Does your blog look nice and invite the reader in? How your blog appears to the reader matters! It is all in the formatting. You can have the most wonderful content in the world, but if it looks bad, people will zone out and not bother reading. Or if they do read, they won’t give you much credibility.
In previous posts, we have discussed content and making sure you proofread and pay attention to grammar. In this post, we are going to talk about formatting your blog to make it look nice.
Formatting is Important
Fonts
Use easy-to-read font styles and sizes. If they can’t see it or the color is too light, forget about anybody reading it. If you’re not sure which font to use, do a google search on “easy to read fonts” and you will get a list.
I know someone who has a wonderful blog full of important and useful content, but they are using a script font on their blog that makes it difficult to read, on top of that they have a light grey font on white and center aligned. It is hard to force yourself to read it.
Short Sentences
Think simple. Short easy to read sentences win. Long sentences with lots of commas are hard to read, especially on a phone.
Short Paragraphs
Blog posts are like a loaf of bread – better in slices. No one should shove an entire loaf of bread into their mouth at once. You eat your bread in thin slices and your paragraphs should be the same. Small slivers that make reading more manageable. I take one look at a long block of text, and have to encourage myself to stay focused and get through it. Don’t do that to your readers.
You can write the best, most interesting and informative post, but without breaks, it’s just not appealing.
Remember that people on the Internet move quickly through the material. A block of text that would be fine in a book feels intimidating on a computer or phone screen. Use short paragraphs to grab your readers’ attention and keep it.
Alignment
In almost all instances, your text should be left aligned. It makes reading much easier and looks neater and more organized. You will occasionally want a short sentence or quote centered to draw attention and make it stand out.
White Space
Don’t be afraid to have a little white space (blank space) on your page. If you blog is totally covered in colors, banners, and text, the blog post is lost in the mess and nobody bothers to read it.
Pictures
You have heard the saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” It is true. No matter how great your content, words alone don’t tell the whole story. You should always include a graphic or photo with your post. It not only makes the post look more interesting, but it provides something besides text to share on social media.
Subheadings
One of the most underused formatting feature is the use of Subheadings. They not only break up large blocks of text and make your post more appealing, but they also help your with search engine optimization. A reader should be able to skim the subheadings and have an overview of what the post is about. This helps them determine whether they want more information and continue reading.
Appearance Does Matter
I can’t emphasize enough how important the appearance of your blog is to your readers. Make it as pleasing as possible and inviting to your readers. Yes it takes a few extra minutes, but those minutes mean more engaged readers.
Learn More About Blogging
Learn more about creating blog posts and adding pictures in these posts:
Adding Pictures Via the Media Library
