Ready-made blogger layouts are the perfect tool for bloggers who, for whatever reason, prefer to have someone else do the heavy lifting with the graphics and design of their blogs. Prepared layouts leave bloggers to focus on the content of the blog itself, reducing frustration and boosting readership over the life of the blog.
While blogger layout design can be learned and perfected, it is only really recommended if a unique set of needs for the blog just can’t be filled by a layout that already exists.
Hundreds of free layouts are available for download all over the Web and come from a huge number of sources, including blogs on the subject. There are some layouts and themes that are only available as a subscription or for purchase. This can be well worth it if you’re confident that the given layout will boost and sustain the readership. Most bloggers, however, find that the layouts available do the job just fine.
There are a number of factors to consider when selecting a layout. Make sure the theme suits the content that’s going to fit into it. Some layouts allow for large amounts of content to be displayed all at once and emulate the familiar layouts of newspapers, magazines, or even standard websites.
Available layouts are usually fitted to a particular audience. Video game enthusiasts, for instance, are accustomed to certain layout styles used in the magazines and websites they also read on that subject. In this example it would be wise to select a layout that comes as close as possible to the look and feel of those other media directed to that audience.
Before you select a layout for your blog, make sure you have a clear idea about who your readers are and what they like about your site. If you don’t know, find out. You may be surprised how eager and willing readers are to let you know what they like and don’t like about your layout. It your blog is directed at a narrow audience of your family and friends, they may be reluctant to provide honest feedback. Just let them know that you’re looking to give your blog a fresh look. You may even ask for suggestions. The worst that can happen is that you receive no feedback at all, though this is unlikely if your readership is anything larger than a handful of people.