Selecting the right blog template is crucial to starting your blog on the right foot. It can make or break your branding. It’s an important part of your visual branding. Your blog template can attract the right people to your blog.
Without it your blog won’t look professional. Potential readers will be put off by the poor design. Increasing blog traffic will be difficult. But nowadays it’s easy to have your blog look professional. Gone are the days where you need a web designer.
Blog templates or themes make it easy to design your blog without any coding. I put together a list of some of the best blog templates by platform. Each one comes with a set of instructions on how to install.
*Affiliate Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. Please see my full disclosure for further information.
What is a blog template?
How do I choose a blog template for my blog?
There are a few things you need to look for when selecting a blog theme or template. First, you need to make sure it’s responsive. Meaning that it looks good on mobile devices. Most readers nowadays are on their mobile devices more than desktop.
You don’t want them to bounce away because the mobile version of your blog is terrible. This in turn will cause you to have a high bounce rate. Which is bad for SEO.
When it comes to your template or theme you want to keep it simple. Less is definitely more. The reason being is site speed. Site speed is important for SEO. The faster your blog loads the happier users will be.
Avoid templates or themes with sliders, and extras that you don’t need. Extra features like sliders only slow down your blog. Stay away from ones that have Instagram posts at the bottom. My blog theme used to have that feature. I removed it once I found out they only slow down your blog.
Do research on the features you need for your specific blog. Then buy according to what you need. Think about what you want your blog to convey. Are you going for elegant, fun, etc?
Best Blog Templates for WordPress
Jellybean Premium WordPress Theme
- Drag &Drop Homepage Sections
- Unlimited color options
- About me widget
- Subscribe widget
- Free Canva logo template
- Automatic updates
- Fully responsive
- 50 Google Fonts
- Contact form page
- Shop the site page
- for self-hosted WordPress blogs only. Not WordPress.com blogs
- Comes with a content slider
Amelia May Premium WordPress Theme
This one is more of a simple WordPress blog theme. It still has the essentials and perfect for fashion, beauty, lifestyle, or business bloggers. It has an elegant design and uses the Genesis framework.
Pros:
- Responsive
- Color customization
- Circle profile picture
- Read more button
- Social media icons
- Pinterest gadget
- Popular posts
- Comes with an easy installation guide
- Comes with a free font
- Includes subscribe widget
Cons:
- You need a self-hosted WordPress blog or the business plan at WordPress.com
- Homepage slider
If you would like to learn more about picking the right WordPress theme read this article from Convertkit.
Best Blog Templates for Wix
Wix Vanessa Blog Template
- Responsive
- GDPR Friendly
- Subscribe section
- SEO features
- Site analytics
- Home page
- About page
- Shop page
- Blog page
- Not possible to transfer your current blog, content, and info to a new template.
Amber Wix Blog Template
Pros:
- Fully responsive design
- No coding required
- Easy to customize
- Home page
- About page
- Blog page
- Subscribe section
- Website copy complete guide
- Photography sourcing for brand and website content PDF
- Not possible to transfer your current blog, content, and info to a new template.
Best Blog Templates for Blogger
- Includes drop-down menu
- Social icons for top menu and sidebar
- Custom contact form
- Subscribe section
- Custom sidebar widgets: about me, popular posts, etc.
- Custom post style on label and search pages
- Featured slider
- No shop page
Josefin Responsive Blogger Template
- Responsive
- Responsive drop-down menu
- Smooth scrolling
- Google Adsense ready
- Custom pin it button
- Fixed navigation menu and sidebar
- Custom Pinterest widget
- Custom IG widget
- Customizable
- No shop page
- Not sure if it has a subscription section
- Featured slider
Best Blog Templates for Squarespace
Elle Squarespace Template for Bloggers
- Home page
- About page
- Shop page
- Contact page
- Blog page
- Shop my favorites section
- Subscribe section
- Customizable
- Style guide pdf
- easy to follow video tutorials
- If you need to edit any graphics you’ll need Photoshop CS4+
- Instagram feed at the bottom
Sloane and Ollie Squarespace Template for Bloggers
- Navigation menu
- Subscribe section
- Most popular posts section
- Shop my favorites
- Featured post/image section
- Style guide PDF
- Easy to follow video tutorials
- Completely customizable
- If you need to edit any graphics you’ll need Photoshop CS4+
- Instagram feed at the bottom
Resources to help you on your journey
How to Start a Profitable Blog on a Budget
How to Find the Best Affiliate Programs for Your Blog
Do You Really Need a Privacy Policy for Your Blog?
The Best Blog Planner to Increase Productivity
Conclusion
Buying a blog template is one of the most important purchases you”ll make for your blog. Any top blogger will tell you this. It’s one of the keys to their success. There isn’t a single six-figure blogger with a terrible blog template. Take your time to find the best blog template for your blog.
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