10 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
10 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Choosing a blogging template [Does this matter?]

by Tim Alwell
9 replies
I watched an interesting video training about creating an authority site with high volume of content marketing.

In this training, the author suggested that using a "magazine" style theme versus a personal blogger theme significantly increases the results of your blog because the perception it gives off.

It made me think about it for a while, and while it does make sense, I wanted to survey the members of Warrior Forum.

What do you think?

Does having the perception of an authority site (using a theme with multiple headers and columns, etc.) really make a dramatic difference in regards to visitor trust and conversions?
#blogging #choosing #matter #template
  • Profile picture of the author jordorules
    Originally Posted by Tim Alwell View Post

    I watched an interesting video training about creating an authority site with high volume of content marketing.

    In this training, the author suggested that using a "magazine" style theme versus a personal blogger theme significantly increases the results of your blog because the perception it gives off.

    It made me think about it for a while, and while it does make sense, I wanted to survey the members of Warrior Forum.

    What do you think?

    Does having the perception of an authority site (using a theme with multiple headers and columns, etc.) really make a dramatic difference in regards to visitor trust and conversions?
    I think good content is good content but that said I know for myself I do admire someones website if they put a lot of work into it and make it attractive and athletically pleasing. I'm not sure if the magazine theme is what seals the deal I think it's that effort was put into the website. It's probably give the message to those who visit that "we are serious about our success and believe in what we are doing."

    Confidence is contagious and spreads like wild fire. Alternatively, so does lack of confidence.

    J
    Signature

    "Whether you believe you can or can't ... You're right." - Henry Ford, CEO, Ford Motor Company

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10115988].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author SapirVelis
    Originally Posted by Tim Alwell View Post

    I watched an interesting video training about creating an authority site with high volume of content marketing.

    In this training, the author suggested that using a "magazine" style theme versus a personal blogger theme significantly increases the results of your blog because the perception it gives off.

    It made me think about it for a while, and while it does make sense, I wanted to survey the members of Warrior Forum.

    What do you think?

    Does having the perception of an authority site (using a theme with multiple headers and columns, etc.) really make a dramatic difference in regards to visitor trust and conversions?
    For me, the appearance of the site surely make the difference!
    Personally, I do think its create a pleasant feeling for the visitor to be in an environment heor she are familiar with.

    But it's hard for me to telll about how much it's really affects on the conversions...
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10115994].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author MrFume
    If you think about it for a minute, a niche 'blog' IS in-fact a magazine, you have topic sections with articles, so if you can produce it using the production standards of a professional magazine you are going to generate an impression of authority, and hence your advertising and product placements are going to be better received - people are impressed by production values, whether they like to admit it or not!
    Signature

    Journalism, the profession is undergoing a massive change since the WWW has arrived. I help people to build their personal profile and create a multi-media platform with WordPress, Podcasting, Writing and Video.
    Digital Media for a Noisy World

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10116027].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author jordorules
      Originally Posted by MrFume View Post

      people are impressed by production values, whether they like to admit it or not!
      Well said. 100% agree. J
      Signature

      "Whether you believe you can or can't ... You're right." - Henry Ford, CEO, Ford Motor Company

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10116069].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Michael Shook
        What matters a lot these days is if your site is mobile responsive and if that is easy to accomplish. Website design is not exactly dead, but as a profession it is on its way out as more and more people expect to see content as more important than how your site is designed.

        Nothing wrong with a good looking site, but a site with content centered in the middle of the display and a nicely chosen not too heavyweight graphic is likely to make a large difference in your bounce rate and in your social shares.

        Way more difference than if your site looks like the yahoo front page.
        Signature


        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10117183].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author jordorules
          Originally Posted by Michael Shook View Post

          a site with content content centered in the middle of the display and a nicely chosen not too heavyweight graphic is likely to make a large difference in your bounce rate and i your social shares.Way more difference than if your site looks like the yahoo front page.
          Thanks Michael Shook. Could you explain further what you mean by this? J
          Signature

          "Whether you believe you can or can't ... You're right." - Henry Ford, CEO, Ford Motor Company

          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10117207].message }}
          • Profile picture of the author Michael Shook
            Originally Posted by jordorules View Post

            Thanks Michael Shook. Could you explain further what you mean by this? J
            Sure and sorry for the typos. :-)

            A simple mobile responsive theme like X for instance, allows you a great amount of control over how your site displays, is retina ready and fluidly responsive so that your page will display on any device.

            With something like that, you have the advantage of not needing to code in a change in your menu location for a mobile display.

            I used to use Flexsqueeze, which has mobile compatibility in their nw version, but it uses discreet sizes for different displays, so that means you have to manually set a triggerpoint width in pixels for when each version of your site gets displayed. Some people like that but I don't so I chose a fluid display.

            If you center your main graphic for your post or page, you can pretty much it will be displayed with changing the dimensions or needing to scroll to the side. A lot of blogs use a singel centered image now for each post. Rather than the way they used to teach design with images on each side of your reading column so that the reader's eye had to go back and forth across the page.

            In some metrics and demographics, mobile accounts for way more than 50 percent usage but even if its not that much across the board, it is still a lot, so its a really good thing to have a site that is mobile comliant in an easy way so you can spend more time on creating content and promotion.

            I hope this helps.
            Signature


            {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10119389].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author zdebx
    The whole point of any blog theme is to provide a better user experience and give a more professional/authoritative design - that's all you want from a theme, so don't over complicate things.

    Yes, magazine type themes are popular, because they look great, they allow to display a lot of content in different ways and are excellent for categorizing the content on your blog.

    What you choose is a quite personal choice and also dependant on the niche.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10117249].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Randall Magwood
    Originally Posted by Tim Alwell View Post

    Does having the perception of an authority site (using a theme with multiple headers and columns, etc.) really make a dramatic difference in regards to visitor trust and conversions?
    In my opinion, no.

    Usually, it often causes more confusion than clarity when it comes down to the visitor searching HARD on your blog/site for the simple thing that they're looking for.

    Keep it simple, and if you need more bucks, just spend more money in advertising. You don't have to over-tweak and change everything just because new technology or "themes" keeps popping up. Keep it simple and super basic for your visitors.

    And be sure to have a mechanism in place to capture their email address - for followup email marketing.
    Signature
    ==>> Free book reveals make money with affiliate marketing
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10117393].message }}

Trending Topics