One of the most frequent design faux pas I see is having a blog that looks nothing like your website. There are several branding features that make a website look and feel like your business: the logo, color, fonts, and layout. Why shouldn’t your blog look and feel like the rest of your company image?
In one click you can lose your audience. They may become confused, thinking they are no longer on your website or visiting something that isn’t part of your company. “Click!” and they’re gone. They may take a few seconds to read and regroup, realizing this is still part of your site, but then “Click!”… they’re gone. They may get turned off by a blah template blog that looks cheap or gives the impression you are less committed to your own business.
Fortunately we have a fix:
3 Extra Sharp Ideas from Design to Spec to Customize a blog to look like your website.
- Bring on the Theme. If using a template, customize your blog with colors, logo, etc. that make your website unique.
- Blog on Your Domain. Avoid business blogging on a free hosted blog site through Blogger, WordPress.com, or elsewhere. When your blog is on your domain, visitors can tell from the browser they are still on your site.
- Build a Name. I’ve seen countless instances where bloggers dub their blog something fun, something trendy that says nothing about their business name. Where is their business name on their blog? Where is their business name in their blog posts? Why is there no business name in the copyright of their blog posts? It may not be sexy, but there is a lot of traction in naming your blog “Jane Doe’s Business Blog”.
Design to Spec can make your blog consistent, more compelling and keep visitors interested.