> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://iris-on-bookrest.info/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # A Deep Dive into Blog Thumbnails - URL: https://iris-on-bookrest.info/en/my-name-is-sam-en/ - Published: 2026-08-27T13:53:23.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-27T14:18:17.000Z - Description: Should blog thumbnails prioritize SEO or design? We explore their necessity, importance, and common design challenges when not consistently applied. Discover practical approaches for blog management, including efficient creation methods leveraging AI. - Author: やまぐろ - Tags: ブログ運用, en Hello, I'm a professional engineer. Today, I'd like to delve into various thoughts about blog thumbnails. ## Are Thumbnails Even Necessary? Let's start by considering this. It seems to be a common belief that thumbnails are essential for running a blog, but the question is, why are they necessary? The deciding factor might be 'whether you want traffic to your site.' This is what's known as an SEO-driven mindset. If you want traffic, you need to consider thumbnails to increase click-through rates. If not, then perhaps they're not necessary, right? However, in the case of blogs, text is ultimately the most valuable asset. So, I don't believe thumbnails are as crucial as they are for platforms like YouTube. Therefore, personally, I don't think they're essential! ## Considering Thumbnails as Part of Design Next, let's consider it from a perspective other than traffic: design. If you look at news sites, most of them seem to have thumbnails. However, I don't get the impression that news site thumbnails are primarily used to boost click-through rates. They seem to be set to enhance the visual appeal, fitting a magazine-style layout. Thumbnails might therefore serve two purposes: - An SEO-driven perspective to increase click-through rates - A design-driven perspective to enhance layout appeal ## Considerations When Using Thumbnails While thumbnails are set on this blog, the truth is most articles don't have them. In such cases, the design can feel a bit off. Common placeholder UI when no image is available. Personally, it doesn't look much different from a 'not found' cross icon. Articles without a thumbnail really stand out in this way. So, if you're going to use thumbnails, I believe you need to consider how to make the design look good when a thumbnail isn't present. The current state doesn't leave a great impression, does it? As one solution, this blog switches to a different display when no image is available, as shown below. This, I think, creates a better impression than the layout above. When no image is available, display text prominently. This conveys a sense of 'attention to detail'. Personally, I think the optimal solution is to 'set thumbnails for all articles if you choose to adopt them,' but if that's not possible, taking this kind of approach is also an option. Probably. ## The Barrier to Thumbnail Creation is Now Lower While I feel it's probably better to set thumbnails, it's still a hassle. However, in recent years, they can be generated with AI. You can convey an image for generation, or even provide the article body for it to generate. A while ago, I used Canva to create templates, but now you can even embed templates into prompts. Times have advanced so much! While creating truly eye-catching thumbnails still requires considerable ingenuity, making consistent thumbnails from a design perspective is relatively easy. So, for those who find it troublesome, perhaps just generating and setting them is a good start. Of course, meticulously creating a thumbnail for each article is probably ideal. ## In Conclusion I'm an engineer with zero design sense, but I also feel that studying design in the future could be beneficial in my work, perhaps allowing me to create more visually appealing documents. While I sense that AI is capable of some design work, I believe it's difficult without the skill to communicate my own vision, or without understanding design terminology. --- *This article was translated from the [original Japanese version](https://iris-on-bookrest.info/my-name-is-sam/) (ブログのサムネイルについて考えてみる) using Gemini API.*