How to Create a ‘Blog Style Guide’ for Your Blogging Website in 2023?

Your Blog Style Guide is the document that contains rules and guidelines for your blog’s content, such as images, colors, fonts, and even the writing style. Would you like to make a blog style guide that actually works for your blog? Then, stay with me while I hold your hand and guide you through the process.

Red is one of my favorite colors.

Yes, I understand this is an unusual way to begin a blog post, but I truly love the color, which is why I use it on my website. Another factor why I like this color is that it enhances the overall look and goes with practically anything.

When I was designing my blog’s style guide, I decided on using red as one of the main colors. My website would have looked entirely different if I had chosen an entirely different color instead of using red. But, I decided to use red.

Frankly speaking, learning to maintain your personal brand is one of the most difficult aspects of blogging. What we choose not to do is just as important as what we choose to do. As bloggers, you should be very careful to avoid doing too much.

Create a ‘Blog Style Guide’ that Really Works for Your Brand

You want your target audience to be familiar with and confident in your brand, right? But how can your audience trust you if you don’t trust yourself?

You’re confusing your readers if you’re continuously re-designing and tweaking things here and there. I know it can nearly impossible and very hard to pick just two or three web fonts out of the thousands available on the internet.

When we looooove rainbows, unicorns, and lollipops, how can we limit ourselves to just two colors? Is this what you’re thinking right now? Well, don’t.

Building a consistent brand for your blog is arguably the smartest thing you can do for your blog, and if you haven’t already, you should start doing it right now.

Investing in your blog style guide is always a wise decision.

You’ve already put a lot of time and effort into your blog. You owe it to yourself to make sure your blog is as wonderful as you are.

And, that’s why I’m going to take you through it step by step.

And, spoiler alert: your blog style guide is far more than just fonts and colors.

Although the following steps aren’t in any particular order, let’s start with the general design before moving on to the steps that most style guides skip.

Step 1: Choose a Color Scheme

Instead of repeating myself once again in this article, I recommend that you go read this post about how to design your blog the right way.

Basically, your color scheme is a very important component of your overall blog design, and you should choose a color scheme that you won’t become tired of even after a few months. All I mean is that you should stick to the colors you choose.

And, do you know?

Some bloggers use only one color, while others use as many as five.

Of course, it’s a personal choice, but in most cases, using too many different colors may cause your readers to become confused. On the other side, if you simply use one color, your brand might not be as distinct as you want.

So, what am I asking you to do?

Simple.

Be consistent with your color choices and stick to it as long as you can, preferably forever, regardless of how few or many colors you select. And always, keep those colors in mind when designing widgets, headers, charts, or infographics for your blog.

RELATED: How to Design Your Blog (10 Best Blog Design Tips & Tricks)?

Step 2: Pick Your Fonts

On your blog, keep the number of fonts to a minimum. You should utilize no more than three different fonts (two is more than enough! ), and they should all work together. This post has further information about font selection.

I must say that there are simply too many incredible font designs out there.

And, that probably creates a problem.

Because just when you think you’ve found your favorites, someone genius creates a new design, an even better one, and you want to switch to it.

So, what is my suggestion?

For your body content, pick a font that is easy to read (the text in your posts). If the text font is too innovative, people wouldn’t want to keep reading.

You can keep the creative fonts for your header or pictures (or, if you’re feeling daring, even your blog post title), but use a standard font for your text content.

Step 3: Plan Your Blogging Schedule

What type of blogger do you consider yourself to be?

Do you publish new content on a daily basis? Do you publish 3 times a week or one mind-blowing fantastic blog post every weekend?

The blogging schedule for different types of blogs differs tremendously.

If you have a lifestyle blog where you share pictures of your dog, new sweater, or dinner every day (or even several times per day), you might be able to publish new content almost every day (or even several times a day).

But, if you want to write longer posts and create in-depth guides for your readers, publishing new articles 7 times a week is nearly impossible.

Yes, there is a choice. You can hire freelance writers to contribute to your blog. Many bloggers do it to accelerate the growth of their blogs. But, to be honest, they aren’t really bloggers. They are more like someone who is operating a blogging business and is trying to grow it as quickly as possible.

You must choose the type of blogger you wish to be. One is not superior to the other, but if you publish a post every day for one week and then only once the next week, your readers will have absolutely no idea what to expect from you.

USEFUL: 10 Blogging Fundamentals Every New Blogger MUST Learn.

Step 4: Use the Right Images

What kind of images would you like to see on your blog?

Are you a photographer who enjoys capturing moments in time? Do you want to use stock photos or do you want to go completely without images?

I’ve seen a wide range of (very) diverse blogs! One blogger has the most beautiful images, another blogger shares various images of her life, while a third one is not concerned with her images at all. She would never wait till daylight to snap the perfect image if she wanted to post something. Her blog contains a significant amount of flash photography.

But, you should ideally be the first one with the most beautiful images.

The reason?

Images are extremely crucial these days. So, if you can find a way to take your own stunning photos, do yourself (and your blog) a favor and do so.

Stock photographs can be useful, however, if you spend a lot of time on the internet (as I do), you’ll notice that some stock images appear repeatedly. And, that’s why if you’re going to use stock photos, go for the less popular ones.

You must also decide on the type of images you want.

Do you like a minimalist or a colorful look? Is it sunny or gloomy? Is it better to be horizontal or vertical? Consider the emotion you want to express with your photos and make sure it corresponds to your color scheme.

Step 5: Pinpoint Your Audience Needs

If you have a blog related to motorbikes and your ideal reader is a 40-year-old male with a beard and cowboy boots, pink is probably not the right color for your blog. You might want to get rid of the purple unicorn in your sidebar as well.

Although you are the owner of your website, it’s always a smart idea to design your blog with your target audience in mind.

If you’re writing for super-busy moms, they might not have time and energy to read a 5000-word blog post on a daily basis. Also, you might want to ditch the baby blue header if you’re a goth blogger. You are getting what I mean, right?

If you’re just getting started with your blog and don’t have an audience yet, you should build a brand that corresponds to your ideal readers.

USEFUL: 13 Blogging Mistakes You Should Avoid to Be Successful.

Step 6: Get Your Writing in Order

This one is quite self-explanatory. What kind of writing do you prefer? Is it your preference to use contractions or not? Would you like to use slang terms? Will you italicize or highlight the words you want to emphasize?

Take a look at the following sentences:

• I will never stop watching Television.
• I will NEVER stop watching Television.
• I will never stop watching Television.
• I will never stop watching Television.
• I will NEVER stop watching Television.

The focus is the same, but regardless of how you choose to write, be consistent. Perhaps you’d like to underline a few key points?

Choose a style that is appropriate for you.

Do you wish to include subheadings in your document? I think you do. Do you want to add a personal touch to your final point? Alternatively, how about greeting your readers at the start of each blog post? Think about it.

READ: Should I Start a Blog (7 Reasons Why You Should)?

Step 7: Find Your Voice

Your tone is an important aspect of your brand. Consider how you want to be perceived by your readers. Do you want to come across as intellectual, serious, amusing, friendly, sarcastic, silly, evil (most likely not), motherly, and/or intelligent?

Don’t try to become someone you are not. You’ll be called out on it by your readers, and you’ll waste a lot of time and effort on a project that will fail.

What would your friends say about you if you asked them? Accept yourself for who you are, whether you are the class clown or a genius. Figure out what makes you unique from the crowd and make the most of it.

Step 8: Make a Blog Post Template

What type of blogger do you consider yourself to be? Do you wish to concentrate on your photography or your writing? Or perhaps a mix of the two? What is the maximum number of pictures you wish to use in your posts? What is the maximum length of your posts? Do you want to arrange your images in a grid or put them all next to the text?

It’s not necessary for all of your blog posts to look the same.

In fact, it would be preferable if they don’t. You only need to build a post template and stick to it, when it makes sense.

Keep in mind that your blog style guide is simply a guide and a roadmap. But, it’s not a rigid set of guidelines that must be followed at all times.

Step 9: Decide on Your Content Types

What kind of information would you like to share? What level of personalization do you want for your blog? Do you want your readers to be involved in your life, or do you want them to know nothing about you? Probably somewhere in the middle.

When you initially start blogging, you may experiment with a variety of topics. It’s likely that you won’t identify your niche right away, but that’s okay.

If you want to be a travel blogger, write down the types of blog posts you can see yourself writing on your blog, such as holiday destinations, foods, budget, and so on. Go back to that list and remember what you wanted your new blog posts to be about.

It’s fine to deviate from the topic now and then, but too many out-of-context articles may cause your readers to become confused. So, keep that in mind.

Final Words

That’s all for today.

I hope you’ve found your unique way to make your blog style guide.

Finally, if you find this article useful and helpful, please share it. It doesn’t only help people who need this information but also helps me reach a wider audience.