Here We Go Again: Why High-Cost Design Is NOT a Barrier to Entry in the Blawgosphere
See what happens when I take six weeks off from this blog to retool and revamp? It all starts back up again — this frantic “You have to have a professionally designed blog!” I feel like it ought to be accompanied by seizure-like shaking, wild eyes, and a slight shriek to the voice, you know?
This viewpoint — you must have a professionally designed blog — has been adequately disproved, I think. If you’re not convinced, perhaps Yaro Starak — widely considered one of the premiere blog coaches around today — can convince you. If even Yaro says “it’s not the most critical element” then how can it be essential to success? Answer: it can’t. As he says, it’s important - and I agree - but if your financial status doesn’t permit an originally designed theme, relax. Why? Because it won’t detract dramatically, as long as your site is readable, functional, and contains sufficient white space.
Why does this fallacy keep popping up? Some possibilities:
- Confusion between good design and professional, high-cost design. Of course you need a readable blog, with an appropriate amount of white space and an attractive aesthetic. But - folks - c’mon! There are thousands of perfectly suitable themes available freely on the web. You can even tweak them by adjusting colors, changing images, reorganizing sidebars, with very little effort or technical training. (Note: don’t try this at home without very clear instructions, OK? Trust me.) The comments on this post that’s linked to in the above Home Office Lawyer blog post don’t say “Give me a professional blog design or I’m walking!” They say “It should look nice and be readable.” Pick a theme that delivers and be done with it - then concentrate on what counts more (that’s content and tone).
- Fear is a powerful motivator. It’s only natural to be a little anxious about something new, especially when the something new is based in a technology that isn’t very familiar — like blogging. Looking at the landscape of options and platforms, settings and hosting companies, themes and templates and plugins (oh my) — I think it’s highly understandable that many people would rather just say “This is way too big for me so I’ll outsource it and let someone else deal with it.” The irony, of course, is that it isn’t that difficult, and all most folks need is good instructions and some reassurance. (Of course, those instructions are hard to come by; rectifying that is one of my goals.)
- Lawyers have a tendency to overkill the opponent. Don’t take this the wrong way - I’m one too, and I am just as guilty. We don’t want to slay the dragon — we want to slay it, flay it, tan the hide and roast the rest up for dinner. Why start a blog when we can start a BLOG, with eye-catching graphics and gorgeous Pulitzer-winning graphics — something No One Has Ever Seen Before?! And you know what? If that’s what you want — what you really, really want — then go for it. (Zig-a-zig-ah.) But if you want a blog, and you’re not sure you have the cash for a $5,000 site overhaul — in fact, you know you don’t — then don’t let these exhortations stop you, however well-meaning they may be. You can have a fantastic blog without the design fees emptying your operating account. Isn’t it wonderful to have options?
- Consider the source. A lot of the people making these assertions sell professional blog designs. But, you might say, so do you - albeit through contract design work. Well, yes, friend, I say, you’re right. I do. I offer it as an option to my clients. My thinking is this: not everybody who walks in the department store wants a designer label. Some just want a really good pair of tennis shoes. For those folks, I have the predesigned themes option. For those who are really itching to slip their tootsies into a pair of Jimmy Choos, I introduce them to my good friend Cory Miller or another excellent designer.
Tomorrow: if you can’t get what you want (that $5k superblog) I’m going to show you how to get what you need — a clean blog design with a robust content management system that’s optimized to make SEO and marketing as intuitive and simple as possible - for the cost of hosting alone.
Edited to make it clear that while the Choos might be pricey, my friend Cory isn’t.
