The design of blog posts is usually the same or similar to the blog page, which is to be expected. There are cases in which blog posts and blog pages are not so similar, but nevertheless there is a certain form of continuation of the design. For example, if a blog page has a sidebar, it is usually preserved in the post. The same applies to search forms. Shapes, sizes and other design elements.
Below are described the main elements of the design of a blog post.
Title
Like any page on the Internet, the title of blog posts should exist and be in the first place (in some cases in the second – under the crumbs). The title should be written in such a way that it is quickly and easily clear to the user what to read.
Of course, SEO “experts” from all over the world write the title solely to answer people’s searches on Google, and often this answer does not go further than a direct match between the searched keywords and those written in the title. Therefore, users are misled, which leads to the spread of wrong (or incomplete) information, or, in better cases – disappointed, which makes them continue searching.
Therefore, it is good for the title to be both sincere and attractive.
Subtitle
Subtitles are an extremely valuable tool for writing articles on the Internet. One of its main functions is that it divides the text into visually perceptible parts. As is common knowledge, people usually do not read deeply. Subheadings serve both to anchor attention, but also to help users navigate what they will find in the article and whether something answers their question.
SEO specialists also use this element to place keywords. Just as often, without the intention (or ability) to fulfill the promise made.
Image (Thumbnail, Featured Image)
Every article has images. No matter whether we are talking about illustrations or photos. The main image on the page creates the feeling, aims to create a feeling in the reader. To create and/or complement the topic we are writing about.
Images within the article, on the one hand, help with the perception of information when needed – graphs, tables, diagrams. On the other hand, they can also be a stop for a break. Unlike reading a book, on the Internet it is customary to place images between individual paragraphs or subheadings so that the reader’s eyes can rest for a moment before returning to reading.
My personal opinion is that this practice, like most others, depends primarily on the type of content that is provided. For example, in this section of the site, I try not to have images unless they are for demonstrative purposes, as they would be distracting and out of place. If a blog were to appear on the site someday, there would be significantly more images there.
Author (optional)
Unlike personal blogs, where the author is usually known, on most sites, blogs are maintained by more than one person. That’s why it’s a good idea to include a short business card for the author(s) under the title or the entire content of the article.
It can be a photo and name, or a photo, name and (short) biography. This creates context around the article and increases the trust we have in the source, since the author stands behind his or her claims with his or her name and face. Therefore, he or she must be convinced of what he or she is saying (such is the presumption).
Content
The actual post. Like everything before and after it, the content should follow the look and feel of the site. Of course, the text should be large enough to be easy to read, but also small enough (especially on mobile devices) so that it doesn’t stand one word per line.
Social sharing tool
It’s always a good idea to make sharing on social networks as easy as possible. Sharing buttons before, after, or to the side of the article are always a good idea. Allow people to share your content on social networks, as well as in content saving applications – Evernote, Pocket, and the like.
Related articles
In addition to the links that you will leave inside the article itself, you could also place a list of related publications at the end of each of the articles. This helps not only users, but also search engines to navigate the structure of your site’s content.
On the other hand, if the recommended articles are sufficiently related to the topic of interest, you save one decision (to search) and several steps – to write and find, for users, which will make them much more likely to continue reading. The decision before them is only one – “which of the suggested articles would I read”.
Subscribeability
If you use email marketing (and this is highly recommended), it’s a good idea to have subscription forms available everywhere on your site. Including in and around your blog posts.
Once you’ve collected emails, use them. Write more articles, share them with your subscribers.
Publishing date
The publishing date is often extremely important. Especially when it comes to more serious issues like politics and economics. However, the date is also important for the marketing industry, because if the reader is just entering the field and has no marker to orient themselves with the age of the information, it is very possible to accumulate old and outdated knowledge. Of course, knowledge is never bad, but it’s still good to share the moment of publication with your readers.
In the IT field (and not only), it is a good practice to leave the publication date, but also add the date on which the information was last revised.
This inspires more trust, and the user will know whether the information will be useful to him or not.
Tags (Labels)
Tags are a form of taxonomy (categorization) of content. Unlike categories, which are (or at least could be) in hierarchical relationships with each other, labels are absolutely equivalent.
Labels are useful for unifying publications that do not have a sufficient number to be a category or simply have no reason to be one.
While publications should have one or two categories (or more, if they have a deep category structure), tags can be placed on articles from different content groups.
For example, on this site, in addition to the help category – something like a database – there may also be a blog. Neither the blog nor this (main) category will have a subcategory – website. But since the content is dedicated to websites and digital presence, this is a pretty good label. This label will unite articles from the blog and the help section, which in turn will help readers find all articles that relate to websites – building, advertising, etc.
Comments
Comments allow your users to supplement/correct/comment on the information you have provided. To ask additional questions, to give ideas for future articles.
As long as you have the time capacity to maintain the conversation in the discussion section, it can bring you an enormous amount of connections with your readers and, respectively, long-term profits.
On the other hand, depending on the content, such a discussion may not be necessary.
