Guide: What Makes Your Blog Less Professional
In the heat of running a blog, which includes everything from writing great content to working with advertisers, moderating comments and promoting the site, one can overlook certain aspects of the site – from little things like broken links, to big things like intrusive ads and overly busy design. Over time, as your site grows, you keep adding things – a banner here and there, a link section, some social media buttons, some images, etc., that eventually clog your site up and make it harder for your readers to find out what is what. Since you spend hours per day looking at the site, you can probably navigate it blindfolded. But that’s a whole different story with your readers, especially the first timers coming to your site. What you see as simple may be the oppositeThat’s why it’s important to take a step back every now and then and look at your blog objectively, from a distance, to catch those pits that make your blog look amateurish, and below are 7 practices that promote professionalism. of your blog. from!
1. Too many ads
Monetization is one of the cornerstones of any site, blog and web business and is usually done in the form of advertising banners and links. While you have every right to take advantage of your hard work, there is a fine line between earning income and squeezing every pixel on the page for ad revenue. (Image Source: CNET) It’s not just the habit to add too many ads confusing, annoying and disrespectful for your reader it is also harmful to the ads you display: usually your users will only click on one ad, so if you have 10 ads, it means 9 will be ignored. The more ads you have, the less impact they have. Tip(s): Experiment with different ad providers and ad placements, thereafter select a few effective ads and place them properlyThis will usually result in better revenue and a more desirable look than ad-filling your entire site. Also, don’t use text ads that insert links in your content. At best, users have already learned it how to avoid those, at worst it’s frustrating, especially the ads that unfold as soon as you hover over them.
2. Intrusive Ads
Intrusive ads include banners that expand as soon as you hover over them, or banners that flash like a Christmas tree. It’s the ads that automatically play music and videos, and worst of all, the biggest no-no: pop-ups and pop-undersPop-ups and pop-unders have gotten such a bad reputation, and with good reason, that every site has features the user immediately looks down on it. (Image Source: Wikipedia) Always remember that content is the reason the visitor got there in the first place, so you have to hold them. Irritate them too much, and they won’t come backno matter how good your content is. Tip(s): Don’t be annoyingCheck what types of businesses advertise on your site, how their banners are displayed, and choose the display method that is less irritating to readers. And regarding pop-ups / pop-unders: do not do itNo matter how much you get paid per pop-up window, it’s annoying and most people close it before the ad even loads, it’s just harmful for the long run.
3. Too much social media buttons
Sharing your content and making others aware of it should be part of your routine. But there is one boundary on how many Twitter buttons you can cram on your site before it becomes annoying and distracting to readers. Always remember that everything is good to do until reading content becomes tedious (Image Source: NavigationArts) Tip(s): Collect your social media / share buttons in one place on your siteOn the sidebar, or above / below the posts. It’s much better than a retweet button in one place, a Facebook share button on the other side of the page, etc. Keep it simpleIgnore the beautiful, shiny, grungy, big buttonsThey won’t get you more Twitter followers than a regular, simple Twitter buttonAlso, place them properlyReaders are much more likely to retweet your articles than the retweet button is displayed at the top of the page instead of at the bottom.
4. Bad draft / busy draft
There is a lot to consider when designing your site, and the most important thing to attack is one good balance of site images, content, ads, etc. And the worst thing you can do is clutter your site with too many elements.
Once the users arrive on your site, the first thing they look for is the content, and it is your responsibility to ensure that the content is easy to find, that users’ eyes don’t have to scan through beautiful images, social media buttons, banner ads, etc., before arriving at the destination. In brief, don’t make it ugly for design and usability. Tip(s): Understand that you cannot fit everything on your site, especially if you want it “above the fold” (at the top of the site, before scrolling). Make sure your main goal is to display your content in a legible way, thereafter build the design around that idea It’s counterproductive to have a nice, colorful header that distracts users and / or pushes content way down. No one has ever bookmarked a website because it had a nice header. Focus on content, and build everything around it
5. Splash pages
When someone comes to your site, it’s usually because they’ve searched for something, or because someone posted a link that they thought was worth clicking. This is the most valuable part of getting them to come to your site, and when they finally get there, the worst thing you can do is block them from the content as soon as they arrive. (Image Source: Hugs For Monsters) A splash page asking readers to subscribe to your RSS or follow you on Twitter or provide their email address isn’t just a big exit, it has a “Scam” feeling across. A splash page blocking readers from accessing your content because of their browser is even worse, most of them are harmless because they didn’t even know about the browser, and even they know that blocking access is a very bad move to avoid the visitor. Tip(s): Don’t use splash pagesno matter how creative they are. It’s that simple. Not even a “welcome page” for new readers. And don’t dare ask for their email address no matter how much you think they’ll enjoy your free eBook or whatever you offer.
6. Merge content from others
We’ve all been guilty of it at one point or another: when we don’t have ideas or messages up, we “cheat” and collect content from others, a “daily news feed” or the like, unless your site is entirely a content aggregator like Reddit.
There is nothing wrong with doing this once or twice a week and sharing content that you appreciate, but posts like this should never overshadow your own contentRemember content is king, and by content it means unique content Your readers are the ones that come because of your unique content, not the content you link to from other sites. If readers are coming to your site because of the links you share, you are in trouble because those readers are easily lost to the next person who can do a better “daily collection”. Tip(s): Limit “roundup” messages, such as twice a week or once a week, and make sure the articles and links you include are the best you can find.
Lake
Looking beyond to clean up your site for the best readability? Here are the guides likely to meet your needs: Web design: 11 common mistakes Web design: 10 Features Avoid web design: 5 Tips To simplify your design Contents Intensive layout: design Tips & Examples
What Makes Your Blog Less Professional: benefits
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