How important is a blog design to you? Do you even read a poorly designed blog?

Soulwatcher Level 1

November 11, 2017, 11:01 pm

46

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I know for me personally website design is everything. If you look at my website it looks professional and my blog is using a free blog skin that I customized. Same with my forum I am using a $25 generic forum skin that I customized and it looks professional. And I spent a little over $75 on graphics, so my whole website design was $100 and it looks like a $1,000+ website design.

So in my honest opinion there is no excuse for a poorly designed website. Anyone serious about their website can at the very least use a free skin a customize it. I won't even bother reading a poorly designed blog no matter how good the content is. How important is a blog design to you? Do you even read a poorly designed blog?

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Tronia

Tronia

I am pretty similar to you. When it comes to the website or a blog design I am extremely picky and I always only read blogs that use a design which is appealing and not terrible. I hate how some blogs just throw everything around, there's no order, buttons cover each other and the ads are everywhere you look - that's poor design. Also, it's interesting that half the website don't even bother putting things such as a banner up.

I don't think that you need to invest a lot of money, or any at all to have a nicely designed blog. You can use the resources available all over the internet and a bit of cleverness.

9 years ago

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DarthHazard

DarthHazard

Website design is extremely important to me. If a site has been poorly designed then chances are I will just leave the site because I just won't be able to browse through it. I think it's the same with a lot of people to be fair which is why a lot of sites are going for more modern designs. It's good to hear that you like to customise your designs a lot, would we be able to see your forum?

9 years ago

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Martinsx1

Martinsx1

Sometimes I would ask myself what a blog owner is thinking by not being able to design his or her blog well to be very appealing for visitors to stick with the site once they visit it? Is it that they are in a haste to have the site well designed or is financial aspect required for the design? Personally, I wouldn't waste any second on site that isn't well designed because it bugs my eyes.

9 years ago

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treecko142

treecko142

Yeah, I really get annoyed when I go to a poorly designed website or when the site is very difficult to navigate. Even if the content is good I just leave the site and look elsewhere. It's the first thing that viewers will judge when visiting the site so it is really important to put effort in designing the website.

9 years ago

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Martinsx1

Martinsx1

Not taking out time to build and design ones blog shows lack of commitment to the site and how can such blog owner expect posters to put in their time and effort into a site that the owner does not have time for. There are better hardworking blog owners out there that put in lots of effort to get more traffic and members being committed to the blog.

9 years ago

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treecko142

treecko142

Yeah, as always, when you work hard on something, it will really reflect on your outputs and maintaining a blog is no exception.

9 years ago

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JoeMilford

JoeMilford

I would have to say that blog design is very important to me. There is so much competition out there and so much to choose from that I feel like I do not have to "settle" for poor design. I have, however, run into sites whose content caught my attention even if the design was a bit poor or lacking, but this might be rare for me, if I am being honest. I would not say that I am extremely picky, but I know what I like and what appeals to me, and I can't help but to gravitate towards my preferences just like anybody would.

9 years ago

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Tronia

Tronia

That's completely true. I think that as human beings we all naturally have different taste. Something that looks appealing to me and extremely nice, might not appear so to you.

But regardless, we can still somewhat tell if the design of a blog is "good" or "bad" even though that it's always at least a bit subjective.

9 years ago

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JoeMilford

JoeMilford

I know, right? To further riff on your response here, I think that this speaks to niche markets and to what we want to do as "artists" while trying to express ourselves and still find a balance between that expression and marketability. I think it can be a tough tightrope to walk. I am lucky that my sensibilities already lean to the minimalist side, I think, but I have blogger friends who I think take their graphics and designs way too far, lol.

9 years ago

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Soulwatcher

Soulwatcher

Your right and the old saying is beauty is in the eye of the beholder. My beef with poor designed blogs is when just doesn't care and and throws up a free skin and doesn't do anything with it. And my feelings are if your not even going to try and customize it then you probably don't care too much about your blog and its not worth reading.

9 years ago

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Kakashi2020

Kakashi2020

Blog site optimization and content are what matters to me most and not the design. Most blogs I've seen which have good designs have terrible loading speeds because of the heavy graphics which by no means is appealing to me. I go to a Blogsite for the content and not the design. But in some cases I would see sites which have awful design that it's making the content hard to read and this kind of site should be redesigned as soon as possible.

8 years ago

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Barida

Barida

Design is everything when it comes to what I like with a blog. One thing about blog designing and the graphics is that they both make the visitors to such sites feel at home and work unlike those with poorly designed background.

9 years ago

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JoeMilford

JoeMilford

Barida,
Right--the design makes us feel "welcome" or "welcomed" or not at the initial onset of encountering the blog. If it appears unappealing or abrasive, we want to click off of it immediately and move on to something which is more pleasing to the eye or or own unique sense of what is aesthetically valuable or attractive. We all have our own tastes, but I think that a poorly put together blog is something all of us can recognize quite easily and then avoid.

9 years ago

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Baburra

Baburra

I agree. Sometimes a bad design can work for you if that is what you are going for. That is, if it goes with the content of the site, like when it is done ironically for a comedy themed blog. However, these days, even most comedy blogs and sites are helped with a good design and it's surely a lot more conducive to being pushed into mainstream rather than remaining a niche.

9 years ago

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Martinsx1

Martinsx1

Something done well is worth sticking with. So therefore, a well designed blog is definitely worth coming back to over and over again without getting bored or tired of visiting the site. A blog owner that took out good time to develop and design his or her blog would never wane in putting in high quality content that would make the visitors stay loyal to the blog.

9 years ago

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wiseagent

wiseagent

Design is certainly an important part of any blog (beauty matters, right? especially for some specific niches, such as photography and fashion for example), but it's not - not by far - the most important thing on the priority list.

The content comes first (no matter what), the rest is an accessory (some of them are luxury, some of them... not so much).

9 years ago

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DarthHazard

DarthHazard

For certain niches like photography and fashion then the actual design of the blog will definitely be important. Content is as important but I think a niche like fashion if you do not have a good enough blog design then people will just leave your site because they won't be able to take you seriously as a fashion site.

9 years ago

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wiseagent

wiseagent

I think in niches like photography and fashion the importance of contente is largely visual, so... The content has to be reverted specifically to that format.

The users have to want to eat the material you put with their eyes.

9 years ago

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DarthHazard

DarthHazard

And for those types of niches, the appearance is even more important because it's just going to look weird when you have a poorly designed site and have some decent looking content on the site. In terms of format, it's actually not that difficult to do that. You can just get a portfolio style site which shows off the images straight away on the homepage.

9 years ago

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gavinci13

gavinci13

That's true. There's some blogs out there with not so appealing website design but still manage to attract subscribers and that is through the right niche on the right time. Some Bloggers are good in identifying what is the hot topic today, they will post something related to that topic and since the topic is hot people will still read it even the website design is not that good. So yes there's some niches that requires good website design but there's some that is not.

9 years ago

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Corzhens

Corzhens

I agree that it's not the most important thing because there are good blogs that i visit regularly despite having a bad design. However, it is more often that I don't register to a site especially to a blog with a poor design unless the title and the contents are very interesting and relevant to me. My habit with new blogs is the ease of reading so if the design is inconvenient to my eyes then more likely I will exit from it without even thinking twice.

9 years ago

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mildredtabitha

mildredtabitha

A blog's design has never been of importance to me and so I still read a poorly designed blog. What matters to me is the post and if the content is what I was really looking for. Design is still important since people get attracted by what they see before getting to read what is displayed.

9 years ago

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wiseagent

wiseagent

A beautiful blog but without good / relevant content is what I usually associate with a visually beautiful people but who has nothing more to offer besides physical beauty / body. It's an empty well (and this - at least in my point of view - something highly uninteresting).

9 years ago

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JoeMilford

JoeMilford

wiseagent,
Wow--this is a great analogy, I think. I never thought of it like this before. I like this perspective, and I agree with you. I would maybe visit a blog like this once, and then I would move on. I think this is also true about going out with someone who is physically beautiful and then finding that person to be superficial or shallow. The integrity of content is something we crave everywhere, in our blogs, in our associates, in our personal relationships, etc. A blog such as this, all bling and no substance, would not keep me around at all. Good point.

9 years ago

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wiseagent

wiseagent

I think it's really a great association (I'm glad that you liked it) because a blog without well thought out content, well written, something fun... Anyway, something that really makes you want to read it... Well, it's a waste of time.

9 years ago

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Baburra

Baburra

I know what you mean. As much as I prefer a better designed site, I wouldn't say it would be a prerequisite for me just to read the content of that site. If I read the words and it resonates with me then I will stay and read the rest of the article and possibly the others too. I have been a regular visitor of many blogs that have bad designs and at one point I even kept going back to one that just had a black background just because I liked the content.

9 years ago

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mildredtabitha

mildredtabitha

Me too. Content is what attracts me more. If I gain knowledge from what I read, then I will surely visit a blog with poor design again and again just to read what is written.

There are blogs with good design but the content is not informative. This means, the site attracts people daily but it will be hard to have people come to visit it again especially those who are really looking for content.

9 years ago

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Judas2018

Judas2018

My biggest pet peeve when it comes to blogs or online spaces are broken buttons or incorrect urls. I've visited sites where their social media buttons are broken and don't lead anywhere, or they lead to the wrong url. Some blogs I've seen don't even have buttons, just a red x where the buttons used to be.

9 years ago

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Baburra

Baburra

I agree. These days even templates can make your site look great and there are so many of them out there that it wouldn't even look like a template because it's not like before when many sites would be using the same ones so it would be more obvious when you are just using the same one that everyone else is using. However, I would say that sometimes even templates can be ruined by plugging in amateur tier headers and logos so it's good to invest in having someone with experience make one for you.

9 years ago

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Soulwatcher

Soulwatcher

I 100% agree using templated is ok, but you don't want to look like the other 10k+ blogs out there using the same template. It doesn't cost much for graphics design work. I do believe that I paid around $100 to get graphic work for my form and blog and it looks like a $2k+ design. It's all about colors, background, graphics and matching everything up.

9 years ago

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DenisP

DenisP

You could have the absolute best written, most wonderfully creative and well thought out content on the face of the planet, and the sad fact is that it absolutely won't mean a thing to me if your website looks like trash. It isn't to say that I wouldn't put up with bad design for good content, but rather I feel no inclination to give it a chance in the first place if the site design looks like eye murder.

I like to think about it like going on a date. You could be the sweetest, most kindhearted person on Earth, but if you show up to our first date looking and smelling like a 12th century European peasant farmer, I probably won't feel inclined to get to know you better.

Though the same applies the other way around. You could look fantastic but if your character lacks substance, I'm gone just as quickly.

Like with all things, a balance of visuals and content is important.

9 years ago

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Soulwatcher

Soulwatcher

I 100% agree with you! People are not going to give you the time of the day if your website looks like it was a copy and past or made by a 2-year-old. People like flashy websites and you can even get away with ok content if your website looks nice enough.

And like you say the same goes in real life, you could be the ugliest dirt farmer on earth. But if you pull up and a brand new Lamborghini people will respect you and treat you nice. But pull up in an old 1970's truck in a business suit and people are not going to take you seriously.

9 years ago

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Kakashi2020

Kakashi2020

In my opinion the more graphics you put in your blog, the slower and heavier the page becomes, and that would translate to fewer traffic and views. The best thing to do is to have an optimized easy loading site, refrain from having too much graphics and animation because it's counter productive.

8 years ago

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DenisP

DenisP

It’s a matter of balance. Good design doesn’t necessarily mean adding more things or over complicating your page with things like flashy animations or transition effects. When it comes to design in general, less is usually more.

However, the key is in the composition of things. You don’t necessarily need a bunch of a graphics to have good design, but what you do need are a few key elements which are appropriately composed.

Then again, minimalism is all the rage these days as well, but there is a difference between minimalistic design and laziness.

8 years ago

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nrnlss

nrnlss

I agree with you, tho I don't really mind the design sometimes and I focus on the content but there were times that I get distracted with too much design in a blogger's website.

8 years ago

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DenisP

DenisP

I mean there definitely are certain situations where the charm of a writer manages to shine through the bad design of a blog. I’ve seen several blogs that were pretty poorly designed—not in an ugly way, just very bland and effortless—but the writer was charming enough to hook me within just the first few sentences of a post.

That being said, this doesn’t happen very often and writers that good are definitely rare in the saturated industry that is blogging.

8 years ago

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peachpurple

peachpurple

It depends on what I am looking for. For me, recipe blogs are quite plain and boring. Most of them are either in blogspot or wordpress, rarely on a domain name site. It really doesn't matter to me whether the blog is poorly designed or not. My priority is the recipes that I am looking for.

9 years ago

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Judas2018

Judas2018

If you're looking for cooking recipe sites that look professional and sleekly designed - you'd probably need to visit the official site of a few well-known chefs of t.v. cooks. They have the money and equity to have their sites professionally designed. Plus it's good for their brand.

9 years ago

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mar06

mar06

Depends upon my mood. Actually I do loved reading blogs and any articles or books. But sometimes I'm tired to do it so I cannot able to read blogs or books. I do even read those poorly designed blog as long as I'm in the good mood.

9 years ago

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Judas2018

Judas2018

Poorly designed blogs are one thing, but there are also those blogs that're poorly designed and also visually seizure-inducing.

9 years ago

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Steve5

Steve5

True. Some blogs are just designed not to be read. It's not just because it has awful designs. It's due to the strain it causes readers just to go through the content.

9 years ago

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tiffiecute

tiffiecute

I share the same fate.

Really, I don't mind if your blog design is crap as long as I find the content interesting and with logic. I guess good blog designs can help attract readers but it can't promise to make readers read until the very end.

9 years ago

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treecko142

treecko142

I guess if you're just looking for information you're going to use just once, the content matters more than the design. However, the more professionally designed the site is, the more reliable the information they contain and they are also updated with the newer trends.

9 years ago

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Kakashi2020

Kakashi2020

To me a simple but highly optimized design is the best. It must be fast loading and mobile friendly. This would make it rank faster since it's optimized.

8 years ago

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nrnlss

nrnlss

I agree with you, sometimes it is more easy to trust a well designed website than a plain website.

8 years ago

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nrnlss

nrnlss

I agree with you, sometimes it depends on what kind of content they are writing and their designs should be fit in their topic.

8 years ago

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