There are approximately 152 million blogs on the internet as of November 2013 (Gaille, 2013). Making a blog stand out can be extraordinarily difficult, especially if there are already millions of blogs dedicated to your blog's subject matter. In an attempt to make an effective and visually appealing blog, there are three main areas to focus on: Content, Design, and Functionality. After we discuss these areas, I will shortly evaluate three of my fellow COM 480 classmate's blogs.
Content is number one because that
is the meat and potatoes of any blog. A
blog can look very pretty and have all the best widgets and gadgets, but
without content it is just a shell. Too many blogs start to veer off their
purpose and that can turn off readers.
What is needed is content that is relevant, current, and updated
regularly. A blog that hasn't been
updated in months, or even years, appears to be abandoned and therefore not
worth reading.
The design of a blog is the next big
area. There are many template choices
already loaded into blogger. A quick
Google search nets another several thousand third-party templates that are free
and easy to incorporate. You can
customize everything in Blogger, and this includes HTML. The ability to add personalized code to the
page enables a user to do things that are otherwise not offered in the normal
settings. All you have to do in
Blogger's platform is click 'Templates' and then 'Edit HTML.' From there you can insert your own code (if
you know CSS) or you can find thousands of great ones online - many of them
with detailed tutorials.
Designing an attractive blog can be
difficult. The main goal is to catch a
reader's eye with its layout and look, which is really just a bonus on top of
the blog's content. Avoid using colors
that clash or patterns that are too flashy.
Some blogs try to add too many visual flourishes and the blog ends up
being a total eyesore. This mirrors the
problems with many Web 1.0 designs in the 1990's. It is not considered lazy to use a
good-looking template that has already been designed for you.
The final area to focus on in the
creation of a blog is functionality.
When people visit your blog, the content should not be difficult to
find. Blogger automatically arranges
posts chronologically, so don't force people to click through several pages of
history to find things. Add a
"popular stories" gadget or a search bar. A great way to categorize content and make it
easier to find is to add a "labels" gadget. Doing this will create clickable label
buttons that allow readers to search items just labeled a certain way. Do
everything possible to make your blog easy to peruse while still maintaining a
nice visual presentation. Using the
three categories of Content, Design, and Functionality on your blog will ensure
your readers will come back.
Now, on to the blog reviews! I first reviewed these three classmate's
blogs last week, so many changes have been made. I will now evaluate their blogs as they
approach the final deadline five days away.
My criteria will be based on earlier mentions of Content, Design, and
Functionality.
James' Blog
The first blog is
from James: http://whensilencespeaksvol2.blogspot.com/
Content
With thirteen total posts so far,
James has obviously added much more than the bare minimum. His posts are derived from his previous
college courses as well as COM 480. Overall,
each post is very well written and displays a comprehensive grasp of
Communications in general.
Design
James did a complete blog overhaul
since last week and the changes look very nice.
The columns were widened and that makes the stories infinitely easier to
read. He went for white text on a black
background, which does appear to be a bid intimidating. I'm not sure if this would be easy on the
eyes for prolonged reading. My main
gripe is the title block. I think that
the title block could look a little better; the green text on light green
background is a little off.
Functionality
James' blog is relatively simple in
design. His posts are listed on the left
and his profile on the right. It looks
like James has yet to try his hand at adding some gadgets and I really hope he
does. His content is great, but I feel
the limited functionality of his blog is preventing total success.
Valerie's Blog
The next blog
comes from Valerie: http://valsevents.blogspot.com/
Content
With two posts, Valerie needs to add
content! After reading what she has, she
definitely displays promise for quality content. I hope she can add some stuff from her
previous courses.
Design
Valerie has a soothing beach background on her blog. This rings with the URL of her blog, but her
blog's title is "Mastery of Communication." Perhaps a change in address is in order. I feel her columns are too thin, which
compresses the paragraphs. This gives
each post an appearance of being longer than it really is.
Functionality
Valerie hasn't explored the gadget options that could
help her blog be great. Her profile is
visible on the right and her posts are right under that. I feel that if she added some fun gadgets,
her blog would feel much more complete.
Laura
The last blog to review
comes from Laura: http://endofthetunnel2.blogspot.com/
Content
Like Valerie's blog, Laura only has two posts. I feel that her content in her posts is great
and she should definitely post more. Her
take on Media Technologies was a great read, especially since it focused on
very old subjects.
Design
I like Laura's design.
Her choices feel light, bright, and airy. The color compliments make her blog very
visually appealing. I do feel, however,
that her blog suffers from the "thin column" syndrome and could be
widened a bit.
Functionality
Laura's blog needs some additional gadgets and
arrangements that could make her already good-looking blog better. Like Valerie, her profile is visible on the
right with the content below. Try out
the template/gadget options Laura!
After seeing these three blogs, along with looking at the
rest of my classmate's blogs, I have incorporated a lot of my own recommendations
into my own blog. I added HTML to the
top portion for a "Home," "About Me," and "Contact
Me" button. I may add more to this,
but I don't want that part to become convoluted.
I centered my content and made the columns a width that
resembles my Word documents. I added a
"Labels" gadget to make all of my content easily searchable. I also added HTML to the top right to enable
people to share my entire blog on social media (not just the posts). I have been experimenting with my colors and
layouts and while I like my current one, I feel I could improve on the color
compliment. Overall, I feel that I have
put in a great amount of effort (because HTML is difficult to perfect) and I
look forward to putting in more to make a great blog.
References
Gaille,
B. (2013) How many blogs are on the
internet. WPVirtuoso. Retrieved from http://www.wpvirtuoso.com/how-many-blogs-are-on-the-internet/.
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