Everyone wants a blog these days: If you haven’t had a client request the design of a blogging-based website, we don’t know how you’ve managed to do so—but we’d love to find out! No matter how you slice it, though, Internet publications are steadily replacing traditional print media. This means higher demand, greater increase in design trends, and more homework for you!

Staying up to date on how to design the best blog possible is rough going. Thankfully, you don’t have to do so alone: We’ve compiled a quick guide below to give you the gist of how to create the best possible site for your wordy client. We’ll be splitting this into two parts because we very firmly believe in the power of good blogging design, and really want to emphasize it. With that in mind, enjoy our quick, efficient, and easy to implement tips on how to design a better blog!

  1. Custom Headers and Footers: The very first thing you’ll want to do for a client that’s demanding a design blog is create a custom header and footer for the page. This means redoing both to match the logotype, the color scheme, and potentially some aspect of the blog that makes it quirky. If you’re designing for a food blog, be sure to include lots of sweets, cake slices, or whatever else fits. Make both the header and the footer unique to the blog, as this is what the viewer will see first and last as they read. You want to make both elements as distinct as possible so they leave the maximum impression. Also, be sure you don’t put more effort into your header than you do your footer, as the end is every bit as important as the beginning!
  2. Keep It (User) Friendly: Remember that at the end of the day, a good blog is someone’s break from the world. This means they won’t want to deal with a messy design that makes their head hurt. Keep things simple, intuitive, and easy to navigate for maximum return visits.
  3. Make It Searchable: Where a blog is concerned, you’re bound to be hosting a whole lot of content. This means articles, posts, media, and a whole host of other information bits. To make it easy on your viewers to find what they’re looking for, just include a handy search bar, allowing them to locate that awesome article from several months ago in a pinch!