Thanks to CSS Vault I’ve come across a lot of cool websites. Mostly resources and weblogs. Of course these websites where noted because of their great design done with CSS. But lately I started noticing more and more how a weblog with a really great design gets popular which they deserve but the weblog content is nothing particular or lets just say boring.
I like great weblog designs but if the content is nothing I won’t come back to the weblog. The reason we visit weblogs is because we read the content and it appeals to us, not to stare to the design every day. I don’t think a lor of people realize that great design doesn’t account for a good weblog. On the other side the weblog must beenice to the eye so the user will stick around and read your content. Weblogs with really bad designs but with good content I just read in my RSS reader. Some color combinations just bother me so much that I barely visit the weblog it self.
I would rate the important of design at 40% and content at 60%. But that are just numbers. The best would be to work on your content aquire your readers and then start working on a design that suits your content and your personal taste. Always use minimal 3 colors maximal 4, to much colors just disturbs people from concentrating on your content. Use good contrast especialy between a:hover and background color. Most of these pointers are known by everyone but I keep coming across weblogs whith lacks these points.
Content is the criteria I use when listing websites on my links section, maybe 1 or 2 are there because of their design. Main rule for links on my links section is content if it is not good or unique I don’t place it on my links section. There are some weblogs in there which haven’t updated in long time so my links section is up for a reorganization. If I haven’t read it in a long time it will be moved and off course I got some new ones to add.
I haven’t come across many weblogs that appeal me 100% equally in content and design. I guess it’s very difficult to find a balance and then of course design is a personal thing especially for weblogs. If webloggers took 2 weeks to concentrate on their content and forget a minute about making the design greater while it’s already good we would have lots of stuff to read.