(or “Why Design Important to Me – and should be to you!”)

Everybody agrees that content is key.  Without great content, readers aren’t going to stay, let alone come back for more.  So why is design at all important if content reigns supreme?

Two important reasons:

1. Your design is your “first impression”
2. Design=Online Environment and it should be “comfortable” for your readers

I did some research and, depending on what article you read experts say that you have between 7 to 30 seconds to make your first impression.  IN PERSON.  Now, think about how this translates to an online experience.  In person you can modify your appearance, tone of voice, volume, use body language, handshake, posture, eye contact, hands, smile and even scent – yet you still only have mere seconds to do so.

You also have a distinct advantage in person that you lack online.  In person, you have a chance to react to how you think the person you are meeting is responding to you and you can adjust.  There are no adjustments online.  They see your site and they a.) leave or b.) stay.  If they stay, for how long is dependent on both design and content.  If they have trouble navigating your site or reading small print, no matter how funny or informative your post, they still might leave.  Is your design like a noisy restaurant with bad lighting and restrooms that are hard to find and dirty?  Or is it a restaurant that people stay for a spell and order everything from appetizers to dessert?

Design is important!

Online, the only way you have to engage a reader in the first seconds of their visit is with the design of your site because, how much can they read in 7-30 seconds?

Design isn’t limited to just the colors and look to your site, it also relates to the flow and ease of use.  Can they easily find older posts?  If you want subscribers, is it obvious where to do this?  If you want comments, do you make it easy for your readers to do this or is it a ten step process?  Do you use pictures?  Too many?  Too few?

Design is a personal thing.  What does design say about you?  Do you want your readers to connect with you on a personal level (important if your voice and personality are a strong part of your site/blog) or is your blog to promote a product or service and not yourself?

I can’t give you absolute tips on designs that work because what works for one site will not work for another.  A lot of bloggers love Thesis for instance.  Consequently, a lot of blogs look like, well, a Thesis blog – if you are going for a unique, personalized look, this may not work for you.

I can tell you from personal experience that design makes a huge difference.  My blog, The Gift Detective, had visitors before the design was done well but, according to Google Analytics, they would sometimes leave within the same second that they arrived!  Think about that.  People made their decision to leave within ONE SECOND. I didn’t have a chance for them to even read one line of my content within a one second period.  (It probably took you three seconds to read the previous sentence.)

One second.  It isn’t a lot of time to try to make a first impression is it?  In that second you have the opportunity to convey what the blog is about, if it seems professional, engaging, why they should stay and read more.

How are you utilizing your second?

This post was inspired, in part, because I’ve seen firsthand what a positive impact good design can make on my older site and also because the design of this blog will be completed soon!  By the end of this week or the beginning of next week Better Your Blog will be better!  I hope that if you are a first time visitor you will come back and see the difference and, if you are a blogger that you’ll join us in the forum and work to Better Your Blog!