Do you have a WordPress site that has huge potential but lacks a cohesive and polished look? Maybe you have been wanting to make the big switch from Blogger to WordPress, or perhaps you are just starting out and don’t know where to begin? WordPress can be intimidating at first, but there are some simple fixes that will make a world of difference in how your readers and clientele perceive your site and content.

There’s an old saying in blogging that “Content is King and Design is Queen” and it’s true; in order to get anyone to your site to read what you have to share, you will need meaningful content for your audience. Once you get them there, it’s your design and ease of readability that will keep them there. If your site loads too slow, has boxes popping up in their faces or is too busy looking, then it doesn’t matter what you have to say because no one will be sticking around long enough to find out!

If you start with these 5 simple tricks, you will be well onto your way to having a site that not only looks great, but also keeps your readers around begging for more!

1. Keep your body text simple: Keep a white background with an easy-to-read font. No bright colors, swirly fonts or handwritten text. Sure, you can incorporate some colors and pretty fonts in your header or in some widgets, but for the body of your blog you want it to be as clear as possible. This will create an ease of readability for your new-found following.

2. Upload a Favicon: Are you wondering what in the world a favicon is? Well, a favicon is that tiny little image that shows up by your website name in the browser tab and to the left of the website name when you bookmark a website. This makes your site look more professional and helps it to stand out when your readers bookmark your site. You can create a 75px square image and upload it the All in One Favicon plugin, or JJD can create one for you! This personalized touch really helps to set you apart from all of the other blogs on the internet.

3. Use full-width images: Next to words, your images will speak miles to your readers.

If you use tiny images, it may be hard for your readers to see them, especially on a mobile device.

Using big, beautiful images that span the full width of your post column will help to get your message across more clearly.

You can find out the width of your post section by checking out your theme’s specs.

4. Make your links count: There’s not much worse than looking for a link and it says yaddayadda.com/2543768. If what comes after the / isn’t words then it comes across as spammy to your readers. This link is called the permalink and to change it to your post title, head to your wordpress dashboard settings, permalink, and click “post name”. This will tell everyone that your post is a real post and not some weird spam link.

5. Get a custom site design: There is a lot that a newbie blogger can teach themselves about setting up a WordPress design, but unless you are a professional, implementing these changes can be quite tricky. One wrong character in your back-end coding and it can shut your whole site down. Some things are best left up to the professionals.

Your site design is critical to your engagement, and while your content is the main attraction, without a great design, it’s wasted. Great design makes it easy to engage your audience with your content. While some people will seek out ways to subscribe to your mailing list, share your content, and follow you on social media, most are lazy. They’re only going to engage with you if you make it easy to. They’re busy, and while your blog may be great, they aren’t going to go out of their way to hunt down your social media pages or subscription widget; but if you make your blog’s experience seamless and remove the barriers to your engagement, then they will be happy to stay on and read what you’ve got.

When shopping around for a new site design, be sure to find someone who will work with your vision to create design that makes it easy for you to focus on your writing. You’ll want to fill out a form/questionnaire before the design process that will help your designer get to know you and your tastes better. A focus on ease of readability, uncluttered sidebars, colors and typography, and a mobile responsive theme are all things that should be included in your package. You want your site to look and function well on all platforms, especially since more and more readers are accessing information via their smart phone or tablet instead of from a computer. You will lose many potential readers if they can’t read your posts as easily on the go as they can when they are home.

If you don’t feel comfortable changing your own design, Jumping Jax Designs has four WordPress Design packages to fit any of your needs. Whether it’s for your blog or business, we have just the package to set you up with a gorgeously eye-catching design.

With our design expertise and your amazing content, you will be well on your way to having the best blog or website on the block!