With business blogs it’s easy to think the blog will look the same as your existing site and you don’t need to worry about design.  Unfortunately, I see sites everyday that just don’t realize they are chasing away readers, or at least diminishing their credibility with a poorly designed blog (unfortunately they are often the same companies whose site design is frightening as well.)  The better the design, the easier to earn the benefit of the doubt about your business - and if your blog IS your business, than design is even more crucial.  

Here is an example of a blog that does a great job of reinforcing their credibility through design:

www.cartype.com/

This blog is cohesive, well organized, and the design is sharp.  Compare that with:

carfreaksblog.blogspot.com/

Both have an obsessive attitude about the topic of cars, each with their own angle - but which one do you think has more authority, and which would you rather read?

It’s always a good exercise to step back and think critically about your design.  Compare it with others in the industry.  Do a Google search on a frequently used keyword on your blog and look at the sites on pages one and two compared to your site.  Get an outside opinion, or better yet - poll your readers and get their input.  

Blogging gets more competitive by the day so every differentiator counts.  Make sure to back up your content with solid design to get the best results out of your blog venture.

Tags: Blog Training, Blogsite, business-blogging

This entry was posted on Monday, August 4th, 2008 at 5:58 am and is filed under Blog Training, Business Blogging. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.