Jacob Wilson
Category: Design Talks
Most bloggers hold dearly to the idea that people visit their blog solely because of their quality content. While it is true that a blog is interesting predominantly because of the written content, that is not the only element that readers notice and take into consideration.
Your blog posts can be endlessly fun and engaging but if their user experience is not on that same level, they might not be back when the new post is out. So, you need to ensure other aspects of your blog are up to par with modern readers’ standards and here are a few changes you can make to increase the conversion rates.
Mobile responsive design is a must
Modern-day people are always on the move and even when their bodies are sedentary, you can bet that their thoughts aren’t that peaceful. In the fast-paced world that we live in, people will cram things into their schedules the best they can. This means that your blog might not be read at their homes after a relaxing bath but on a crowded bus on their way home.
Both those reading it on their computers and those on mobile phones should have the same opportunity to get informed or entertained. Your blog needs to adapt to a screen of any size and for this to be a smooth transition as opposed to having glitches that enable mobile readers to enjoy your texts. So, instead of a mobile-friendly design that just looks good on smartphones, you need a blog design that actually works as it should on a mobile phone.
Fast loading for the win
As previously mentioned, people are very occupied nowadays which means they don’t like wasting their time on wild goose chases. Besides, there are plenty of other things, websites, blogs they could be exploring at that particular moment rather than waiting for your slow blog to load. In this case, not even quality content can save you because they won’t even linger to see it.
There are several tricks you can use to make your blog load faster. For instance, it is important to check the size of the images you wish to upload and resize them if necessary. Also, you should only stick to the widgets you really need or otherwise, you will have a cluttered footer or a sidebar which can be distracting for visitors. All in all, your blog readers will be grateful for a blog that loads fast.
Work on your visual presentation
Now that your blog is responsive and fast to load, it is time to tend to the visual side of it. People may be primarily there for the sake of the written content but enriching it with other distinct visual elements is what will give you a competitive advantage. They will love the crisp colorful images you add to the text, as well as any engaging video that accompanies the content.
In other words, your visual presentation is of great importance to the overall impression of blog visitors and this is why it needs to be tended to with care. For this reason, many bloggers hire experts such as Infostarters to ensure their content’s visual representation is both compatible with their ideas and stunning. Experienced professionals can not only design your illustrations, infographics, icons, brochures but also offer advice on what would work best with your blog’s niche.
Social media is your friend
There is no denying the influence of social media on how people communicate, form opinions, inform themselves, and even shop. We visit our social media profiles much more often than we are willing to admit and enjoy being loud in expressing our likes and dislikes.
This is why you need to connect your blog posts with social media so that anyone who likes your piece can easily share it. Naturally, they can always copy and paste it but this way is neater and quicker. In return, you will direct more traffic to your blog and some of those new visitors might become your subscribers. Naturally, it would be also good to work on your social media profiles, just so you can offer them a complete experience.
Exit-intent popup as a last resort
If your visitors have opened the blog post, scrolled through it without taking any activity, there is still time to bring them to your side with an exit-intent popup. In general, marketers love popups while users don’t because oftentimes it gets in the way of smooth user experience. Some marketers place popups in the middle of the text so readers get irritated because it interrupts their reading.
At other times, popups are videos that start playing on their own at a seemingly random moment from a reader’s perspective and that is a one-way street to the visitor closing the tab with your blog immediately. This is why exit-intent popups are a good strategy – that person is already about to leave, so you are not interrupting or startling them. If you design it skillfully, the message that offers them to subscribe or to get a free eBook might just be what makes them change their minds to convert.
Wrapping up
Starting a blog is not that complicated, especially for an avid writer but growing an audience can be challenging. It is not just traffic that you need because it doesn’t automatically mean conversion. You need people to subscribe, share your posts or buy your product and for that, besides excellent content and thought-provoking topics, you also need good design.
If you walk in the shoes of a modern blog consumer, you will quickly realize the need for a mobile responsive design and short loading time. Functionality combined with strong visual elements will ensure you more conversions once you connect your blog with social media. And, if your visitor is about to leave, you always have the exit-intent popup as the ace up your sleeve to get them to convert.
