Last year was dubbed the year of the redesign after John Chow, ProBlogger, and Shoe all redesigned their blogs about the same time. The ensuing barrage of blog posts about the topic showed the blogging world one thing, themes are a hot topic in the blogosphere.

Bloggers love themes, they love writing about ‘em, they love tweaking ‘em, they love criticizing ‘em and they love admiring ‘em. Knowing this…gives you an opportunity to separate yourself from the “herd.” How you ask? Good question, keep reading.

We’ve all heard that “Content is King” right? Well I will never argue that content isn’t important but “Appearance is Everything” when it comes to determining whether anyone even bothers looking at your content.

Like it or not, your theme sets the stage for first time visitors to either check you out or head on to greener pastures. You might have the best content in the world but if your look turns people off, then it won’t be read. I can hear the blog snobs poo pooing as I type this. “Content is King, Nothing Else Matters!” I am here to tell you that is absolutely wrong!

The Visual World

It’s a proven and known fact that human beings are very visual creatures and we rely on sight as our primary means of interacting with the world around us. When meeting new people we make a number of assumpions about them based on the way they look, the way they dress, the way they talk, the car they drive, etc. We all do it, even those who claim they don’t; but if we’re honest, then likely we will all agree that we do.

Knowing this…you can see how important your blog theme becomes. In many cases you might run across a blog in your Stumble bar or in the Blog Catalog archives, or maybe you even click on a comment link to see what an author might say. Your first glimpse of a site that you have never seen before will determine a lot about whether you even bother reading the first article.

Entrecard users…how many times have you been dropping cards and come across a very attractive looking blog? Do you stop and maybe give it a glimpse? Does it garner more of your attention than say a MySpace reject looking blog does? If the appearance is appealing then you might read it before moving on to the next card drop. The appearance might hook you long enough to give the content a chance.

On the flip side, if the appearance is awful, it would be normal to assume that the content is awful. This might not be right, might not be fair, but that’s life, and life isn’t fair. I know I don’t even give an ugly blog a second glance.

Could it be my loss? Sure. Could it be YOUR loss? Absolutely. In the land of a billion blogs, chances are your content can be found somewhere else; your blog theme is your hook, you either entice them to stay and check you out or turn the channel and see what someone else has to offer.

I know I have been watching a few blogs that I check out from time to time that have recently redesigned their blogs, one being Mike over at Bloggin-Ads, who changed his theme just a few days ago. I think it looks AWESOME and I am curious as to whether Mike will see a lift in traffic, an increase in comments, an increase in subscribers, OR if it will be status quo. Maybe he will update us after some time has passed.

Benefits of a Blog Redesign?

I think you probably already get where I am going with this, but in case you still don’t get it, let’s review some of the points I am trying to make. To support my theory that people are visual, keep reading.

Visual Appeal:

Fact. People like things that look good. Which would you rather date?

Be honest, if you met these 4 people, which would you be more inclined to listen to? To want to see again? Are you being honest? What if the goofy guy has a good personality? Would you give him the chance to even show you? Probably not. What or how does this translate to the online world? Well, check out this online bookstore AdventureBookshelf and then compare to say this one.

Which would you be more inclined to visit again? One inspires confidence and is very visually appealing, while the other looks, well, you be the judge. If books were your thing, which would you be more inclined to visit?

The same thing applies to your blog; I just didn’t want to single anyone out as the example.

“Buzz”

Maybe your design won’t create the buzz that John Chow made when he redesigned his blog, but then again I can’t believe all the wannabes that hinge even on what he eats. In any event, your regular readers might not be swayed so much by your theme redesign because you already hooked them. They might be inclined to write about it, link to your blog, etc. Someone that reads their blog might read that and check yours out. Readers are won over one at a time.

Function

I know, the article has been all about the visual appeal so function might seem out of place here but function has its place in a blog design. A blog that is laid out well, organized nicely and appeals to your readers will also work well for you. You will find yourself more inclined to write when you are proud of your appearance. A more functional design can also fix any of the flaws that you might have hated in your old design, flaws you probably spent hours trying to fix. Time you could have spent doing something else.

Time Management

Theme Junkies will understand this. Many bloggers spend far too much time “tweaking” their theme when they should be writing. They spend this time tweaking for one reason, they aren’t happy with the look. The time you save with an attractive blog design can be better spent writing content, promoting your content and driving traffic to your blog. This is a HUGE benefit if you take advantage of it.

Conclusion

Time will tell whether ‘08 generates as much buzz about blog redesigns as ‘07 did but in any event I think I have shown why there is no question that your blog design is criticial to your success as a blogger. You can like that fact, love that fact, hate that fact, or what have you….but it’s still a fact.

If you’ve been in the market for a blog makeover then you have plenty of options available. Check out any of these designers as I have seen some great looking stuff from all of them. I am sure there are thousands more out there but you won’t go wrong with any of these designers.

SoloStream

Unique Blog Designs

Sharp Wit Designs

Adii

Brian Gardner

Let me know what you think and if your blog has recently undergone a redesign; please share your experience with us all.