How to Structure Your Blog Posts for Maximum Readability

On average, internet users spend less than one minute on a web page. With so much content available online, you might struggle to grab a visitor’s attention and encourage them to read your posts from start to finish.

The solution is to ensure that your content is both engaging and easy to read. A well-structured post can help you attract and retain visitors, and build a community of loyal followers.

In this article, we’ll discuss the importance of readability for your blog. We’ll then offer some tips to help you make your content more approachable.

Why Readability Is Important for Your Blog

Readability refers to the quality and legibility of a written piece. High readability means that readers can more quickly and easily process the information in front of them. Essentially, it is a measure of the efficiency with which you deliver your message to your target audience.

Improving readability can help you reduce bounce rates. This is because well-written content may encourage users to check out other posts on your blog.

Additionally, it can lead to higher engagement rates. For instance, readers might leave comments on your posts and share your content on social media. This may in turn improve your rankings in Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).

The way you structure your posts can also influence their readability. A good flow can keep readers engaged throughout. Additionally, incorporating visual elements such as images can make your posts more digestible.

10 Tips for Structuring Blog Posts That Are Easy to Read

Writing clear and engaging content can help you increase user engagement, improve your SEO, and make your blog more successful. Let’s take a look at some actionable tactics you can implement when it comes to structuring your posts.

1. Get to the Point

While some blogs benefit from a conversational tone, you’ll want to be careful about too much buildup or empty prose early on. Your readers will want to get the answers they’re looking for quickly:

A lengthy introduction can turn readers away. Most users don’t want to wade through long paragraphs to get to the main topic. Getting right to the point will help you grab readers’ attention straight away and encourage them to continue reading.

This is also true for every section of your post. Leading in with relevant information or a quick overview of the section can help readers hone in on the areas that interest them.

A few tightly-written paragraphs should be sufficient. Get too much longer, and you risk burying the lede.

2. Write an Outline Before You Write Your Blog Post

Clear writing is a byproduct of clear thinking. If you’re not sure what you plan to write before you begin, you might struggle to create an article with an easy-to-follow structure.

The solution is to start every blog post with an outline.

An outline doesn’t need to be complex (though it certainly can be, if you find providing more detail in your outline is helpful when you start writing). You can start with the following basic elements:

A summary of your topic or angle
Any keywords your blog post needs to include
The main sections and subsections of your article

Here is an example of what an outline might look like, using this blog post you’re reading right now:

Topic:
This blog post is about how to structure content for easy readability. It should tell the reader everything they need to know to make sure every blog post they publish is easy to read.

Keywords:
Blog post structure, blog post readability

Outline:

Introduction
Why Readability is Important for Blog Posts
Tips for Structuring Blog Posts:
- Get to the point
- Write an outline
- Use Yoast
- Break up text with images
- Be concise
- Use clear typography
- Use clear language
- Use proper subheads
- End with a call to action
Conclusion

This is simple enough, right? To make things even easier, here is a template you can copy and paste into your writing app of choice (edit as necessary to fit your own needs):

Topic:

Keywords:

Outline:

Introduction
Section 1
- Subpoint 1
- Subpoint 2
- Subpoint 3
Section 2
- Subpoint 1
- Subpoint 2
- Subpoint 3
Section 3
- Subpoint 1
- Subpoint 2
- Subpoint 3
Conclusion

3. Use the Beginning of Your Post to Hook Visitors

The beginning of a blog post serves two main functions:

Getting readers to notice your post in the first place – in your blog list, in Google’s search results, on social media, etc.
Convincing readers to stay around to read the “meat” of your content.

To accomplish those goals, you’ll want to focus on two key elements:

The title
The introduction

4. Convince Readers to Click With Your Title

Your title is one of the most important parts of your blog post because it’s what convinces readers to click on your post in the first place.

Every other part of your blog post could be perfect. But if your title doesn’t convince readers to open your post, they’re never going to see the rest of your content.

So – how do you write a compelling headline/title? Well, we have a whole post on writing blog headlines, but here are some key concepts:

Make a promise (and deliver on it) – for example, “How to Make a Website in Under an Hour”. As long as your post really helps readers make a website in under an hour, that’s a promise that will attract readers.
Incorporate power words – power words offer miraculous and mind-blowing results when it comes to attracting readers. You’ll be jubilant when you see the phenomenal results from including power words in your titles 😉 SmartBlogger has a great list of power words to include in your content.
Include numbers for lists – people love numbers in headlines, so it’s always great to include a number for any type of list/guide. For example, “8 Tips to Create Better Website Logos”.
Don’t forget about search engine optimization (SEO) – while you should always write for humans first, you still want to try to work your focus keyword into your title if possible.

Here’s an example of Smart Blogger’s power words in action:

To help you analyze your titles and/or brainstorm ideas, you can find a lot of great free tools:

5. Motivate Visitors to Keep Reading With Your Introduction

Once your title gets readers to click, your introduction convinces them to stick around for the rest of the content.

How you do this depends on what your post is about. The key thing to always think about here is intent.

More specifically, what is the intent of the person who’s reading this post? Is it to…

Learn more about a topic they’re interested in?
Fix a specific problem that they’re having?
Diagnose a problem that they’re not sure they have?
Research the best products?
Relax and have fun?

You want to structure your introduction to respond directly to that intent.

For a lot of topics, engaging them with some type of story or visualization is a great way to hook readers and make a connection. Or, you can ask a question like we did at the beginning of this post.

However, for some topics, trying to build a connection can actually be counterproductive.

For example, let’s say you’re writing a straightforward guide on how to unclog a kitchen sink.

You don’t need to craft a story to connect with your readers and convince them that having a clogged sink is frustrating, and that’s why they need to read your post – they already know how frustrating it is!

They just want the absolute fastest way to fix the pain that they’re already experiencing.

In this situation, you want to get straight to the point. It’s totally fine to be abrupt – for example:

“Having a clogged sink sucks. In this article, you’re going to learn how to unclog your sink in five minutes without needing any special tools.”

It’s not an especially creative or unique introduction, but it clearly informs readers that they can fix their problem if they read your article.

It also alleviates potential fears that they might have – such as not having the right tools to follow along or your solution taking too long.

People don’t want to invest time into reading an article if it’s not going to give them what they want. If you can addre3. Use the Yoast SEO Plugin

You can use a plugin like Yoast SEO to check the readability of your WordPress posts:

This tool highlights issues that make your content difficult to read, such as long sentences and paragraphs. It also gives you a Flesch Reading Ease score and offers suggestions for improving your writing.

If you have a plugin-enabled WordPress.com account, you can purchase Yoast SEO Premium without ever leaving your site.

6. Break Up Text With Photos and Videos

Walls of text aren’t very inviting. Breaking up paragraphs with images or videos can help improve the flow of your article and make it more engaging:

If you have content that combines text, images, and video, all the better. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but videos can be even more effective. Readers who don’t have the time (or patience) to read the entire article can watch the video instead. If they find it informative, they might share it with others or comment on your post.

With more users accessing blogs from mobile devices, you’ll want to ensure that your content is also digestible on smaller screens. Mobile users might get frustrated if they have to scroll through huge chunks of text to get all the information they need.

Moreover, a healthy mix of text and media can help you appeal to different types of viewers. One visitor might be looking for a quick answer, so they just skim through the text, while other users might be more interested in viewing your photos.

Generally, including a visual element every 200 to 300 words is a good goal to aim for.

7. Be Concise

Using concise language can also help improve readability. Some bloggers opt for a more conversational tone, where detours and side stories are part of the charm. However, too much ‘fluff’ can prompt readers to look elsewhere if they think they can find the answers they want more quickly.

You’ll also want your blog posts to be skimmable and readers to feel like they’re moving quickly through your content. One way to achieve this is to use shorter sentences and paragraphs. Keeping sentences around 25 words or less and paragraphs to only two or three sentences will help your audience speed through the page.

Additionally, you’ll want to use short yet descriptive headings for every section of your site.

This is not only useful for SEO, but it also helps skimmers navigate to those parts of the post that they’re most interested in.

8. Use Clear Typography

As a blogger, you might be tempted to use a creative typeface to make your blog stand out. However, fancy fonts can do more harm than good.

We recommend that you stick with common fonts like Arial, Times New Roman, and Trebuchet. These types are clear and crisp, and can therefore make your content easier to read.

Fonts that mimic cursive writing are more difficult to read. The same applies to colored fonts and busy backgrounds. If you’re sharing valuable information, you want that content to be abundantly clear and accessible.

If you opt for a non-standard font, it’s important to ensure that it’s legible on different devices, especially mobile phones. You’ll also want to make sure the text contrasts well with the background, and avoid stark colors that can strain the eyes. For maximum readability, we recommend that you use black text over a white or light gray background.

9. Use Bullet Points to Present Key Information

Using bullet points is another great way to make your content more engaging while still presenting key information to the reader.

Look at these two examples:

Example 1:

To write a great blog post, you should have a strong title, engage readers with your introduction, make your content scannable, use smart subheadings, keep paragraphs short, and use bullet points to present key information to your readers.

Example 2:

To write a great blog post, you should…

Have a strong title.
Engage readers with your introduction.
Make your content scannable.
Use smart subheadings.
Keep paragraphs short.
Use bullet points to present key information to your readers.

The text is exactly the same. But by breaking the tips into a bulleted list instead of a paragraph, they’re much easier for readers to consume.

Here again, we can turn to eye-tracking studies. In the example from Nielsen Norman Group below, you can see that the bulleted lists were much more engaging to readers than the paragraph text below:

10. Use Clear Language Your Audience Will Understand

You might be tempted to use complicated words and phrases. This might be okay, but only if your audience will understand what you’re trying to say.

So, how can you avoid jargon that might confuse readers?

Choose more simple words that mean the same thing (if possible).
If something might not be clear to most readers, take the time to clearly explain it.
Use Hemingway App (free and paid plans, with web and desktop options) to identify overly complex word choices (and many other structural and grammatical fixes you can make):

11. Use H2 and H3 Subheads

Using too many text sizes can create a disorganized appearance that’s hard to read. Follow these simple guidelines to make sure you use subheads appropriately:

H1 for your headline or article title
H2 for each section of your blog post
H3 for subsections of your H2 subheads

That’s it. It may be acceptable to use H4 subheads if it’s really necessary, but sticking with H2 and H3 subheads will help make your content easy to read. This blog post you’re reading right now is an example of an article that uses subheads this way.

Subheadings are one of the most important players for making your content scannable.

In this eye-tracking study from Nielsen Norman Group, you can clearly see that the subheadings are what draw readers along the page. This is an example of the layer-cake scanning pattern that we discussed above.

Visitors read every subheading but only stop to read the body text if it interests them:

For that reason, you want to make sure that each heading is descriptive and engaging.

For example, look at the heading for this section. We could’ve just used a single word like “Headings”. But that wouldn’t offer any value if you’re scanning this content, nor would it do much to convince you to read this text.

Headings can also be curiosity hooks, which can be especially useful for more creative blog posts. If you can spark curiosity in your reader with your heading, they’ll be more likely to stop scanning and en

12. Finish With a Call to Action

In some cases, the goal of a blog post is to direct the reader somewhere else. This might be a product page, another article, or a different website.

Adding a clear Call To Action (CTA) can help you prompt the reader to perform a desired action:

Providing clear instructions, as well as a link to the desired destination, can make it easier for the reader to accomplish the task. Sometimes the CTA is as simple as asking your audience to subscribe to your newsletter, or leave a comment on your post.

Ideally, the CTA should be placed at the end of a blog post. If you add it to the introduction or halfway through the post, it might disrupt the flow of your content and distract the reader.

Start Improving Your Blog Post Structure Today

Congratulations! At this point, you now have the knowledge to start creating more compelling blog posts that engage your audience and keep them coming back for more.

To accomplish this, remember that each section in your blog post serves a key function in engaging your visitors and providing value to them:

Beginning – grab your readers’ attention with the title and use your introduction to hook visitors and convince them to stick around.
Middle – present your main content in an engaging, scannable format to make it easy for them to get value and keep them reading.
End – recap actionable tips in your conclusion and encourage users to take action.

See what we did above? We just recapped the main points from our post so that you have an actionable framework for writing your next blog post.

Now – it’s time for the other key part of the conclusion – the call to action.

If you want to get started with your own blog and share your compe

How to Structure Your Blog Posts for Maximum Readability

Why Readability Is Important for Your Blog