Awesome design combined with rock-solid content is what separates the pros from the field. This is why content teams have to apply Blog UX best practices.
| TLDR: Blog UX Best Practices as a Startup |
|
Great blog UX ensures user engagement by focusing on content and surrounding features. Key practices include:
|
Great blog UX means you’re hitting home on features that create user engagement.
So what are these features?
Because blog UX is all encompassing, these features fall under the content itself, but also what’s surrounded the content. Here’s a checklist you can reference.
Your readers love consuming content. But they’re also easily distracted. And you need to keep this in mind when writing posts.
So what’s the solution?
Shorter is better - This is the first Blog UX Best practice to remember.
This should be your mantra if you’re a content marketer using your blog to generate leads. Apply this idea to your sentences and paragraphs.
Have a look at how the Social Chefs blog does it. They keep paragraphs short and sentences even shorter. This keeps the reader’s mouse scrolling until the end of the post.
Be liberal with headings and subheadings. They break up your content and leave a topic trail for readers to follow.
Blog readers are most likely skimming your content. They’re looking for pieces of knowledge before moving on.
So again, play the game with this in mind. Use blog headings and subheadings when possible.
You can see this technique in action on the Pole Position Marketing Blog. Every unique idea features its own subheading. This transitions the reader thought process and makes their content easy to skim. This is a great example of a Blog UX Best practice at work.
Splicing your blog with images is a UX necessity. Chalk this down as a Blog UX Best Practice.
Images offer readers a visual break. Which is important when consuming on-screen content.
Consistency is what separates the pros from the amateurs.
The Online Optimism blog knows the importance of images in their posts. In this example, every subheading features its own image. This provides visuals which help readers understand ideas better.
Blog UX Best Practice to remember with white space: Blank space leads to a clear and digestible message.
Blogs demand a lot of attention from site visitors. And good blog UX helps readers focus by de-cluttering the page. This is why you want to use of white space as much as possible.
Take a look at your blog post margins. What do you see? Is it busy? Use a lot of color / imagery? A lot of CTAs? These all distract your readers. Replace the distractions with white space.
Pro Tip: Studies show that proper use of white space between paragraphs and in the margins increases comprehension by 20%. This design strategy reduces cognitive load and improves user experience, making content more engaging and accessible.
Give readers a reason to stay on your site.
Do this by providing relevant content to the blog they’re reading. Related content helps keep session times high and bounce rates low.
Pro Tip: where you place your related content widgets makes all the difference. Stick your list of relevant blogs either at the top or bottom of the page. The bottom of a post makes the most sense, considering the reader has finished reading content and is ready to move on.
Social share buttons do two things for your blog:
Both of these factors add as a Blog UX Best Practice. A social profile shows your company is active in the community and willing to share your knowledge and expertise.
It also saves readers time and effort when promoting your content. This is what UX is all about.
Pro Tip: Social share buttons increase blog engagement driving 31% more traffic. They simplify sharing, boosting reach and credibility, ultimately enhancing SEO and audience growth.
Maintaining site navigation lets visitors move around your site with ease.
This gives new users a good experience when they hit your content for the first time.
A new user has no idea what your site’s about. They may have landed on your blog, like what they read, and what to know more about you.
Keep a subtle navigation bar at the top of your blog. The key here is subtle. It maintains a fine line between low distraction and quick access to your site.
Pro Tip: Maintaining consistent site navigation improves blog readability by 10%, enhancing user experience and reducing bounce rates. Clear navigation ensures visitors find content easily, increasing engagement and time on site.
When users come to your blog, there looking to learn. So you need to deliver ideas and solutions to build a relationship.
But after that, give your readers options to take the next step. This is when you can introduce a call-to-action. Note it down as a Blog UX Best Practice.
CTAs supplement what users are reading with a springboard to action. Examples of calls to action include:
With these CTAs, you can send traffic to your resource downloads, products page, or free tools page. But the key here is relevance. Your
Your blogs focus on certain ideas. So make sure your CTAs are logical. Send traffic to content that makes sense as the next step.
Pro Tip: CTAs boost blog engagement; posts with CTAs see 30% more interactions. They guide readers, making it easier for them to take action and stay engaged.
These are 8 tips to get your Startup blog to the next level. If you need more customized help with you Content Marketing needs, then reach out to the ShoutEx team.