Simple Blogging, WordPress Plugins, and More
It is a blogging myth that you need to pay for a custom design in order to achieve a high level of traffic and profits. Of course, a custom blog would help to give your site a unique look and feel, but this is far from being a requirement. I have had blogs that were custom designed as well as those (such as this one) that run on a simple, free theme.
As I have mentioned time and time again, I do not have the technical skills to customize my blogs. If I want this done I have to call one of my friends for a favor, or pay a freelancer to help me out; both of which I have done in the past.
As you will see by the design of chrisblogging.com, there is not much to it. It is a basic free theme that I picked up after checking out several options. The main reason that I settled on this theme is because it is widget compatible, has a nice color combination, and is nothing over the top. I am a simple guy, and this is a simple theme!
Generally speaking, the only customization that I did was to add some sidebar content, new pages, and a slight tweak to the footer code. Besides that, everything is pretty much basic. Of course, as I move along I will probably insert some ads here and there as well as a few other ideas that I have been working on.
Does a basic design hold you back from making money or increasing traffic? The simple answer to this question is no! I have had template blogs earn more money than customized blogs and vice versa. The key is not the design of the blog, but the content that you provide. As long as you are not making your readers work too hard to browse your content you should be alright.
You may want to look into some SEO plugins if you are worried about optimization. Check out http://www.theblogjoint.com/2006/09/21/best-seo-plugins-for-wordpress/ for some good ideas in this department.
I have always thought that a blog will make money and receive traffic if the content is something that people want to read. Despite the simplicity of your design, if you are making good posts that are relevant to your subject matter, you will eventually reach your goals.
