Blog Layout Tips?

[Greg Zimmerman]

Any concrete tips on how to design and layout your blog? I've always thought the simpler the better, but it seems that, for whatever reason, book blog sites tend to be very cluttered - almost seizure-inducing, sometimes. What have you found in the design of your blog that has worked and what hasn't?

Thanks,
Greg
The New Dork Review of Books

[Britt C.]

Simple is good! Minimizing the number of awards, etc in your sidebars is ALWAYS a good thing.

I like 3 columns so that more sidebar info is above the fold, and I get bugged by super long sidebars.

[Audrey Elaine Baker]

I think it really depends on you. Your blog should reflect who you are as a person. At the same time, you don't want somone to have a seizure when they visit your sight. Mine is kind-of flashy color wise and not very simple, which some people may say is not a good idea. But then, the colors are my favorite colors, and I find it's very me. Since I am trying to attract people that will be interested in what I have to say, I think making my blog look like me is good.
It's important to make it reflect you without having it be too much and without it being so cluttered that people get lost.

[Jeanie Fritzsche]

I'm with you - I like a clean, simple look. When I open cluttered blogs, I get overwhelmed. I keep mine simple - you can take a look at http://toomanybookstoolittletime.wordpress.com. I haven't been blogging for long, so I find looking at others' blogs to be very helpful. I have links to some of my favorites my site.

[Isalys Blackwell]

Good morning!

Simple is good, but sometimes that becomes tricky when you have an overabundance of information that you want to share/include on your blog. I think the key is in organizing and streamlining your blog! For example, my blog has gotten several awards...rather than itemizing them all along the sidebar, we've added them into a scroll box minimizing the amount of space they take up on the page. I am also a fan of the 3-column layouts. They allow you to spread it out a bit w/o ending up with crazy-long sidebars that make you scroll forever! (Remember, people sometimes have short attention spans, lol)

I also agree with Audrey in that your blog should reflect your personality & tastes. Whether it's simple or flashy, create something fun and interesting. There are so many bloggers out there that you'll have no problem finding people that appreciate your style :)

PS: If you want to get a lot of followers, promote! promote! promote!

Hope all this advice helps!
Isalys
Book ♥ Soulmates

[Nishita Kumar]

It needn't be too simple. Feel free to personalize and make it as creative as you like.

One tip though: pages with too many widgets and graphics can not only make the page look cluttered but also slow down page loads.

It helps to keep this in mind. also, when you are posting a lot of giveaway information etc. in your sidebars, make the ffort to remove them as soon as they are dated.


I prefer to keep it simple primarily because I don't have that much free time on hand to spend beautifying my blog.


For an idea of what I mean, you can see http://nishitak.wordpress.com

[Lynda Parker]

I tried out a few different designs before I found one that I was happy with... and would you believe it... it's the plainest and most simple backdrop with all the gadgets added on that I need/want. You don't have to have a every bell and whistle going all at once to have a great blog.... remember KISS (Keep It Simple Silly)... and you'll get people coming to you for the content of your blog, and not for what it looks like.

Attract them with links to author's websites, interesting banter about how long you've had the books and how many times you've read it and where you can buy it or whether it's still in print... it's all good stuff. Even tell your followers what you're reading (you never know, they may pick up on your reading habits too). And it doesn't hurt to put in some Google Ads either (I have, and they don't get clicked often, but that's not the point, there's advertising about books!).

Really what I'm saying is: it's about quality and not quantity.

Have a look at mine: http://continuousreader.blogspot.com/

And then, go and have a good look at my other ones through my complete profile; they all are plain layouts and chock full of info!