Visitors are not going to pay a second visit to your blog if it is not designed well. No matter how good content you publish, the trend line of visitors will go down if the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) of your blog look like it was created in the 90s. Beginner bloggers may want to get themselves acquainted with entry-level content management systems like WordPress and Blogger before they consider getting a custom design, but if you already know your way around, there are many reasons why we recommend custom design options. To answer the question in the title: yes, bloggers should invest in a custom design to improve the quality and look and feel of their blog to attract more readers.
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If you look at all the types of different websites in the world – from social networking sites to e-commerce portals to assignment writing websites to music streamers – you will find that they all make use of custom designs. The only people who use default designs in 2017 are the ones who have no idea about what they are doing. So, if you are not one of them, it is time to understand the benefits of custom design and get one right now.
Why a Blogger Should Get a Custom Blog Design?
The Default Theme Does Not Suit Your Personality
Do you see yourself as a minimalist blogger who likes to keep his blog simple yet marvelous? If yes, then both WordPress and Blogger are going to disappoint you, for their default themes are pretty generic. You may want to try Tumblr, but it does not even support custom designs. So, what do you do?
You get a premium WordPress account and then purchase a custom, good-looking design. Of course, all this can cost you a lot, so it is important to plan before you make the decision.
Also check out some FREE WordPress Themes on our blog.
WordPress, for example, has thousands of blog designs in its kitty – generated by both WordPress developers and independent designers – that caters to all types of popular demands. From simple, minimalist designs for the writer to flashy ones for the fashion photographer – there are lots of designs to choose from. You can browse the catalog and preview it with your content. Once satisfied that the theme suits your personality, the type of your content, and your vision – all you have to do is purchase and apply. Your friends are going to love it and general visitors are going to pay another visit for sure.
Limited Design Options in Default Themes
Do you want to create custom URLs for the articles that you publish? Do you want to create an extra sidebar with social media buttons that float smoothly as a user browses your blog? Do you want to tweak the way the text looks on your blog? Then the default theme is not going to help you.
Investing on a third-party custom design gives you full control of your theme and gives you the ability to tinker with it. You can not only add extra codes (if you know your way) but can also add plugins and add-ons to make your blog look more appealing. There’s no limit to the design tweaks that you can do with a custom design.
It is Harder to Imitate
When you get a custom design from a professional web designer, you own the design. If a fellow blogger wants to make his blog look like yours, he is going to have to spend hours and days to imitate it. His chances of succeeding are meek since your source code will also be hidden.
Visitors Love Uniqueness
Blog readers love it when they see a new design that they have never seen before. This is one of the primary reasons why a majority of bloggers take this route. The first thing that a user notices when he enters your blog is the design. If he does not like the design, he may not even explore it, costing you one valuable visitor.
On the other hand, with a custom design, you can follow an average visitor’s path and edit the design of your blog the way you want. Usability is another great factor when it comes to great blog design because it caters to both human visitors and search engine bots.
Cleaner Code
As stated above, making search engine bots to love your blog will also play an important role in the success of your blog. Since search engines like Google and Bing can direct a lot of traffic to your blog, it is essential that the source code is as clean as possible.
With custom designs, you can make it cleaner, and appeal to both your readers and search engine bots.
You Own the Design
Have you ever visited a blog and seen the words “Powered by Squarespace” in the footer? The general idea that these words can evoke in a person is that the admin of the blog is not creative enough and that he’s used an automated web builder to create the blog. This may sound petty, but it can have a huge impact, especially if you run an e-store on your blog.
Default Designs Make Your Blog Slow
At a time when fast internet speed is commonplace, you don’t want a potential reader to visit your blog and go back because it took a while to load. A slow blog not only prevents your visitors from visiting your blog as often as they should but also affects its quality in the eyes of search engine bots. Page speed is an important parameter, that can be rectified if you get a custom design.
Responsive Design
Half of the world makes use of a mobile device for browsing the internet and the same percentage of default designs do not support responsive design. This means that if you use an outdated default design, there’s a 50% chance that your blog will not load properly when visited from a mobile device. If you blog about a niche topic, then you are losing half of your potential visitors which are already a minority.
The point of running a blog is to attract customers and make them hang out with your content, but if they are not even able to open it, you are certainly failing as a blogger.
These are the top reasons why we think a blogger should invest in a custom design. Get smart and hire a professional web designer today. You are already unique as a person, and now is the time to make your blog unique too.
