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Formatting blog posts seems to be an easy task, right? After all, you’ve been writing and formatting a lot of documents already and you know how to use at least one word processing tool.
However, there are many blogs out there with great content that lose readers because they don’t pay attention to some common blog formatting pitfalls. Luckily, these mistakes are easy to avoid once you’ve identified them.
1. Fine print.
If the font size in your blog is super minuscule, it’s impossible to read. OK, maybe not impossible, but at least really hard to read. Sure, you can increase the font size in your browser, but many people don’t know they can do it or won’t bother to, so they will leave your great blog.
WordPress themes are notorious for tiny font sizes by default. If your font is tiny, get in touch with the theme owner and see how you can set the font size to make it bigger. If you are technically inclined, you can customize it yourself, otherwise work with your WordPress developer to do it.
2. No paragraphs.
If you are writing everything as a full block of text that never ends, you are not allowing your reader to catch a breath between ideas and really enjoy your post. Your readers are going to run through your post and reach the end without remembering anything, or they will simply leave your wonderful blog.
Chunk text into separate paragraphs for each new idea you present. It is believed that white space increases comprehension by 20%.
3. Shouting.
I hear you saying: What, I would never shout at my readers! However, many times I see bloggers who use uppercase formatting to highlight words or even entire paragraphs. Add to this 2-3 exclamation marks at the end of each sentence and you really get your reader scared :)
Uppercase is considered the equivalent of shouting in writing form, not to mention that it takes longer to read. OK, a few words here and there throughout a post is probably fine, but keep it at that.
Next time you see an entire paragraph written in uppercase letters, see how long it took you to read. Also watch how you felt after: were you scared, worried, mad? These are not messages you want to send to your audience, right?
If you need help to format your blog better, download and print out my **free** gift: Take your blog from dull to sparkle: 10 secrets to make your blog shine! Click to access the FREE PDF on the top right of the page.
Make it easy for your readers and they will keep coming to your blog for more.
Your turn!
What are some of your pet peeves when it comes to blog formatting? Leave me a comment, please!
Thanks for the tips! We probably all have some blog formatting we can improve. I use random capital s to emphasize words, but now I am rethinking this.
Denise (Go Cheap or Go Home) invites you to read…Beach Body Bikini Workout: No Shirt, No Shoes, No Equipment Needed
Welcome to my blog, Denise, great to meet you!
You can just use bold text to highlight ideas and stress out important terms. It works great and you get the same effect rather than playing with capitalization and various styles :)
Delia invites you to read…You asked: How can I blog better, faster?
Good tips! Clean, easy to read posts definitely are better. If the letters are too small or it’s one long paragraph, most of the time I don’t even attempt to read it!
Michelle invites you to read…Why My Husband is a Super Dad!
True Michelle! I need simple and clean to be able to follow. It’s a pity some blogs lose a lot of their readership when formatting their posts a bit better would solve the problem right away.
Delia invites you to read…Blogger interview: Linda Ursin
Great tips. I especially like the part about white space. YES, YES and Yes. I attempt to keep my blog posts shorts and too the point for this very reason. Thank you Delia!
Roshanda Pratt invites you to read…Let’s Be Frank, Friday: Lance Armstrong’s Confession
Thanks, Roshanda, the white space is essential. Studies show it makes 20% easier to read and understand the content, than without white space.
And… I love short posts too :)
Delia invites you to read…Yet another 3 blog formatting mistakes that cost you readers
Very good ideas . I think it goes deeper than that.
I have blogspot not word press. Some of your excellent ideas in other blogs mentions word press format. Do you think I can apply that in my blog too? Thank you for your sharing. Dita.
http://www.alankarshilpa.blohgspot.com
Dita Basu invites you to read…The Bleeding Heart – a knitted bracelet in red
Thanks for commenting, Dita! Yes, most of the tips apply no matter the blogging platform, because they are universal. In general the more technical posts are WordPress specific, but the more general ones, like this one, can be applied with no problem.
Delia invites you to read…Yet another 3 blog formatting mistakes that cost you readers