To design a blog that people actually read, start with the reading experience, not the decoration: a comfortable text column, clear headings, fast pages and an obvious next step for the reader. This guide walks through blog design in the order that matters, from choosing a platform to the details of a single post page, with a checklist at the end.
What Does Good Blog Design Mean?
Good blog design is a layout that makes long-form reading easy and guides readers to more of your content or to contacting you. It has three jobs: help visitors find a post, help them read it comfortably on any screen, and give them a reason to stay or act afterwards. Visual style matters, but a blog that is beautiful and hard to read loses to a plain one that is easy to read.
Step 1: Choose the Right Platform
Your platform decides how much control you have over design. The main options:
- WordPress gives the most flexibility and is the default for content-heavy sites, but needs maintenance.
- Hosted builders such as Squarespace, Wix or Webflow handle hosting and offer polished templates, with less control.
- A blog built into your business website, so articles sit on your own domain and support your main site's search visibility.
Our CMS website design guide compares these in detail. If you want to see a design before choosing anything, our free website builder creates a preview in about a minute.
Step 2: Design for Reading First
Most of a blog is text, so typography is the design. A few rules make the biggest difference:
- Line length: keep the text column to roughly 60 to 80 characters per line. Very wide lines are tiring to read.
- Font size: body text around 17 to 20 pixels on desktop, never smaller than 16 on mobile.
- Line spacing: about 1.6 to 1.8 times the font size gives text room to breathe.
- Contrast: dark text on a light background, or the reverse, with enough contrast to pass accessibility checks. Light grey text on white is a common mistake.
- Fonts: one typeface for body text and at most one more for headings.
Step 3: Plan the Blog Home Page
The blog home page is a menu. Readers should be able to scan it in seconds and find something relevant.
- Feature one recent or important post at the top.
- List other posts as cards with a title, a one-line summary, a category and the reading time.
- Add category filters so readers can jump to the topic they care about.
- Keep the design consistent: every card the same size and structure.
Step 4: Design the Post Template
Every article uses the same template, so it is worth getting right once. A strong post page includes:
| Element | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Clear title and short intro | Confirms the reader is in the right place and answers the main question early |
| Category, date and reading time | Signals freshness and sets expectations |
| Table of contents | Lets readers jump to the section they need on long posts |
| Descriptive subheadings | Makes the post scannable and helps search engines understand it |
| Images, tables and lists | Breaks up text and explains comparisons faster than paragraphs |
| FAQ section | Answers follow-up questions and can appear in search results |
| Related posts and a call to action | Gives readers a next step instead of a dead end |
Step 5: Make Navigation Simple
Use a small number of clear categories rather than dozens of tags. Link related posts to each other inside the text, where it helps the reader. Breadcrumbs (Home > Blog > Post) show readers where they are and help search engines understand your site structure.
Step 6: Design Mobile-First
Most blog readers arrive on a phone. Design the post page for a small screen first: readable text without zooming, images that scale, tables that scroll sideways rather than squash, and tap targets large enough for a thumb. Our guide to mobile-first design covers this in depth.
Step 7: Keep It Fast
Slow pages lose readers before the first paragraph loads. Compress images and serve them at the size they are displayed, avoid heavy sliders and autoplay video on post pages, and limit third-party scripts. See website speed optimisation for the fixes that matter most.
Step 8: Build In Search and Accessibility Basics
- Use one H1 per post, with H2 and H3 subheadings in order.
- Write a unique title and meta description for every post.
- Add descriptive alt text to meaningful images.
- Use clean, readable URLs.
- Make sure links look like links and that the site works with a keyboard.
Our small business SEO guide and accessibility guide go further on both.
Step 9: Give Readers a Next Step
A blog for a business should lead somewhere. Add a short call to action at the end of each post, related to the topic: a free consultation, a download, a newsletter sign-up or a relevant service page. Keep it to one primary action per post; several competing buttons usually means none get clicked. Our guide to pages that convert explains why.
Blog Design Ideas That Work
If you are looking for blog page ideas, these are the patterns that consistently make blogs easier to read and more useful:
- A featured post banner at the top of the blog page, linking to your most important article.
- Topic filters instead of a long tag cloud, so readers can jump to one subject.
- Reading time on every card, so visitors know what they are committing to.
- A sticky table of contents on long guides.
- Pull quotes or callout boxes to highlight a key takeaway.
- Comparison tables wherever readers are choosing between options.
- An author box with a short bio, which builds trust.
- "Start here" collections that group beginner posts for new visitors.
- A short FAQ at the end of each post.
- One clear call to action matched to the topic of the post.
Blog Design Checklist
- Text column of roughly 60 to 80 characters per line
- Body text at least 16px on mobile, line spacing around 1.6
- Strong text contrast
- Blog home page with a featured post, cards and category filters
- Post template with intro, table of contents, subheadings, FAQ and related posts
- Breadcrumbs and a few clear categories
- Tested on real phones
- Compressed images and fast load times
- Unique titles, meta descriptions and alt text
- One clear call to action per post
Summary
To design a blog, choose a platform you can manage, make reading comfortable with a narrow text column and generous type, structure the home page as a scannable menu, build one strong post template, and keep everything fast, mobile-friendly and accessible. If you want a blog designed and built as part of your website, talk to us, or try the free website builder to see a design first.
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Frequently asked questions
How do I design a blog?
Choose a platform, set readable typography with a narrow text column, plan a scannable blog home page, build one strong post template with headings, a table of contents and related posts, then make it fast and mobile-friendly.
What is the best font size for a blog?
Body text of around 17 to 20 pixels on desktop and at least 16 pixels on mobile, with line spacing of about 1.6 to 1.8, is comfortable for most readers.
How wide should a blog text column be?
Roughly 60 to 80 characters per line. Wider lines are tiring to read, so most well-designed blogs limit the article column even on large screens.
