In most cases you can instantly spot a blog when you visit a URL because of the fact that most blogs look similar. This is regardless of the covered topic. Blogs do showcase similar elements for specific reasons.
If you want to start your own blog and you want to do it right from the start, you want to look at resources like Start A Blog 123. Such sites help you with the actual development of the CMS system but your personal input is something that is necessary. But creating a blog is the first step, now you have to design and organize it.
As mentioned, many blogs have certain things in common, and for good reason. Consider including the following elements if you want to improve SEO, social sharing, and conversions for your WordPress blog.
Branding Header.
The header is the very first part of the blog that the visitor will see. In most cases it will display the blog’s name. This in itself is a branding element. Successful blogs have a completely unique, simple and easy to remember logo that is placed in the header region. No matter what page of the blog you visit, the logo is visible.
Make sure that you brand your header in an appropriate way. This can be complicated if you do not have design experience to create a unique logo. The good news is that you can easily get a logo for just around $5 when your blog is in its initial development phases. As your blog grows, you can always go back and rebrand or redesign your website.
Latest or Recent Posts.
In most situations the blog’s last posts are visible on the front page. You can alternatively utilize a landing page or a squeeze page for the homepage but you still need to add an area where the latest posts are presented. Design specialists recommend that content always be the focus of your blog, or with corporate websites, include a link to the blog from the navigation bar. This is important for various reasons.
For starters, frequent visitors will check your blog to see if any new content has been published. Also, from a search engine optimization point of view, this helps increase on-site SEO metrics.
Additionally, webmasters must customize the permalinks that are used. Unfortunately, most bloggers out there do not modify the structure of the links and their URLs end up being non-descriptive numbers or letters. For WordPress, you can make the adjustment in the “Permalinks” section under “Settings”.
Comments Section.
Most blogs allow the reader to leave a comment for every single post and even for pages. Although this is not at all something that is mandatory, you have to seriously consider the option because of the fact that it brings in some interesting advantages. You basically get to create interaction, which is necessary to increase the reputation of the blog.
At the same time, bloggers get to have posts that are constantly updated. Whenever a new comment appears on the blog post, the site is practically refreshed. Search engines appreciate this and will rank the blog higher in rankings.
Most blog CMS systems include a comments section. You have it automatically activated. In the event that you do not want to have comments on the post, you can deactivate them but it is not recommended.
We should add the fact that you want to encourage conversation in the comments section. This automatically means that you will have to moderate comments. Some will be spam and others will be unacceptable because of the language used. Make sure that you always respond in a positive way and that you do not delete comments simply because you do not agree with what someone says.
Archive.
Blogs are often updated. This creates many different pages that have to be sorted. Archives do exactly that. Readers find it easier to locate older posts so an archive section is always a really good idea. However, this should not replace the search function.
Search.
Every single blog out there needs a search. This is useful for all sites that have many articles. There is a need to offer a way for the visitor to search through older content that was posted in the event that he lands on a page that he/she likes.
On most blogs we see the Search section right on top of the sidebar. Alternatively, you can also add this section on the header. The idea is to keep it above the fold so that the visitor can see it. In the event that there is a wish to look for something else, it can be used.
Categories.
The blog posts that you add have to be sorted based on subjects. This is where categories come into place. Basically the majority of the large blogs have categories highlighted. If there are many categories, they will be presented in the sidebar, in the future and in the menu section of a blog. The most important ones should be added to the menu located at the top of the site. This is the area that is the most visible so it should feature links to the best content.
Conclusions.
The elements highlighted above are really important for every single blog out there. However, there is a need to think about many other things besides them. You want to create evergreen posts and it is a necessity to think about what is seen as norm. As an example, in some industries there is a custom to add search boxes in the right top side of the site. You want to do the same because of the fact that people are used to seeing the box there.
