6 Website and Blog Building Tips

by Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen @ Quips and Tips

These website and blog building tips from established bloggers, writers, and website consultants will help you create a strong online presence. And the better your website or blog is, the happier you’ll be, the more likely you’ll stay motivated to blog, and the more readers you’ll attract.

Before the tips, a quip from a man who lived 200 years ago:

“When you have nothing to say, say nothing,” said Charles Caleb Colton, an English cleric and writer who died in 1832.

His quip is true in writing, blogging, and life in general, fellow scribes. Don’t gum up your blog or website with words just so you can meet your blogging goals for the week. Same goes for your Twitter tweets or Facebook status updates!

For some great website and blog building tips, click on the cover of Create Your Own Website by Scott Mitchell. And, read on for six website and blog building tips from established bloggers, writers, and website consultants…

6 Website and Blog Building Tips

1. Explain yourself

“Have a mission statement, tag line, or some other information at the top of the home page to give visitors a sense of why your website exists and from whence it sprang,” says writer NBKelly, of ‘The Edge of Spirituality.’ “Also, include a bio regarding what makes you an authority on the material.”

2. Watch your mouth

“Especially if you use online marketing or web writing to promote yourself, remember that everything you put out there is representative of what you are marketing,” says author Chelle Cordero. “Professionals don’t whine, at least not publicly, they don’t insult large categories of potential customers, and they don’t tear apart the competition without reason. Actually, you shouldn’t tear apart the competition at all – you should build your business on your attributes, not on someone else’s alleged negatives.” This website and blog building tip is good business practice in general.

3. Keep your website clean, easy to read, and easy to open

“Keep your text basic and a decent size (ie: Times New Roman or Arial, 11 or 12 point),” says Cordero. “Don’t play with colors to the point that there is no or little contrast between text and background or it gives your reader a headache because it is glaringly loud. Keep your background simple and minimize distractions. Don’t have a zillion pictures or links opening on your page, as it may “lock” someone’s computer up. If you want to provide pictures, video or audio files, or .pdf files, then include a link, which the reader can choose to follow.”

4. Know your “competition”

“To get a better sense of what works, cruise sites in your industry or profession and make note of the ones that don’t just catch your eye but keep your attention and inspire you to act,” says Ruth E. Thaler-Carter, a freelance writer, editor and website manager. “Keep images small enough to load quickly, and be leery of too much “Flash” and animation that could distract readers from your message.” To get the most out of this website and blog building tip, get into the habit of making comments on other blog posts…it’s a great way to build relationships and develop your online presence.

5. Use an image

“It’s extra work to find a suitable image, resize it, upload it… but images draw attention and can pull the reader’s eye toward a particular paragraph or phrase,” says website consultant Scott Ellis, of BlackBox Technologies. “Images can also bring a reader’s attention quickly to the top left where they will start reading. Give your images meaningful and accurate names, too. This is also good for Search Engine Optimization as images are commonly sought on the web and no one is looking for IMG0022388.JPG.”

6. Get involved in social media

“Join sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn,” says Christine Cavalier, a.k.a. PurpleCar – a long-time blogger, web content writer, and social web person. “Twitter is a great way to connect to other writers and to hear the latest rumblings around the web.” This website and blog writing tip is one of my favorite ways to promote my writing – and it’s also the most time-sucking! You gotta set and stick to your limits, or you could easily spend an hour or two on Twitter…

What’s your best website or blog building tip? I welcome your comments…