Okay, so I know "content is king" but I have a question for the bloggers. Are there any trends you've noticed between the visual aspects of your wordpress blog's design (colors, other features) and how successful it becomes? I know that I'm very critical of subpar design, but I'm not sure if that's an exception or the rule for most of your blog's audience. I'm very interested in how layout and visual design strategies affect your blog.
Personally I've always found that simple designs that have some color (e.g. not all black and white) are best. Many of the most successful sites (BoingBoing.net, Neatorama.com, TechCrunch.com, etc.) all follow this design concept.
I am going to Charleston in September with a bunch of Audi TT guys, guarantee you will see us there too! check out the event @ tt-east.com Anyway, regarding design, I agree with the poster above. You definately want to stay with a clean layout, easy to read, with good looking colors. check out this site - webpagesthatsuck.com for more of what NOT to do, and then just do the opposite, within reason of course. Best of luck to you!
I try to keep it simple, but a few weeks ago with the free blog listed in my sig, I changed the colors to "bright ass pink" to match a promo banner, and it was one of the best traffic days I had up until then. Can't figure that one out, maybe coincidence, but I also don't have a serious business blog either. I will keep the new one simple, and try not to get too hooked on plugins.
I always keep my visitors in mind when I'm designing a site. After all it is for them. If you build a site for the 'visitor' so it's easy to navigate and easy to read... they will come. One of my latest sites just finished it's first month with almost 160,000 visitors and I didnt spend a cent on advertising. Good luck with it. Joseph
Not sure that I'll go with a "bright ass pink" but I do always appreciate clean lines and a pop of color. I'll be starting up a blog as soon as I get caught up with the explosion of papers/finals that hits at the end of every semester so thanks for the tips so far. I wonder if the consumer psychology comes into play with websites- like the idea that certain colors or types of music make you want to buy things.
Well, music on a website or blog is almost always a huge turnoff. The only exception to this that I can think of is car manufacturers that have some kind of music in the background to go along with their flash. One recent example that I've seen: http://www.landroverusa.com/us/en/vehicles/LR2/overview.htm Naturally, with blogs you want to stay away from music. Consumer psychology DEFINITELY comes into play if you plan to monetize your blog. This is why Adsense users have reported great results by testing different ad blocks and ad locations. For network affiliates, consumer psychology is multiplied exponentially. But I'm getting off topic. The general reader wants a generally pleasant screen to look at. Neutral colors work best and I, personally, find a white background with complementing colors on borders and headers more appealing than anything else. I think most people would agree that 99% of the time a dark background with light text is unnerving, with the rare exception.
Now I do agree, but I admit on the re build of my present blog here, i have broken a few of the rules of design, but I hope I have kept it clean. It really depends on the subject matter. I will be breaking a few more rules, but...my blog is supposed to be entertaining, or at least entertainment information. It can't be too plain, or why bother.