5 Ways to Make Your Blog Better

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5WaystoMakeYourBlogBetter

As bloggers we’re always looking for ways to better our blog.  I tweak my own blog design on a nearly weekly basis to improve it, make it more appealing.  As I read through many blogs, I notice on going trends that could make them more appealing, easier to navigate, and appear cleaner and more professional overall.  These 5 tips are definitely not an end all, be all, but simply a few observations and tips I’ve come across to make my blog better.

So here goes:

  1. Have a set of social media icons/links. Have them visible and near the top and/or at the bottom of each post. This makes it easier for readers to follow you and share your content.
  2. Have clear and crisp pictures or graphics. Now I know we’re not all professional or even intermediate photographers, but for the most part many of us are able to take a relatively sharp picture. When it comes to graphics, make sure they’re saved in a format that is high quality. This is usually PNG or JPEG format.
  3. Utilize Pages. Don’t have your sidebars filled up with a ton of things. Decide what’s most important, i.e. sponsors ads, button swaps, etc. Put the rest on another page. It cleans up your site and makes it look less cluttered and more professional.
  4. Have a subscribe box. Allow readers to sign up for updates and newsletters from your site and receive them via email. This means they’re getting your content delivered directly to their inbox and they will be more likely to click it and visit your site.
  5. Make sure you have an About Me page that reflects you and your site. It allows people to get to know the real person behind the blog a little. Readers will feel more connected to you and be apt to want to know more about you. This means they will probably spend more time on your site and subscribe too.

I’ll be featuring more blog tips in the future, as I  come across and observe them myself.  I want us all to have the best blogs possible, so I’m sharing what I know in hopes that it will be helpful to you!

Happy Blogging!

xxoo,

49 thoughts on “5 Ways to Make Your Blog Better”

    • Your are so right! The key is community. I’ve recently implemented a few of the tips myself and others over time. I still have a lot to learn myself, as that’s the nature of being a blogger. I don’t think we’re ever done tweaking and improving! :-)

      Reply

    • I slept on my About Page until just a few months ago. I never really thought much doing an About Page until I found myself looking at other bloggers’ pages. I had a lightbulb moment and figured that people probably wanted to know a bit more about me than what they just see in my posts. A good About Page is imperative for sure!

      Reply

    • Thanks so much! Pages can make a world of a difference. I’m a big fan of maximizing the use of mines. However, sometimes I struggle because I want “everything” on the homepage, lol!

      Reply

    • Thanks so much!

      Most likely its the default font in your theme. You can most likely overwrite it with the Google Fonts plugin if you’re on WP self-hosted. Its a super easy plugin with a lot of nice fonts. :-)

      Reply

    • Thanks so much! Simple is sometimes the best way to go. I like a clean layout, whether big or small, it just makes navigation so much easier. Pages really help to keep the look clean and encourage visitors to spend more time on your site. :-)

      Reply

  23. I agree with these tips!! I think the only one I didn’t include so far is the Email Subscription, I did before but removed it. I had to find a way to make it look better on my site. Hehe. But I am totally for the uncluttered sidebar and webpage! :)
    Rea recently posted…Write more stories. Take photos.

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  24. Great tips Tenns! I’m right there with you on the social media. I like to easily find how I can follow my favorite bloggers. I’m really drawn to blogs with great photos and that is something I am working on. It’ll take some time, but I’m getting there. About pages are really important. This is one of the first places I go to when I meet a new blogger. It’s probably also important to remember to update this page often. Kids get older and so do I………no reason to live in the past.
    Christina @ Juggling Real Food and Real Life recently posted…The Real Food Experience ~ Use Natural Sweeteners – Juggling Real Food and Real Life

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    • Thanks so much! I’m really big on photos too and its the one thing I’ve been working on too. I always try to include a graphic or photo in all my posts. Its a small start, but its a start! :-)

      Reply

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  29. Thanks for the tips! I recently ran into a question about a hover it pin button to make it easier for visitors to pin, unfortunately I run a fully hosted wordpress blog making it impossible for me to have this widget installed. What are your thoughts on maintaining my wordpress blog or switching to a new platform ?
    Gurvy Green recently posted…Benefits of a personal humidifier

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