A blog makeover may be just what you need to take your blog to the next level… oh course I should know because last year I did one on my own blog plus I’m still making more changes as we speak!
Transitioning from an old design to a new one can sometimes be shocking to regular readers.
- How do you make sure the transition is a pleasant one?
- How do you make sure your readers will like your new design?
Trust me when I say I got a TON of feedback!
So here are 4 tips you can use for creating a successful blog makeover.
Tip # 1: Start With The “Why”
Perhaps the most common mistake blog owners make with makeovers is to do a makeover when one isn’t necessary.
It’s easy to get bored of a blog’s design when you’re looking at the same thing many hours a day.
Your users, however, who may just spend an hour or two on your blog a week, won’t get bored of your design as easily.
Before you launch a makeover, it’s crucial to ask yourself why.
If you have a really good reason, such as you’re rebranding yourself or you’re appearing in the New York Times and need a more corporate-looking website, then be clear about that goal as you begin the design process.
But don’t change a good working design unless there’s a real business reason to.
Tip # 2: Stage It And Work Out The Bugs
Don’t just push a makeover live – instead stage it in a subfolder.
There are several WordPress plug-ins that can create a staging blog for you on a subdomain.
Alternatively, you can just copy your entire site to a new domain and work with it from there.
This allows you to work out the technical and design bugs before the new design goes live.
Often times makeovers may seem like they work perfectly on the surface, but invariably there’ll be one or two bugs in the system once you get down to it.
Tip # 3: Get Some Feedback
Before you push it live, get some feedback from your loyal readers who you have a personal connection with.
Ask some of your friends as well and people that you respect in your industry.
Ask them for their overall first impressions and then ask them to browse the site and find out:
- How easy is it to navigate?
- Did they get stuck anywhere?
- Do they have any suggestions?
Once you have the answers, make a round of changes before going live.
Tip # 4: Watch Your Stats
After your blog goes live, watch your stats. See if your bounce rate or length of time stayed goes up or down.
If people are staying longer on your site, that probably means people liked your new layout and found it easy to use.
On the other hand, if people are leaving quickly that probably means they found your new design harder to use.
Watch your stats carefully in the first couple of weeks after a new design goes live.
The numbers can tell you a lot about your visitors’ reaction.
In summary, start your redesign process with a purpose.
- Create the design, then stage it and work out the bugs.
- Ask for feedback from friends and fans.
- Finally, watch your stats after you push your blog live.
If you do your makeover this way then you’ll eliminate 99% of the problems that often come with a major site re-haul.
So now that you’ve read this article, how often do you think you’ll re-evaluate your website?
Have an awesome day!
Pam Lawhorne
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Pam,
I am glad I came upon your blog. I found you in the Facebook group Networking with Pam Lawhorne. Sometimes I think about doing a blog makeover because I do get board with the same page. It takes a lot of time and effort to make a blog just right. I have been struggling on get page ranked but I finally got to that point. So I always think, should I make any major changes or not. But reading this helps me make a better decision. I syndicated to all the networks. Thank you for this great post.
Hi Tim!
For my site I kept the same template but changed the background color and made some adjustments to the header and overall theme. I still have a few more improvements that I am making changes as we speak but my reason was a total brand overhaul so some of it is still a work in progress.
One thing you may want to do is just make a few small changes instead of big ones. Sometimes doing that will take away that bored feeling and give you the fresh look (and feeling) you’ve been wanting. Once I changed my header (to incorporate my new brand) I decided that I needed to do a lighter background and the rest… well is her-story!
Thanks for dropping by!
Pam