Blogs have become one of the major sources communication with the advent of Web 2.0. There are a few different blogging platforms around, most of which rely on PHP to control the behind the scenes action. Trouble is, PHP is quite slow and needs to be interpreted before your page can load to the screen. These blog design tips may help to speed things up just a little.

Blog Design Tip 1: Convert your Header to HTML.
Whenever anyone accesses your website, their browser will call the main file – normally index.php. This file is written in PHP which is nothing more than a set of instructions. It loads all the information required to produce to page to the screen; translates it to HTML and sends it back to the browser.

The browser takes the HTML code and renders the page to the visitors screen. Some of the information doesn’t require converting, or rather, doesn’t need to be in PHP to begin with.

If you access your page source code you will see that it is all in HTML. A lot of the information in the Header section can be copied and pasted into your index.html file to replace the PHP file. Meta information, keywords, site name, these can all be copied and pasted over the relevant PHP code.

Generally speaking, you can also copy the header graphics information. If you have page menus at the top of the screen then you may need to take care. Always make a backup of the files before starting.

Blog Design Tip 2: Convert your Footer to HTML.
I could just say ditto here of course. The same applies to your footer. Most of the information there is stable and never changes yet it is generated in PHP. Remove the php and replace it with the HTML code from view screen file.

These two blog design modifications can actually save several seconds in generating  pages. If you have a lot of graphics or videos then time is going to be important. Optimize the blog deisng of your header and footer and gain a couple of seconds load time.

What is it that determines whether a blog design is good or bad, friendly or unfriendly? We all have our own opinions and no one will ever completely agree on every factor. When it comes to the basics, the following seven factors effect everyones views on a blog’s design.

Appearance
The first thing that any visitors sees is the overall appearance of a blog. The design of the blog should complement the blog’s content, not overpower it. The blog design should also match stylistically with the message and the purpose of the site.

Usability
For a blog to be successful, people need to be able to use it. A blog generally has lots of text so it will need to provide excellent readability and  good navigation between articles.

Purpose
You need to blog for a purpose and that purpose needs to be clearly defined and easily understood by the reader.  Your blog’s purpose also helps you  to concentrate on the future direction of the blog.

Clarity
If your blog does have a  ‘purpose’ how clear is it to your readers.  Can your readers easily see ‘what is in it for them’?

User Focused
Does your blog focus on the reader and the readers needs or is it more focused on your needs – for example, income. Focus on your reader and the rest will follow.

Accessibility
Does your blog work in every browser and for different screen resolutions? Having a blog that renders well in one browser but breaks out in another robs you of  a good portion of reader.

Navigation
Finally, navigation. Can  readers easily find their way through to other articles on your blog? Clear menu’s with straightforward categories helps your readers to find what they are looking for.

First impressions count. You need to remember that the moment your blog appears on screen, you are being judged. That is human nature. Before a visitor even gets to the content – they have made up their mind as to their like or dislike of your blog – how well does yours stand up.

With the speed of the internet came blogs and we all know that it is important to have a blog for your company but it is also as important to have good design on your blog. New blogs are springing up every day and the competition is only getting tougher to get noticed and stand out.

Quote Catcher can help you find that web design firm to help you with your blog and give it that wow factor. It takes more than just putting a template and writing a few posts here and there. To fully take advantage of a blog it is a must to have a custom professionally designed unique platform with daily posting. With so many design firms offering the latest and greatest it can get very frustrating trying to find the right design firm to work with. By submitting your information Quote Catcher can offer you up to 5 design quotes all catered to your specific budget and project details. Quote Catcher takes the time to isolate 5 design firms that best fit your needs and allow them to bid on your project in confidence. Your information will never be sold off to third parties and you can feel safe with submitting your project details to Quote Catcher. Don’t waste anymore of your time aimlessly looking for a web designer and let Quote Catcher help you.

For a free web design quote please visit Quote Catcher and submit your information today.

How many categories do you have in your blog design? Too many I bet! Sometime we give our readers too many choices and our selves to much in the way of hard work – at the same time we could be damaging our blogs SEO.

Categories can be a great way to file information. However there are times when people simply overdo it. I have come across sites that 30 plus categories with every post being tagged into three, four or more of those categories. It is not a sensible blog design strategy.

Take blog SEO for an example. For every category you tag a post into, it is potentially another copy of the post – duplicate content. Although duplicate content is not as harshly dealt with as once thought of, you want your link juice going to the post’s page, not spread throughout the categories. You can use a plugin which can help noindex the categories, but you still have the ‘follow’ issue for links.

By having such a wide variety of categories, you can often be left wondering which category to place your post in. The trap in the finish is to tick as many relevant and near relevant as possible. This can frustrate your readers when trying to find specific information. Your blog design should be there to help your readers, not frustrate them.

I recently came across an oldish (Feb 08) post on Pearsonified titled What Every Blogger Needs to Know About Categories which had a novel but sensible twist on categories. Rather than divide categories into the normal type, he has divided them into ‘Must Read’, ‘Worth A Look’ type categories.

It is an interesting concept although as a reader, if I am looking for specific information, that type of filing system would frustrate me even more. Without being too critical, his blog didn’t have a search option either.

The concept itself is interesting and I am sure it could be modified to cover both in contextual categories and the more inviting ‘Must Read’ style of category. Blog design needs to concentrate on the user as well as the search engines. Make the experience easier on your readers and they will happily return. Categories are one area that can be tightened up to improve both the search engine needs and your readers ability to find what they want.

Sometimes you discover thing by trial and error, at other times you read someone else’s tip and think – so simple. While writing an article elsewhere I wanted a particular effect in blog design that would enable a bullet point yet follow on with the associated text. Here is what normally happens:

• Blog Design Tip Here: either the follow on text appears here:

or the follow on text appears here.If you press enter after the first line of text you get another bullet. Turn the bullet of and you get the blank line. The effect I wanted was as follows:

• Blog Design Tip Here:
  with the associated text here which can wrap around for as many lines of text as you need to complete the associated text.
• Next Blog Design Tip Here:
  1 – more associated text here
  2 – and here (these are manual numbers rather than auto)

To achieve this simple but effective blog design effect in WordPress, at the end of the bulleted line of text, use the MS Word trick of holding Shift whilst pressing Enter. It enters a soft return rather than a hard return.

This tip works well for numbered points as well:

1. WordPress Tip
   associated text
2. Another WordPress Tip Here
   a) with more text here
   b) and here

This is simply a case of taking a function from one software package and using it on another. A neat effect for you blog design and a way of providing bullets or numbers that stand out whilst including explanatory text.