A great blog design is important to succeed in Blogging. There are fundamental differences between blog design and design of standard websites.

A better understanding of the important elements of blog design can help you to design a better and effective blog that can distinguish you from your competition.

Here are 15 essential elements of good blog design.

1. Good readability

Easy to read content is one of the most important elements of an effective blog design. Large font size, contrasting colour against the background, sufficient line and paragraph spacing are some ways to ensure content is easy to read.

2. Emphasis on Content

Content is the most important real estate on blogs. Although quality of content is important, good blog design should ensure content gets the most focus and attention from readers. It is important to ensure that other blog elements do not distract the user’s focus away from the content.

3. Multiple Navigational Elements

An effective blog design offers multiple ways for readers to navigate through the site.  In addition to an easy to use main menu typically displayed at the top and sub-menu displayed in footer, a blog design should account for the following additional navigational elements:

• Archived posts
• Related posts
• Recent posts
• Popular posts
• Tag Cloud

All these elements improve page views and encourage wider readership of your content.

4. Good comment section

Well designed comment section encourages readers to contribute by sharing their views. Make comments prominent and appealing. Displaying the comment count next to post title or adding necessary CSS to display comments and replies nested properly can improve usability.

Tools like ‘Disqus Comments’ allow users to leave comments by signing in to one of the leading social profiles.

WordPress plug-ins such as ‘Ajax edit comment’ improves usability by allowing users to edit the comment after the comment has been posted.

5. Integration With Social Media

Effective integration with social media is a very important component of effective blog design. Make it easy for your readers to share your content on various networks. Tools such as ShareThis! or Add this allow users to share content across multiple social networks. There is a wide range of tools that seamlessly integrate your blog with Facebook, Twitter, Digg and other popular social networks.

6. Well Designed Header

The header is one of the first things visible to your visitors. It offers the perfect opportunity to create a strong first impression. A well designed logo will re-enforce your brand. On the other hand, an effective slogan or tagline that describes your blog informs readers what your blog is about. Contact details, search box and top navigation are some other common header elements.

7. Custom Footer

A well designed custom footer is another essential element of a good blog design. The trend these days is for large footers with a wide range of information. Footer can be used to supplement navigation and to display a range of useful information and widgets. Some examples of footer elements are:

• Footer Navigation
• Social Sharing
• Profile
• Popular Posts
• Links to Archives
• Newsletter/RSS Subscription
• Poll

8. Visually Appealing and Usable Sidebar

The side-bar is one of the most important parts of a blog. Good blog design should use of a well thought of and effective sidebar. This is where a majority of the blog elements are displayed. You can have a sidebar on the left and right or a double column sidebar on one side. Plan the elements in your sidebar carefully.

Examples of Sidebar Items:

• Banner Ads
• Categories
• Recent posts
• Popular posts
• Tag Cloud
• Blogroll

9. Effective use of Images

Images are an essential element of good blog design. In addition to standard graphics, it is also important to use images on every post. Images make the content more appealing and readable. Presenting statistical data as charts or graphs where relevant further improve the quality of information offered.

10. Clean, Compliant & Optimised Code

Although a professional design is important for your blog, it is equally important for your content mark-up and code to be compliant. Your blog should contain clean and compliant with correct HTML semantics. This is important for SEO.

11. Appealing Post Title

The title of your posts has one of the highest impacts on your readership.The title should be clear, bold and use large fonts. It should grab the attention of readers and entice them into reading your content.

12. Effective Call to Action

Call to action refers to design elements that encourage users to take a desired action. Typically these are in the form of links, banners or icons. A good blog design should make effective use of call to action. These are the elements that drive conversion whether it is the sale of a product or leads for your business.

13. Prominent Opt-in Subscription

Building your mailing list is a high priority for any blog. it is subscription of your newsletter or your RSS feed, your blog should include a well designed and prominent subscription in order to improve conversions.

14. Search

Search on blogs is used far more regularly by users than on standard websites. Your search box should be simple in design and should be clearly visible. It should be easy for users to locate. Header or sidebar are good places to put your search box. Consider using Google’s custom search engines (CSE) for your blog search. It is very easy to integrate.

15. Banner Ads

Monetising is an important consideration for many blogs and banner ads offer the ideal opportunity for doing this. A blog design is not complete without well designed banners. 125px by 125px banners are popular and typically displayed on the sidebar of the blog. You can use banners for advertisers or to promote your own products.

Do you have more blog design tips?

What are some more elements that you can think of that make a blog design great? Please share your ideas in comments below.