Law blog design matters
David Peralty, Head of Marketing at Splashpress Media, asks readers at The Blog Herald if it's important to have a powerful, beautiful or striking blog design when presenting what he describes as the 'whole package' in blogging.
The responses from readers were striking. Professional blog design was viewed as a necessity, especially when blogging as a professional, like you as a lawyer.
- Since the reader needs to be convinced to subscribe your blog, design is a very important matter. Looking at it from the readers point of view, "If you had to choose between two mobile phones with exactly the same features with one being stylish and the other looking like the work of an amateur - which would you choose?" Design is added value with the result being more than the sum of its parts - design supports content and the other way round.
- If it is meant for commercial purpose, graphics play a big role.
- Though I may read blog posts in a newsreader, I need to come to the blog to subscribe, where if it looks good, I subscribe.
- Design matters to me when I read blogs. I generally read posts in my feed reader, but for two exceptions, one being to click through and read the posts directly on sites with great designs.
- As a designer, there's no way I'd tell you design doesn't matter. Think of it this way: A car's purpose is to take you somewhere. But would you buy a rusted old car instead of a shiny new Prius?
- Think of it from a reader's perspective. If I click on your blog and am put off by the overall look and feel of your site, I won't return or subscribe. Content rules, yes, especially for your RSS readers, but design is like the PR guy who's trying to get you to visit.
- It's like judging a book by its cover. It could be either crap or a wonderful story inside, but if the cover doesn't catch my attention, I'm not going to pick it up in the first place. When I'm flipping through random sites or clicking through links of links of links…..I skim right by those that don't look great. I have to actually force myself to skim through text on blogs, for example, that are hosted on Blogger and use one of the default templates…and still have the random default spots unfilled like "put links here" and "This is your about me section," etc.
- I just spent about $5,000 to upgrade Smallbiztechnology.com's interface and move to Movable type - one of the best investments I've done! Traffic is up and more!
- The user experience is primarily made up of four factors: branding, usability, functionality andcontent. Independently, none of these factors make for a positive user experience; however, together, these factors are the main ingredients for the blog's success.
One of the driving forces in starting LexBlog 4 years ago was that my personal blog design sucked. I was afraid that lawyers and law firms were finding me on the net. For every person who contacted me about Internet legal marketing because they found my blog, I figured three would not call me because of my amateur presentation. Having practiced law for 17 years, I knew one of the requirements of being a professional was appearing professional. Looks mattered.
You may be getting traffic and callers with your TypePad, Blogger, or WordPress template blog. But who's not subscribing? Who's not calling because of the less than professional image you're presenting? It may be that the better clients are looking elsewhere. As a lawyer trying to further enhance your reputation and grow your business, that's a gamble you can ill afford.
I started out with Blogger, switched to Typepad and then to Lexblog. I am incredibly pleased with the decision to switch to Lexblog and recommend it to any law blogger. I have seen increased traffic, the comments have been very favorable from other bloggers, clients and prospective clients regarding the design and business from my blog has continued to increase substantially. I agree wholeheartedly that design matters or I would not have made the switch. It has been worth every penny!
Rush
I'm surprised you appear to be saying that all TypePad, Blogger and WordPress blogs present a less than professional image. You know that's not the case. It's true that many of these blogs do use fairly basic or inappropriate templates, but there are also many that present a professional image as good as whatever gold standard it is you are referring to (Movable Type ? Lexblog?).
Absolutely agree that good design is important That's a combination of good graphic/page design and good usability. The great thing about blogs is that the good usability is mostly built in. So it comes down to choosing a professional looking template and customising that to suit requirements. That's where most bloggers will need help, but it does not mean forsaking the three blog platforms you mention (though with Blogger, options are limited).
Nick, never said all TypePad, WordPress, or Blogger blogs were poorly designed. Sorry if created that impression. There's just a ton of very poor looking ones which lawyers, with no design acumen, have used standard templates with the result being an unprofessional look.
Gold standard is not the point. A level of professionalism is.
While practicing law, I observed lawyers who carried themselves as professionals with the appropriate dress, office furnishings, staffing, and the like. Some lawyers did not. The lawyers who acted more professionally generally had the better clients and did better financially.
It really isn't too difficult to make blogger, typepad, etc. look better. However, while it isn't terribly difficult, it can be time consuming.
As blogging and internet awareness become a larger and more important part of the practice of law, law offices should make an effort to find someone within their office to keep up to date on these things, to oversee the website, the blog, what other bloggers are saying, etc. For those with smaller offices, it would be worthwhile to take a class or two to get them up to date (or at least get them aware).
Using blogger, typepad, etc., is a great way for new bloggers to get their feet wet. Blogger costs nothing and after using it for awhile you will find its limitations. You will notice things that you would like to have in your blog but cant. And, in that "trial period," you will see whether or not blogging is for you and just what you want to get out of it.
After doing that, checking it out for awhile, then you can move to something bigger and better if you need it. You will know exactly what you want (for the most part) and will be able to create an exceptional blog.
In any event, the most important thing is content. You can have the prettiest most profesisonal blog in the world, but if you don't have the content, no one will read it.
Thanks for the comment David, agree that content and entering into the Internet discussion in your niche is key.
Blogger may be okay for some lawyers David, but this is the site I reached from the 'next blog' link at the top of your blog: http://vemota.blogspot.com/ . The next blog rotates randomly throughout the Blogger network of blogs.
I don't advise lawyers to run blogs in a network of blogs which results in the lawyer's blog having a link to random rotating blogs. I've seen porn sites as the next blog reached from a link on a lawyers Blogger blog.
Generally, people don't use that "next blog" button when visiting my blog. Almost nobody uses that function. In fact, you might have been the first person to use that function other than myself. I keep track of how people come to my blog and where they go when they leave, and I don't recall anyone moving to a blogger page other than a no-fault, law blog, or insurance page.
But, you're point is well taken and people should be aware of that possibility.
For me, it is a non-issue. If I noticed it to be a problem, there are ways around it.
There may be a way to get rid of that 'next blog' link David. I know when one lawyer in a large law firm pulled up a porn site with his 'next blog' link he had it removed - after he regained his breadth after seeing the porn site he had linked to. ;)
There's always a way to do things. Just Google
hide blogger navbar
However, this just reinforces your point, Kevin, which is that if you go for the quick solution there will be deficiencies and limitations. Either you take the time to address them yourself if you can or you hire a pro!