can't tell what is going on.  I like clean lines, easily read words and something that looks nice.  I like color - I like buttons - I like people to play with the look --- I just like to be able to use it.  Another thing I look for is organization.  Is it easy to search for a book review I wanted to look at?  It is easy to find giveaways, author interviews, or hops?  If I can't use it easily, there is no point in going back.  After that, I look at content and see if it has what I am looking for.

Clean Romance Reviews

[Joseph Arellano]

Hi, Christine: For me, it's not about design (although a lot of people say they don't like an overly-cluttered blogsite) but about proper punctuation.  If there are obvious errors in spelling, tenses, etc., I am likely to leave the site sooner rather than later.  I always have someone proofread my items before posting them, and the same is true of items written by others.  Best, Joseph  http://josephsreviews.wordpress.com/  P.S.: Everyone makes a mistake now and then; I'm talking about sites that are filled with clear errors.

[Christine Amsden]

Absolutely! Books or blogs, doesn't matter, I'll drop it in a second if it is badly written. :)

[Anna Rindfleisch]

Hey, I would love it if you would check out my blog. I'm just getting started and it is really hard to get any circulation around. I would greatly appreciate the help in spreading the word, I'll be spreading the word on yours, I love how you write your reviews and the varieties you have in your books. 
I also have another blog that is slightly older and I post, now mostly original poetry or how my day was, or scenes/chapters from play's/books of my original work. I would appreciate your feedback on whether you my poetry/writing is any good.

Book Review Blog:
http://theperfectherald.blogspot.com/

Personal/ Poetry Blog:
http://annaaainafairytalee.blogspot.com/

Fond Regards,
Anna

[Christine Amsden]

I think your two blogs look pretty good....I didn't like some of the scripty font in the first one along the sides...hard to read that. The poetry blog, I thought, could have used a bit more color or character. There's clean, and then there's boring...who are you and what do you do? (I mean poetry, obviously, but what kind?) If you can show it to me, I'll be more likely to stay and read.

(Just my opinion of course...I've got this thing where I have to be honest about it, though. :) )

[TheBookGazer.Blogspot.com]

for the first blog I found the font a problem, could'nt really read it.....that and the small fonted blog pages, need to shorten that up.

otherwise, an amazing blog.

http://editorsarticle.blogspot.com/

please go to my blog and become a member! ( or add my blog banner)

[Megan Reti]

I like pretty, eye-catching blogs, but some have too much going on. If there's too many gadgets and widgets, it makes my computer laggy and I get annoyed!

[ManOfLaBook.com]

Another vote for the clean look as well.

http://www.ManOfLaBook.com

[Grace]

I like blogs to look professional and not terribly cluttered.  If it sparkles and/or looks like a 90s Myspace page, I tend to leave immediately.

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Books Without Any Pictures