If you’re new to blogging, you might be wondering how to use the right blog post format for your posts to make sure that your blog looks its best for your readers, then yes, there are many things you can do to make sure of that.
Things like using headings and subheadings, breaking up your text with lists or images, and using typography to your advantage can make a big difference in how easily people read and enjoy your blog content.
And, In this post, I’m going to share with you 17 blog formatting tips that will help you make your entire blog post look great and keep your readers interested in your content.
But before that let’s have a quick look at why it is important to format your blog beautifully and also talk about some additional factors that can make your website look even more attractive.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, I will receive a commission if you purchase through these links (without any additional cost to you), which helps us maintain this website.
Why is Formatting Important for Blog Posts?
The first and most important reason to format your blog posts is that it makes them easier to read. When you have large blocks of text, it can be difficult for people to process all of the information.
But when you break up your text with headings, subheadings, and images, it’s much easier for people to skim through and find the sections that are most relevant to them.
Not only that, but well-formatted blog posts also tend to be more visually appealing and help keep your readers engaged.
Some of the benefits of having a well-formatted blog include making your content easier to read and navigate, as well as appearing more professional to potential readers.
Additionally, a well-formatted blog is more likely to be regarded as a good blog post by Google and tends to rank higher on search engine results pages.
This is because search engines use certain factors, such as the layout of your website and the amount of text and images on each page, to determine how high your website should rank.
Further, there are additional factors you’ll need to look for while setting up your website so that with the extra touch of blog formatting your website looks more professional and attractive.
Let’s go through it first…
Choosing a user-friendly blog post layout
First of all, you will have to choose a user-friendly blog layout and most of it depends on the theme you choose.
It is important that your blog website’s layout is easy to navigate and understand. There are many themes available online, both free and paid.
Do some research and find a theme that you think will work well for your blog. Some of the themes that bring the best results for blog formats are Kadence, Astra, Neve, Oceans WP and Generatepress.
These themes have both paid and free plans. You can find them in the WordPress directory.
Now, below are a few things you should adjust within your theme:
Match your text and background colour
You don’t need to know professional design principles to use colours on your blog. You can use different colours to create a background for your website, as long as the colours are in line with your branding.
To make text easy to read, use a colour that contrasts with the background. If the background is black or dark, use white text.
Keep in mind that you shouldn’t use pure black on the background of any text – it won’t be as easy to read as white text on a black background.
And most websites prefer white background over a black one because it gives a neater look.
Pick 1-2 colours and stick with them
When it comes to colours, less is more. You don’t need to use a different colour for every element on your blog.
Instead, pick 1-2 colours and use them throughout your blog. This will help create a cohesive look and feel for your website.
If you’re not sure what colours to choose, you can get inspiration from Canva colour palette ideas to help you find the perfect colours for your blog.
Use a single or two-column layout
The first thing that people should see when they visit your website is how easy it is to use. You want the columns on your website to be short so that people can only read about two of them at a time.
This makes it simpler for them to follow the reading process and also makes your website easier to use. However, sometimes it’s best to have a multi-column design in the sidebar.
This will not take away from the main content of your website. The sidebar can be used to introduce the author of the website, provide a contact form, promote related blogs, or even market your business.
Use responsive web design
As the mobile market grows, it is more important than ever to have a responsive blog. This means that your blog will look good on any computer, tablet or mobile.
The layout and elements on your blog, including images and sidebars, will automatically resize to fit the screen of the device someone is using to view your blog.
Most themes nowadays come with responsive design, just make sure to use the ones with the highest downloads. You can also use a WordPress theme from the list I’ve mentioned above.
Now let’s have a look at the formatting you can do with every individual blog of yours.
Blog formatting tips
There are different types of blog posts and every type of post require different formatting for its presentation. For example, a comparison post will need to be formatted differently than a How-To post.
However, no matter what the blog post type is, you will surely need these 17 formatting guidelines most of the time.
1. Choose the right fonts
First and foremost, choose the right font for your website. They are important for both the look and feel of your blog.
You want to make sure that the fonts you choose are easy to read and also convey the right tone for your blog. If you’re not sure which fonts to use, a good place to start is with the default fonts that come with your theme.
There are two main types of fonts, serif and sans serif. Serif fonts have small embellishments on the ends of the letters, while sans-serif fonts do not.
Serif fonts are generally seen as more traditional and formal, while sans-serif fonts are seen as more modern and casual.
If you’re not sure which type of font to use, a good rule of thumb is to use serif fonts for your blog’s title and headings, and sans serif fonts for your blog’s body text.
The easiest way is to use the default fonts offered by your blogging platform or your themes if your site is on WordPress.
If you want to get a bit more creative, there are many free and paid font libraries that you can browse through to find the perfect fonts for your blog.
Google Fonts is can be a great place to find the perfect font for your blog.
Also, make your fonts large enough to be easily readable – around 16px or 17px is a good size and makes the text easily readable on mobile devices too.
2. Use a strong title
The second thing you should be considering is starting with a strong blog post title.
It’s been said that you have less than five seconds to capture someone’s attention when they land on your blog post. That’s not a lot of time!
Your blog title needs to be clear, interesting, and relevant to the content of your blog post.
If you’re not sure what kind of title to use, try brainstorming a few different options and then choose the one that you think will be most effective in capturing your reader’s attention.
Once you have a strong title, make sure that the rest of your blog post lives up to it! Otherwise, you risk losing your reader’s attention before they even get to the most relevant content of your post.
3. Write an effective blog introduction
The third thing you need to do in order to write an effective blog post is to write a strong introduction.
Just like with your title, you only have a few seconds to capture your reader’s attention with your introduction.
Your introduction should be interesting, relevant, and clear. It should give your reader a good idea of what your blog post is going to be about and why they should keep reading.
If you’re having trouble writing a strong introduction, try starting with a question or a statistic. Both of these things can be effective in getting your reader’s attention and keeping them engaged with your blog post.
4. Use headers and subheaders
One of the best ways to make your blog post easy to read and navigate is to use headers and subheaders.
By breaking up your entire post into smaller sections, you make your content scannable for your reader to find the information they’re looking for and to quickly scan through your post to find the parts that are most relevant to them.
Headers and subheaders also help to add structure to your blog post, which can make it more visually appealing and easier to read.
When using headers and subheaders, make sure that you’re using them in a way that makes sense for your content.
For example, you wouldn’t want to use a header for a small section of text that could easily be incorporated into the main body of your post.
5. Keep sentences and paragraphs short
Keeping your sentences short makes your content more reader-friendly, especially on the web, where people are more likely to skim than read every word.
Breaking your content up into short paragraphs makes it much easier for people to scan and grasp the main points.
A good rule of thumb is to keep paragraphs to no more than 4 lines, and sentence length to no more than 25 words. By doing this, you make it much easier for people to quickly read and understand your blog post.
6. Include bold text for emphasis
Bolding certain words or phrases can help to emphasize important points and make it easier for people to scan your blog post.
Just like with headers and subheaders, though, it’s important not to overuse this technique.
A few strategically placed pieces of bold text can be effective, but too much of it will just make your post look cluttered and difficult to read.
7 Use bullet points or numbered lists
Another way to make your blog post easier to read is to use bullet points or numbered lists.
This is especially effective if your post is covering a lot of information or if you have a lot of steps for your reader to follow.
The goal should be to give your reader the key information they need in an easy-to-digest format.
Numbered and bulleted lists are a great way to do this because they help to break up your content and make it easier to scan and read.
7. Add images and strong visuals
As mentioned earlier, adding visuals to your blog post can help to make it more interesting and easier to read. Images, infographics, and videos are all great options for adding visual interest to your post.
For example, if you have a lot of data that you want to include in your post, consider using an infographic to visualize that data. This will make it more visually appealing and easier for people to understand.
Canva is a great app to create branded images for your website. You can not only find just stock images but also create infographics, personalised images and more.
To support your messages through images:
- Make sure the images are of high quality.
- Be strategic about where you place your images.
- Include infographics in your posts.
- Use videos to break up your text.
8. Use a Call to action
If you want your readers to take action on something, be sure to include a call to action. This could be something like “sign up for our newsletter” or “download our free e-book.”
A call to action can be a great way to increase your email subscribers from your blog posts.
By including a call to action, you make it clear what you want your reader to do, and you make it easier for them to take that action.
9. Add a table of content
Add a table of content if your post is more than 1000 to 1500 words as tabled content sends SEO-friendly signals.
Apart from that, they make it extremely easy for readers to read the blog post. The table of content allows users to quickly find the most relevant sections in your post.
It helps create a blog format that emphasizes value. Keep your table of content below a fold so that visitors can easily view your table without scrolling.
You will be able to capture their attention and give them a look at the gold that is hidden in your hands and doesn’t reveal a lot.
If the Kadence theme comes with the option to create a table of content, even in the free plan. But if you’re on another theme, you can use the Easy Table Of Content plugin to add a table of content in WordPress.
10. Add internal and external links
External and internal links are an important part of any blog post. They can help to improve your SEO and they can also provide your readers with additional information.
When adding links to your blog post, be sure to use relevant keywords as the anchor text. This will help to improve your SEO.
Also, be sure to check that all of your links are working properly. Nothing is more frustrating than clicking on a link and finding that it doesn’t work.
If you usually forget things easier, you can use an SEO plugin called RankMath to remind you to add links to your posts. Surfer’s “Grow Flow” can also be of great help to determine where to point your website’s links internally.
11. Add Custom Styling To Highlight Your Main Points
As I’ve mentioned earlier adding bolded text to highlight your main points can be beneficial but It can turn out to be a bad habit to write a paragraph with bolded lines all the time.
It will appear like an infected block of text, which does not fit into an article in any way.
Your readers will definitely notice it and will probably be disappointed to read this kind of article. If necessary then you can add an additional paragraph in a custom style in between your posts.
For example. I’ve used it in my affiliate disclaimer paragraph in the third paragraph of this post.
You don’t need to use a custom style for every single paragraph. Just use it when you want to make a certain point stand out.
12. Keep an eye on the text line height
The line height is the space between each line of text. It’s important to have enough space between the lines of text so that it’s easy to read.
If the line height is too small, it will be difficult to read. If the line height is too large, it will look odd and make the text look spread out.
The best way to choose a line height is to experiment with different values until you find one that looks good.
A good starting point is 1.5 or 2.0. Also, be sure to check that the line height is consistent throughout the blog post.
Other than that, try making the white space between your paragraphs larger than the line height. It will help your readers to focus on the text and make it easier for them to read.
13. Add Social Shareable links.
Social media is a great platform to grow your content marketing efforts. And It’s beneficial to add social media links to your blog.
This will allow your readers to share your content on their favourite social networks. It’s also a good way to build up your social media following.
Be sure to add social media links to each blog post, as well as to your blog’s home page. For other fixed places on your site, most themes nowadays come with social media icons already built in.
And to add it to your individual blog posts, you can also use plugins like Sassy Social Share to add social share buttons. This can be a good way to encourage your readers to share your content.
14. Add an Author bio box
An author bio box is a short description of the author that appears at the end of each blog post. It’s a good way to let your readers know a little bit about you and your blog.
An author bio box should be short, sweet, and to the point. It should contain a brief description of the author and their blog. It should also include a link to the author’s social media profiles and website.
Some themes come with author bio options, but if your theme doesn’t have one you can use a plugin like Simple Author Box.
15. Use an Email Subscription Form
An email subscription form allows your readers to subscribe to your blog and receive new posts via email. This is a great way to build up your email list and keep your readers coming back for more.
There are many plugins available that will allow you to add an email subscription form to your blog. Some of the most popular plugins are AWeber Web Form Widget and Poptin.
16. Use related posts
Related posts are a great way to keep your readers engaged with your blog. They also help to increase your pageviews and decrease your bounce rate.
Related posts are automatically generated by most WordPress themes. If your theme doesn’t have related posts, you can use a plugin like Related Posts Thumbnails to add them.
17. Use an Image Slider
An image slider is a great way to add visual interest to your blog. It’s also a great way to showcase your photos or other images.
There are many WordPress plugins available that will allow you to add an image slider to your blog. One of the best ones you can use is Meta Slider.
Bonus point – Add Google Web Stories to your blogs posts
Google web stories are a great way to add visual interest to your blog. They’re also a great way to increase your page views. And the best part is it can be monetized through Google Adsense. Know more here.
Google web stories can be your stand-alone post in story format with AMP support or they can be added to your existing blog posts.
If you want to add Google web stories to your blog posts, you can use the official Web Stories plugin from Google itself or you can try MakeStories.io as an alternative.
Blog formatting tips – Round-Up
So there you are! 17 blog formatting tips to make your blog posts stand out. And here is the summary with some key takeaways for you to remember:
I hope you’ve found these tips helpful and that they will help you create content that is easy to read, visually appealing, and engaging.
Please don’t hesitate to leave a comment below if you have any questions or need additional advice on how to improve your blog.
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