7. The Fine Line Between Creative and Cluttered
Posted: Tue Dec 24, 2024 9:38 am
7. The Fine Line Between Creative and Cluttered
Not every blog layout or design needs to be as minimalistic as mine. Here, we’re going to review a few alternative blog layouts that are very diverse in their design decisions, illustrating that you can be extremely creative without forfeiting ease of use and functionality.
Creative vs Cluttered Blog Design (Example)
However, it should be known that there’s a very fine line between creativity azerbaijan phone number material chaos. If your blog readers can’t find your content easily (or feel instantly overwhelmed by the amount of things going on with your blog layout), your site isn’t functioning at its highest potential.
Here are a few specific elements that can distract your readers from consuming your content:
Too Many Ads
Having well-placed advertisements on your blog can be a great way to increase your blog revenue. On the other hand, a blog that’s lit up with ads blinking in the header, footer, sidebar, and in the middle of your content—can be extremely distracting. I can tell you that I’ve personally left many blogs without reading a word of content for this exact reason, and it’s a major reason why I removed ads from my own blog this year.
People are coming to your blog primarily to solve a problem they have by searching for answers in your content. If there are too many ads muddling up your articles, you run the risk of looking like a spam site that’s hiding answers from readers for just long enough to get some extra ad impressions instead of being a genuinely useful, reputable source of information.
A Messy Sidebar
There are certainly pros and cons to using your blog sidebar. Some people recommend not having one at all, while others say that it can be very helpful for navigation and tastefully promote your blog content.
I tend to fall on the side of not utilizing much of a sidebar (aside from a table of contents with particularly lengthy articles), and I intentionally left it out of my new blog’s recent redesign. If you do choose to include a sidebar, though, try to keep it as clean, simple, and useful as possible.
Try to include only the most vital information that you want readers to know about and take action on. For everything else, just put it in the footer.
No Use of Negative Space
Earlier, we talked about how I thoughtfully utilize white space on my blog layout. Some bloggers need text or images covering every inch of real estate on their blogs. My advice is not to be afraid of leaving some comfortable spacing throughout your blog layout, as it can often be more calming to readers than a design that’s jam-packed with elements.
Negative space also allows people to locate important information on your blog more easily. It allows you to highlight the most essential features (or articles) on your blog.
Not every blog layout or design needs to be as minimalistic as mine. Here, we’re going to review a few alternative blog layouts that are very diverse in their design decisions, illustrating that you can be extremely creative without forfeiting ease of use and functionality.
Creative vs Cluttered Blog Design (Example)
However, it should be known that there’s a very fine line between creativity azerbaijan phone number material chaos. If your blog readers can’t find your content easily (or feel instantly overwhelmed by the amount of things going on with your blog layout), your site isn’t functioning at its highest potential.
Here are a few specific elements that can distract your readers from consuming your content:
Too Many Ads
Having well-placed advertisements on your blog can be a great way to increase your blog revenue. On the other hand, a blog that’s lit up with ads blinking in the header, footer, sidebar, and in the middle of your content—can be extremely distracting. I can tell you that I’ve personally left many blogs without reading a word of content for this exact reason, and it’s a major reason why I removed ads from my own blog this year.
People are coming to your blog primarily to solve a problem they have by searching for answers in your content. If there are too many ads muddling up your articles, you run the risk of looking like a spam site that’s hiding answers from readers for just long enough to get some extra ad impressions instead of being a genuinely useful, reputable source of information.
A Messy Sidebar
There are certainly pros and cons to using your blog sidebar. Some people recommend not having one at all, while others say that it can be very helpful for navigation and tastefully promote your blog content.
I tend to fall on the side of not utilizing much of a sidebar (aside from a table of contents with particularly lengthy articles), and I intentionally left it out of my new blog’s recent redesign. If you do choose to include a sidebar, though, try to keep it as clean, simple, and useful as possible.
Try to include only the most vital information that you want readers to know about and take action on. For everything else, just put it in the footer.
No Use of Negative Space
Earlier, we talked about how I thoughtfully utilize white space on my blog layout. Some bloggers need text or images covering every inch of real estate on their blogs. My advice is not to be afraid of leaving some comfortable spacing throughout your blog layout, as it can often be more calming to readers than a design that’s jam-packed with elements.
Negative space also allows people to locate important information on your blog more easily. It allows you to highlight the most essential features (or articles) on your blog.