Weekly Post #18

13 Characteristics for Outstanding Blog Design

1. Readability

- Short Paragraphs

- List

- Bold Text

- Line Spacing

- Sub Headers

2. Useful Sidebars

- Popular Posts

- Recent Posts

- Blog-roll/Friends List

- Categories

3. Unique

- Simply Unique

4. Comment Design

- Once again: Unique

5. Integration of Ads

- Integrating Ads Effectively and Cleanly

6. Effective, Usable Navigation

- Make sure it is easy to navigate

7. Images in Posts

- Images are fun, and fun is good!

8. Footer Design

- Make it effective

9. Color Scheme

- Have an attractive color scheme

10. Icons

- Icons are always nice to have

11. High Content

- Have good content, not garbage

12. Subscription Areas

- Make them clear so you can get as many people to subscribe

- Look at "facebook" as an excellent example

13. Social Media Integration

- Integrate Social Media such as polls

Source: http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2008/12/13-characteristics-of-outstanding-blog-design/